GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) softball team and the Chattanooga Mocs begin The Southern Conference (SoCon) play this weekend at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Currently, UNCG is 22-7 overall and Chattanooga is 19-8 overall.

The Mocs took two of three games during the regular season series in 2024. After the Spartans defeated Chattanooga in a SoCon Semifinal game, the Mocs went on to win the 2024 SoCon Championship and the automatic bid into the 2024 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament.
 

 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE SPARTANS

• UNCG is coming off a 2-1 come-from-behind walk-off victory over non-conference foe Radford.
• Samantha Beck crushed a two-run home run over the left-field wall for the walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh.
• This was Beck's third homer of the season and eighth of her career.
• Jorde Chartrand started in the circle for the Spartans and pitched 4.0 innings, giving up just two hits and one earned run.
• Reese Byrd entered in relief and pitched 3.0 innings, giving up just one hit and no runs earning her sixth win of the season.

RUNDOWN ON THE SPARTANS

• The Spartans are currently on a six-game win streak.
• Kaylyn Belfield is leading the Spartans with a .479 batting average and has successfully stolen 11-of-13 bases.
• Belfield is 19th nationally with her hitting clip.
• Grace Loftin is leading the Spartans with 36 hits and is one of four Spartans with a .400 or better batting average, swinging .404 at the plate in 29 games played with a team-high 32 RBI. She also paces the team with seven doubles and three triples.
• Her 32 RBI are 43rd nationally.
• UNCG is nationally ranked in the top 25 in home runs (8^th/48), home runs per game (8^th/1.66), total sacrifice flies (13^th/14), RBI (16^th/199), slugging percentage (16^th/.601), RBI per game (17^th/6.86), walks (18^th/117), scoring (18^th/7.28), total runs (20^th/211) and hits (23^rd/259).
• Jessie Shipley, Loftin and Rylie Williams are pacing the team with seven homers each. They are ranked 95th nationally and are third in The Southern Conference (SoCon).
• Along with Loftin, nine other Spartans have double-figure RBI, with five totaling 20 or more. Shipley, Meredith Harwood and Chartrand all have 22 RBI.
• Ward leads the pitching staff with 65 strikeouts. She is second with a 2.15 ERA and has a 10-3 record in 20 appearances.
• Ward is 24th in victories and 68th nationally in strikeouts.
• Ward earned SoCon Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 17 after going 4-0 in the Spiro Invitational.
• Gardner most recently earned SoCon Player of the Week, while Chartrand was tabbed SoCon Pitcher of the Week after the Spartans' 4-0 weekend at the CSU Round Robin.
• The Spartans are leading the SoCon in 14 categories, including batting average, hits, home runs, home runs per game, on-base percentage, RBI per game, RBI, scoring, slugging percentage, total runs, total sacrifice flies, triples, win/loss percentage and walks.
• Head Coach Janelle Breneman earned her 400^th win at the helm of the Spartans following a 7-2 win over Saint Francis on Feb. 16.
• UNCG was chosen to finish second in the SoCon Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Spartans received one first-place vote.  
• The Spartans concluded the 2024 season 33-26 overall and 13-8 in the SoCon.
• It was the fifth-straight season with 30 or more wins.
• It was also the ninth year with 30 or more wins under the direction of Breneman, who is in her 13^th year with the Blue & Gold.
• The Spartans saw another successful statistical year, leading the SoCon in home runs per game (1.37), home runs (81), slugging percentage (0.490), triples per game (0.22) and walks (240).
• UNCG was also ranked nationally in the top 30 in four categories: sixth in walks, 11^th in home runs, 14^th in home runs per game and 30^th in slugging percentage.
• Loftin was named to the SoCon Preseason First Team, while Betsy Eatmon and Chartrand were voted to the Preseason Second Team.
• The Spartans reached the SoCon Championship game for the sixth-straight year in 2024, excluding the COVID 2020 shortened season, falling to Chattanooga in the double elimination game.
• UNCG added four freshmen and two transfers.
• The Spartans have four of their pitchers returning this season, including Chartrand.

RUNDOWN ON CHATTANOOGA

• The Mocs concluded the 2024 season with a 42-16 overall mark and a 16-5 SoCon record, winning their 16^th SoCon Tournament Title.
• Chattanooga was voted to finish first in the 2025 Preseason SoCon Coaches Poll and earned six first-place votes.
• Peja Goold was named the 2025 Preseason Pitcher of the Year and to the First Team.
• The Mocs have won 17 of their last 18 games and four of them have been shutouts.
• Camryn Cernuto was also selected to the First Team, while Olivia Lipari, Kailey Snell and Baileigh Pitts were voted to the Second Team.
• Cernuto is pacing the team with a .393 batting average and has successfully stolen 10-of-10 bases. She is also leading the team with 33 hits.
• Six Mocs have double figure RBI, with Presley Williamson leading the way with 24.
• Acelynn Sellers leads the team with seven home runs, while Lipari has 10 doubles so far this season.
• Lipari is 28^th nationally in doubles.
• In the circle, Goold has tossed 81.0 innings and has a 1.56 ERA for a 10-3 record. She has thrown 10 complete games and has totaled 105 strikeouts.
• Goold is leading the SoCon in complete games, ERA, hits allowed per seven innings (3.89), innings pitched, shutouts (5), strikeouts, strikeouts per seven innings (9.1), victories and WHIP (.99).
• Chattanooga is leading the SoCon in fielding percentage (.975), hit batters (9) and team strikeouts per seven innings (7.47).

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UP NEXT 
The Spartans will return home to Greensboro for a five-game home stand, beginning with Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and in-state foe North Carolina on Wednesday, March 26. UNCG and the Tar Heels will play at the UNCG Softball Stadium with a first pitch scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

All regular season softball home games are free admission. The concessions at UNCG Softball Stadium are now open. Bringing in outside food is not permitted and pets are not allowed into the stadium.