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Baseball Hosts Ivy League Outfit Princeton Wednesday
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team looks to build on a road win over No. 16 NC State as the Spartans host Princeton Wednesday at 7 p.m. inside the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The Blue and Gold broke a 5-5 deadlock with three runs in the top of the 11th inning in Raleigh Wednesday to walk away with the win.
A couple of Spartans picked the perfect contest in which to hit their first home runs of the season as seniors Zach Leach and TJ Spina went yard. Leach's blast brought UNCG to within 3-2 in the fifth inning while Spina's bomb gave the Spartans a 5-4 advantage in the eighth. Spina also scored two runs and drew a pair of walks in the game.
Sophomore Blair Betts earned his first win of the season and his career, throwing two thirds of an inning allowing no runs, no hits and striking out one batter. Recording his first save of the year was junior Dylan Hathcock as he hurled a perfect 11th with a strikeout.
The victory marked the second consecutive season in which UNCG has knocked off a nationally-ranked team on the road. The Spartans defeated No. 10 North Carolina 8-4 in Chapel Hill April 24, 2012. The Wolfpack bullpen also came into the game with a perfect 11-0 record, six saves in six attempts, and a combined 2.32 ERA.
# UNCG holds a 12-2 advantage in the all-time series between the schools. The Spartans have captured 10 of the last 12 encounters dating back to the 2007 season - including a 6-3 triumph last year in Greensboro.
# Link Jarrett is the second head coach in the 24-year history of UNCG baseball. He spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator at Auburn University. The game with East Carolina marks a return to Greenville for Jarrett as he served as the Pirates' infield coach, hitting instructor and recruiting coordinator from 2005-09.
# The Spartans rank in the top three in the SoCon in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage and triples while senior Christian Wolfe leads the SoCon in batting average (.463).
# UNCG opens the 2013 season playing 19 of its first 21 games at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The Spartans played at East Carolina March 5 and will travel to Raleigh to face NC State March 19. In all, the Blue and Gold hosts 36 games during the year.
# After hitting just 39 home runs last season, the Spartans have already clubbed 17 in their first 19 contests. Junior catcher Cambric Moye is the team leader with five. In fact, 11 of his team-best 19 RBI have come via the long ball.
# Sophomore RHP Lee Gilliam continues to shine for the Blue and Gold early this season as he owns a team-best ERA of 1.55 - also the second-lowest in the Southern Conference. He tossed 6.2 innings in the middle contest of the Elon series, giving up three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.
# Senior infielder Trevor Edwards has hit four home runs this season to bring his career total to 30. He is the Southern Conference active career leader in round-trippers and second in RBI while also placing inside the top five in slugging percentage and doubles.
# The Spartans jump back into Southern Conference play this weekend, heading south to Wofford for a three-game series at Russell C. King Field.
- UNCG -
