The tale of two teams in 2018

By carolinianweb on April 4, 2018 • ( 0 )

Isaiah Saint Hilaire
Staff Writer

Sports_IsaiahHilaire_BaseballSoftball_CarlosMoralesUNCGAthletics.JPG

PC: Carlos Morales/UNCG Athletics

It has been interesting to see that the UNCG softball and UNCG baseball teams have both been performing very well and have been chosen as favorites to go far and even be crowned as the Southern Conference champion.

The UNCG baseball team entered the season as reigning champs and have lived up to expectations with a 20-6 overall and 2-1 in the SoCon. Redshirt senior Dillon Stewart has been playing very well, leading the Spartans with seven home runs. Junior utility man Cesar Trejo follows him with four, along with 31 runs batted in. With three of their four starting pitchers boasting an estimated run average of less than three, stellar pitching has helped the Spartans become who they are this season.

Austin Embler, Dillon Stewart and Last year’s Freshman of the Year Caleb Webster have been lights out when it comes to catching the opponent’s pitcher off guard to steal a base. They are a perfect 20/20 when attempting to steal bases this season. Stealing bases can be a huge boost for a team that already is playing well because when a team is down, they can come back by utilizing their quickness on the bases and advancing to other bases.

Pitching has been amazing as senior Jack Maynard leads the way with an ERA of 2.06. Junior Matt Frisbee is leading the Spartans with a perfect 5-0 start with 54 strikeouts for the season so far. With pitching over 42 innings this season so far, Matt Frisbee also leads the team in games started with seven. All the starting pitchers for the baseball team at UNCG this season have a combined record of 15-3. Both pitching and hitting seem to be functioning like a well oiled machine, prompting fans of the team to be very excited about the possibility of a repeat as SoCon champions and another trip to the College World Series.

Moving toward the UNCG softball team, this team is 28-7 overall and are perfect sitting at 6-0 against southern conference opponents. Redshirt junior Marisa Sholtes leads the Blue and Gold with nine home runs and 28 runs batted in. Right behind her is freshman standout Makenna Matthijs, who already looks like a serious candidate for Freshman of the Year award. Senior Alexis Overdiep has continued her agile ways this season by sneakily stealing bases and going six for seven on steal attempts. With the way the offense is producing, the softball team has had the opportunity to defeat teams with huge margins and has even caused the other team to forfeit due to the massive margin of victory.

The pitching has been great as well with junior Stephanie Bryden having an estimated run average of 1.34 and having a 12-1 record so far this season. Senior Alicia Bazonski is 12-2 and has a 1.52 estimated run average. With these two pitchers throwing the ball the way they are, the Spartans have found success and patience with batting. When a team has good pitching, the hitting typically shines. Bazonski also has two saves which has helped the lady Spartans reach victory in a closely notched game. Bryden has also added a whopping 109 strikeouts to her stellar resume this season which has given the Spartans a huge advantage in close games. They know that their starting pitcher can perform very well in situations that involve a lot of pressure. Due to the stellar pitching, the UNCG softball team has been inching closer and closer to a Southern Conference championship this season.

With both teams playing successfully, UNCG students have something to look forward to in the postseason. While everybody goes on summer vacation, the softball and baseball team may have the opportunity to compete, and compete very well, in the postseason. We will just have to wait and see.