Greenville, S.C. – UNC Greensboro hitters hammered five home runs on Saturday as the Spartans captured both ends of a Southern Conference doubleheader versus Furman to complete a three-game series sweep of the Paladins at Pepsi Stadium.
 
With the sweep, UNCG improved to 30-10 overall and 7-2 in league play. Furman dropped to 13-25 overall and 3-6 in the conference.
 
Game 1: UNCG 9, Furman 4
 
In game one of Saturday's twinbill, UNCG rallied from a 3-2 deficit with five runs in the sixth inning to down the Paladins, 9-4.
 
Betsey Eatmon opened the top of the sixth with a double down the line and a Hadley Gardner single followed by a Furman throwing error on the play put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Jessie Shipley followed with a three-run blast to left-center to give the Spartans a 5-3 lead. After Macy Michael reached on a two-out single against reliver Lauralee Scott, Samantha Beck homered to left field to extend the margin to 7-3. After Furman trimmed the deficit to 7-4 on Caitlin Goldwait's RBI single in the sixth, Eatmon added a solo homer as part of a two-run seventh inning that pushed the UNCG lead to 9-4.
 
Reese Byrd (9-3) earned the victory for the Spartans with a complete game effort. The right-hander allowed four runs, just two earned, on seven hits over seven innings in the circle. She issued three walks and struck out three Paladins.
 
Eatmon, Gardner, and Michael registered two hits apiece while Shipley drove in a game-high three runs. 
 
Furman starter Emme Buzhardt (5-8) absorbed the loss after giving up five runs on seven hits in five-plus innings in the circle.
 
The Paladins rallied from a 2-0 deficit to grab as 3-2 lead through four innings. Sylvia Burroughs drove in the first run in the bottom of the third with a single and Kiley Perry evened the game on an RBI groundout. Katie Peeler walked to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning, stole second base, moved to third on a sacrifice and gave the Paladins the 3-2 lead when she scored on Goldwait's first of two RBI on the afternoon.
 
Goldwait collected two singles and a walk while Burroughs went 2-for-4 with a double.
 
Game 2: UNCG 5, Furman 2
 
UNCG completed the series sweep with a 5-2 victory in the nightcap on Saturday behind Jorde Chartrand's work in the circle and at the plate.
 
Chartrand, a senior, limited Furman to a pair of runs on four hits over seven innings to improve to 6-3 in the circle. She fanned four batters and allowed just one walk. With the game tied at 1-1 in the top of the third inning, the left-handed hitting pitcher followed back-to-back two-out singles by lining a three-run homer off the left field foul pole to give the Spartans a 4-1 advantage. Grace Loftin clubbed her 11^th homer of the season in the top of the fifth to up the UNCG lead to 5-1.
 
Perry opened the bottom of the seventh inning with a double and scored on Peeler's sacrifice fly two batters later, but Chartrand retired the next two batters to end the threat.
 
Starter Angelina Ricciardi (5-6) took the loss for the Paladins. The sophomore surrendered five runs on six hits in 4.2 innings of work. Isabella Cear came out of the Furman bullpen and retired all seven batters she faced in relief of Ricciardi.
 
Chartrand finished with four RBI for the Spartans and Kaylyn Belfield and Loftin each collected two hits. Perry went 2-for-2 at the plate for the Paladins.
 
Furman returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Queens at Pepsi Stadium. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+.