Championship Sunday: Win or Go Home for UNCW
Hawks rally, Huskies hang on to force decisive game
It wouldn’t be a CAA Tournament championship round without a little drama for the Seahawks.
For the third straight tournament, UNCW will play in a winner-take-all championship game after Northeastern held on for a 7-4 victory on Saturday night at Brooks Field, staving off a late rally as the Hawks looked poised to snatch the title in their first try.
Instead, the Huskies emerged from the losers’ bracket to force a decisive game vs. UNCW — just as they did in 2018 and Elon did in 2019.
A quick look at Saturday’s game and taking stock of where the Hawks stand for Sunday.
Due for a Breakthrough
Brooks Baldwin is one of the reasons UNCW is playing for a championship, as the first-team All-CAA outfielder led the team in batting average, homers and RBI this season.
The past two weekends have been one of his toughest stretches of the season, going 6-27 (.222) with three RBI, a double and a homer. Obviously, still productive but below the lofty standard he’s set for himself this season.
With the season on the line Sunday, it’s a good bet he’ll rebound from the two missed opportunities he had late in Saturday’s game — a tough at-bat in the eighth that ended with a strikeout and a well-hit ball in the ninth that was just a few feet from winning it.
Experience Factor
After an all-time pitching effort from Landen Roupp on Thursday night and a wire-to-wire victory for the Hawks on Friday night, the momentum came to a screeching halt on Saturday as Northeastern jumped ahead early.
Missing a chance to finish the Huskies certainly isn’t ideal, but it’s nothing UNCW hasn’t experienced before.
In 2018, UNCW sent Northeastern to the losers’ bracket before meeting back up in the championship round, where the Huskies squeezed out a 3-2 victory to force a decisive game.
One year later, the Seahawks sent Elon to the losers’ bracket before the Phoenix rallied to the championship round, where it used a 4-1 win to force a decisive game.
Both times, UNCW bounced back to claim the championship over the tournament’s top-seeded team.
Eight players that appeared in the 2019 winner-take-all game remain on the roster, as do several more that didn’t play that day.
Left Hanging
The difference between Sunday’s decisive game and a celebration on Saturday night, talking about how much UNCW dominated the tournament? Probably two or three hits.
There have been several opportunities to blow games wide open, and to this point, the Cole Weiss grand slam is all the Hawks have to show for it.
In all, UNCW has left 20 runners on base, including 15 in scoring position — six of which were stranded at third bases.
So far, small-ball hasn’t been a major factor, as UNCW has executed just two bunts.
Pitching Situation
Fewer than 24 hours after his start, it would figure that Luke Gesell won’t be an option for Sunday, nor will Ethan Chenault or Hunter Hodges, who have both appeared in two straight games. Jason Hudak gave the Seahawks one inning, but only threw eight pitches.
Jacob Shafer got four midweek starts this season, including a lights-out performance against East Carolina on March 17, but made nine more appearances as a reliever. It’s a near-certainty he’ll figure into the plan tomorrow.
Ryan Calvert could be an option, too, although it’s unclear if he’s dealing with an injury at the moment. Since dropping out of the rotation in mid-April, he’s made just two appearances, working 4.1 innings of relief.
Pitching coach Matt Myers could choose experience, however, and send fifth-year senior Breydan Gorham to the mound despite his switch into a pure relief role last season. Over his first two seasons at UNCW, Gorham made five starts and has plenty of postseason experience, too.
Generally, the Hawks are in good shape in the bullpen thanks to using a total of six pitchers over the first three games of the tournament.
Rather than piecing it together and simply relying on who’s left, UNCW still has the luxury of situational matchups with Cody Benton, Cole Benton, Bryce Cota, Luke Craig, Carter Holjes, Will Liverpool and Gage Herring.
There’s also a great chance Landen Roupp and/or Adam Smith could come in for a big spot, too.
Northeastern Pitching Situation
The four starters Northeastern has used in the tournament have combined for 43 of the Huskies starts this season, with Brian Rodriguez and David Stiehl picking up one apiece.
Rodriguez got two innings in Saturday’s early game while Stiehl made his second appearance of the tournament, but in all, he’s thrown 21 pitches in two innings.
None of the Huskies regulars will be coming in on full rest on Sunday, but its seems likely Schlitter will have something in the tank, while Murphy could get another shot after throwing 55 pitches on Friday night.
Because of the extra game Northeastern played, the calculus is far different in regard to fresh arms.
Fielding Fantastic
The two 10th-inning throwing errors in a wild scramble cost UNCW two runs, but aside from that, the defense has been stellar.
So far, Jac Croom (15 chances), Taber Mongero (19) and Weiss (10) have been perfect in both the solid and the spectacular, with each making several highlight-reel plays. Both Croom and Mongero have showed their range with run-saving snags, while Weiss had made one excellent throw after another across the diamond.