With its sweep of Elon in opening conference play last weekend, along with a win over nationally ranked North Carolina State, the University of North Carolina Wilmington baseball team is showcasing improved hitting power that makes the team the third highest run-scoring team in college baseball.
Behind what Seahawks coach Mark Scalf said was unexpectedly strong hitting this season, and supported by consistent performances from the pitching staff, UNCW is riding a six-game winning streak to grab an early share of the lead of the Colonial Athletic Association standings.
“Offensively, we’ve had contributions up and down the lineup,” Scalf said during an interview with the Seahawks Digital Network.
The 15-6 Seahawks are leading CAA standings with 25 home runs this season and are the conference’s leading hitting team, with an overall batting average of .311. UNCW has 13 games this season where it has scored 10 runs or more.
“We felt like we’d have some gap power, but fortunately, we’ve been able to drive some out of the ballpark as well,” Scalf said.
The “diamond hawks” are also getting significant contributions from the pitching staff. Senior starting pitcher Ryan Foster is the conference’s leading pitcher with a 1.50 earned run average, also leading in innings pitched, while reliever Austin Easter is posting the conference’s second-best ERA at 2.22, behind 24 innings out of the Seahawks’ bullpen.
In Friday’s 10-4 win over Elon in the CAA opener, Foster pitched seven innings en route to his fifth win without a loss this season. The Seahawks moved their home record to 15-2 when the team won again on Saturday, taking the Phoenix 12-3 with a late inning flurry of runs behind three runs batted in from catcher Gavin Stupienski. A third game scheduled for Sunday was rained out.
“The last three or four games, we’ve played well defensively,” Scalf said. “We’ve thrown strikes and that’s been a big plus that allows the defense to make plays.”
In beating N.C. State 6-4 on March 22 in front of a season high home crowd of 2,007, the Seahawks built a 6-1 lead on the No. 16 ranked Wolfpack behind two-run home runs from catcher Nick Feight and infielder Brian Mims, while holding back a late rally on relief pitching from Austin Magestro. The Seahawks dropped a matchup at N.C. State earlier this month, 5-2.
After winning two games in last year’s NCAA tournament, UNCW was coming into the season with high expectations. The Seahawks were voted by the CAA coaches as the preseason favorites to win the conference, after the team finished second in the CAA in 2015 and won the postseason conference tournament before advancing to the NCAA regionals.
After playing just four games on the road so far this season, the Seahawks started an eight game road swing March 29 that begins with a midweek game in Greenville to face East Carolina University before traveling to Boston for a three-game series with Northeastern.
“It’s going to be a test for us. It’s that time of the year when we need to grow up and learn to play on the road,” Scalf said. “We have to create a little bit of a different routine; we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
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