Statesboro Regional Preview: UNC Greensboro

Only one team has a lower seed than Texas Tech in its regional. That team is the UNC-Greensboro Spartans (34-28, 12-9 Southern Conference), occupying the No. 4 seed in the Statesboro Regional. 

The Spartans earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Southern Conference Tournament. After losing to No. 1-seeded Wofford, Greensboro rebounded to win its next five games to become conference champions, including two wins over Wofford. The Spartans faced two ranked teams this season, losing 13-5 to then-No. 22 NC State on March 8 and 10-7 to then-No. 23 Wake Forest on April 12.

Greensboro has six players with a batting average of over .300. The Spartans’ leading batter is junior infielder Hogan Windish, who holds a .380 batting average with a team-high 16 home runs. Greensboro’s leader in RBIs is freshman utility Kennedy Jones with 73. Jones also ranks first on the team with 91 hits and second with a .373 batting average. 

On the mound, the Spartans have just one pitcher with an earned run average below three. That player is senior Alex Hoppe, who holds a 2.91 ERA. Hoppe is Greensboro’s leading relief pitcher, having played a team-high 25 games this season. The Spartans’ ace is Austin Parsley, who’s started 17 games this season. He’s earned a team-high 10 pitching wins with a 3.67 ERA and a team-high 92 strikeouts. 

Greensboro’s head coach is Billy Godwin, who’s coached the Spartans for three seasons. Godwin holds a 73-58 record at Greensboro, leading the Spartans to a 12-5 record in 2020 before COVID-19 shuttered the season. In 2021, Greensboro finished 27-25 and failed to qualify for the Southern Conference Championship. 

Rounding off the Statesboro region is the No. 1-seed Georgia Southern and No. 2-seed Notre Dame. The Red Raiders will face the Fighting Irish at 1 p.m. on Friday.