Meet the Spartans (again)… A team that’s hard to get a read on
Who’s the Pack playing?
Opponent: UNC-Greensboro
Mascot: Those dudes from 300 | School Location: Greensboro, NC | Conference: Southern
2024 Record: 13-10 (2-1, T-3rd) | 2024 RPI Rank: 81
2023 Record: 25-34 (9-12, 6th) | 2023 RPI Rank: 139
2022 Record: 34-30 (12-9, T-2nd*) | 2022 RPI Rank: 94
*2022 Southern Conference Tournament Champions
When? Where? How do I watch?
Location: UNCG Baseball Stadium (Greensboro, NC)
Game Time(s): Tue, Mar 26 @ 6:00pm
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Tell me about this team
These two faced off two weeks ago, and here’s that preview article for reference.
UNCG is 4-4 against RPI Top 100 teams, including owning wins over Wake Forest (RPI #24) and NC State (45). The Spartans are also 9-6 against teams with an RPI worse than 100, including two losses to Binghamton (194) and a loss to Elon (242). Getting a read on this team is really difficult.
Obviously, given the fact that UNCG has already taken down NC State – and by a 15-run final margin, no less – the Wolfpack cannot take this game lightly. The Spartans dropped three of their next five games after their romp over the Pack, but have won their last two over a capable Mercer squad.
Julien Peissel, the starting pitcher in the Spartans wins over both Wake Forest and NC State, has moved the weekend rotation where his pairing with Rob Ready gives UNCG a 1-2 punch that should put them on solid footing in any SoCon series. They still need to find a consistent third weekend starter (Caleb Cozart?) and some more bullpen depth.
As an interesting storyline to this game – and speaking of the guy – Caleb Cozart will be starting on the mound for UNCG. This will give us at least one brother-on-brother plate appearance. As noted in the preview article last time for this matchup, Jacob singled and flied out head-to-head against his brother last year. We’ll see what the 2024 Cozart Clash brings about.
Pitching Matchup
Tuesday: LHP Ryan Marohn (FR) — RHP Caleb Cozart (SO)
Key Players:
Offense
3B Jake Ogden (SO) – .289/.368/.344, 8.3 BB%, 13 K%, 8-8 SB. Since last time, the BA, OBP, BB%, and K% have all slightly regressed, but the SLG has improved and he’s remained perfect in stolen bases.
LF/1B G.C. Jarman (SR) – .357/.471/.393, 12.3 BB%, 13.7 K%, 5-10 SB. He doesn’t hit for much power, but Jarman continues to get on base at an incredible clip thanks to his contact oriented approach. He’s just 2-for-7 over the last 8 games in stolen base attempts, so apparently he also likes to remove himself from the bases once there.
DH/1B Caleb Cozart (SR) – .247/.380/.704, 12.0 BB%, 24.0 K%, 1-1 SB. The big fella has hits in 7 of his last 8 games, including popping 5 HR during that stretch. Leads the team with 11 dingers on the year.
C Mitchell Smith (rSR) – .264/.398/.389, 13.5 BB%, 11.2 K%, 7-7 SB. Former Ohio State player who went the JUCO route before landing in Greensboro where he’s started 139 games now over two-plus years. Has really turned it on of late. Had a 7-game hitting streak earlier in March, including across four games total versus Clemson and NC State, and has multi-hit efforts in three of the last four games.
Pitching
RHP Caleb Cozart (SR) – 0-0, 1 ERA, 9 IP, 8.3 BB%, 30.6 K%. Finally getting a chance to do a bit more on the mound – although they could have waited until after this game to do that, but whatever. This will be his second start of the season. Last Tuesday he went 3.0 scoreless, hitless innings against NC A&T while also homering at the plate.
RHP Brandon Hudson (rSO) – 2-0, 1 SV, 6.14 ERA, 14.2 IP, 10.4 BB%, 19.4 K%. The one-time Wolfpacker has been getting a bit more run of late, but still with mixed results. Control has been the major issue with 4 walks, a hit batter, and a wild pitch over his last 4.2 IP.
RHP Danny Thompson, Jr. (JR) – 3-2, 3.52 ERA, 15.1 IP, 10.1 BB%, 30.4 K%. Continues to have a very good year, although he did get saddled with the loss on the mound against NC A&T last week, giving up a run over 1.2 IP. Still a strikeout machine.
Quick! Fun Facts!
No fun facts for today. Go get a win, Pack!
The Key To A Win For State
State needs to get the bats going early and get into the UNCG bullpen. Caleb Cozart is likely to be stretched more than the 3.0 innings that he’s pitched in each of his prior three appearances this year, especially if he’s having success. Jump on Cozart early, get past their top relief arms, and pound away at the bullpen.
Prediction
Ryan Marohn has put forth solid efforts in his last two outings, including in the win against Coastal Carolina last Tuesday. He’ll again give State enough solid innings to get the bats going, with the Wolfpack pulling away late in a victory.
Outcome: Pack prevails, 9-5.