Catamount Baseball: UNCG Spartans (Weekend Series)

 

Who: UNCG Spartans
When: Friday, April 12 thru Sunday, April 14, 2024
Time: Friday 5:00 pm; Saturday 3 pm; Sunday 1:00 pm
Where: Childress Field, Cullowhee, NC
TV/video: ESPN+
Live Stats: WCU Live Stats
    -announcer: Daniel Hooker (PxP)
Nickname: Spartans
Colors: White, Blue and Gold

Head Coach: Cody Ellis was named the Interim Head Coach in January 2024. Ellis joined the Spartans in October 2022 after three years as the head coach and assistant athletic director at Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC), starting in August of 2019. Ellis was most recently promoted to interim head coach for the Spartans in December 2023. Former HC Billy Godwin stepped down from his position as head coach of the UNCG baseball team on December 31, 2023, to rejoin the New York Yankees in a scouting role.

The Series: The Cats own a 37-48 overall record vs. the Spartans, in a series that started in 1992. The Cats are 12-17 in games played in Cullowhee, and only 2-8 in the last ten games played. The Spartans swept the Catamounts in the series played in Greensboro in 2023,

Current record: 17-14 overall, 12-5 home, 5-8 away, 0-0 neutral, 5-4 conference.

UNCG was picked to finish 6th in the SoCon preseason baseball poll. The Spartans finished the 2023 season with a 25-34 overall record and 9-12 in SoCon play to earn the sixth spot in the SoCon Preseason Coaches' Poll. UNCG concluded the season in the semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament, falling to No. 1 Samford, 9-5.

The Spartans swept the Mercer Bears in March, and went 2-1 with ETSU in Greensboro. UNCG was 1-2 vs. Wofford in Spartanburg last weekend. UNCG comes into this weekends matchup with the Cats owning a 17-14 overall record and 5-4 in SoCon play. As a team, UNCG is ranked in the top-30 nationally over three categories: sacrifice bunts (25), stolen bases (65) and stolen bases per game (2.17).  
Collectively on the year, UNCG enters the weekend batting a SoCon-low .268 with 99 total extra-base hits – 54 doubles, nine triples, and 36 home runs. The Spartans average 7.25 runs on 8.9 hits per game while limiting opponents to 6.0 runs on a matching 8.9 hits per contest.

Western Carolina vs. UNCG (Childress Field / Hennon Stadium)

Friday, April 12 | 5 p.m. | Cullowhee, N.C. | Coverage: ESPN+ | LiveStats
UNCG: Soph. RHP Julien Peissel (7 app., 7 GS – 0-2, 6.21 ERA, 33.1 IP, 33 K, 19 BB)
WCU: Sr. RHP Gavin Mortenson (12 app., 5 GS – 2-1, 3.16 ERA, 31.1 IP, 32 K, 18 BB)

Saturday, April 13 | 3 p.m. | Cullowhee, N.C. | Coverage: ESPN+ | LiveStats
UNCG: Jr. RHP Rob Ready (8 app., 8 GS – 3-1, 3.40 ERA, 47.2 IP, 30 K, 13 BB)
WCU: RHP Davis Budd (8 app., 3 GS – 0-0, 5.59 ERA, 19.1 IP, 21 K, 8 BB)

Sunday, April 14 | 1 p.m. | Cullowhee, N.C. | Coverage: ESPN+ | LiveStats
UNCG: Soph. RHP Jay Miller (7 app. 5 GS – 0-3, 5.87 ERA, 30.2 IP, 28 K, 13 BB)
WCU: TBA