Hawks Look to Hang in CAA South Race
UNCW needs a series victory to remain in contention the division title
UNCW (26-17, 10-8)
vs. Charleston (22-18, 11-7)
Fri. 6 p.m. (Flo) | Sat. 4 p.m. (Flo) | Sun. 1 p.m. (Flo) | Listen
For all the marbles.
Well, kinda.
UNCW returns to Brooks Field for its final home series of the season with first place on the line, as the Seahawks play host to Charleston with an opportunity to put themselves in position for a first-round bye in the CAA Championship.
The Cougars, winners of five straight, come in on a hot streak while UNCW has won 8 of 10 games overall, and five straight league contests at home.
It’s the perfect scenario: the South Division’s two best programs, meeting in a high-stakes series on what will be an absolutely beautiful weekend in Wilmington.
Let’s get into the details.
Meet the Cougars
Starting Pitchers: RHP William Privette (1-1, 2.05 ERA); RHP Trey Pooser (4-1, 3.51); LHP Connor Campbell (5-2, 3.40).
Top Hitters: Harrison Hawkins (.359, 1.032 OPS, 9 2B, 9 HR, 46 RBI), Ari Sechopoulos (.268, 9 2B, 6 HR, 30 RBI), Joseph Mershon (.297, 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 19 RBI), Trotter Harlan (.281, 10 2B, 3 HR, 19 RBI), Luke Stageberg (.276, 5 2B, 13 RBI), Landon Choboy (.304, 15 RBI), Tanner Steffy (.303, 16 RBI).
First meeting
March 26-28: UNCW 6, Charleston 1 | Charleston 11, UNCW 8 | Charleston 10, UNCW 9
Hitting .333 and averaging more than seven runs per game should have been good enough for UNCW to win the series, but the Hawks couldn’t get out of their own way in the second and third games.
In all, UNCW gave up seven unearned runs over the two games, due in part to three errors, eight walks, five wild pitches and two hit batters.
Brooks Baldwin was 5-14 with two doubles, a home run and six RBI while Matt Suggs belted two homers.
The CAA Story
The equation for UNCW this weekend is pretty simple: the Hawks have to win the series to remain in contention for the South Division title, or at the least, make things much easier on themselves in guaranteeing a spot in the CAA Championship.
This season’s format guarantees the top two teams in each division a spot in the conference tournament, with a committee choosing two additional teams.
Elon (18-18, 8-7) has one CAA series remaining, next weekend vs. Charleston, and could still reach second place if UNCW stumbles this weekend.
This all becomes moot, of course, if it’s decided that UNCW (at Charlotte) and James Madison (vs. VCU) will play one another next weekend instead of meeting their nonconference opponents as scheduled.
Cleaned Up
The Seahawks were going through it when they traveled to Charleston back in March.
Luke Gesell was hit hard in his start, while the normally-reliable bullpen was lit up twice, and no matter who was on the mound, the typically-steady defense made several critical errors.
Aside from Tuesday’s trip to N.C. State, when UNCW tinkered with the lineup throughout, the Seahawks have played some of their most steady baseball of the season, allowing just three unearned runs over the past two CAA series, allowing more than three runs just twice.
It’s going to be awfully tough for a CAA opponent to win a series at Brooks without substantial help — something UNCW hasn’t done much of over the past month, winning 11 of 15 overall.
Landen a Big Win
The March 26 win at Charleston was Landen Roupp’s most dominant start of the season to that point, tossing six scoreless innings while allowing just three hits in an important victory.
Since then, he’s only gotten better, tossing one complete-game shutout and two more starts where he didn’t allow a single earned run.
Last week was one of those, but that didn’t mean he stayed out of trouble completely, as JMU managed nine hits and drew three walks over six innings. A good start, for sure, but not the dominance we’ve occasionally seen since March.
Starting on a Friday night with the division on the line, expect No. 14 to set the tone for a key weekend and make a case for CAA Pitcher of the Year.
Brooks Bashing
Brooks Baldwin is due, and if the first series vs. Charleston is any indication, the junior slugger will deliver.
It’s been a good run for Baldwin as of late, going 9-24 (.375) over the past two CAA series, but it’s been a bit un-Baldwinlike in that all nine of his hits have been singles to with just two RBI.
Leading the roster in homers (12) and RBI (37), and second in doubles (9), it’s quite the oddity that he’s making that much contact without getting at least one double in that bunch.
The averages say he’s due for an extra-base hit (or two) this weekend.
Who Steps Up?
A big part of the 11-4 run as of late has been contributions from the bottom of the lineup.
Taber Mongero (.310, 23 RBI) has been tremendous all season long, so he’s excluded from the conversation — consider him more the Leadoff Leadoff Man.
Lately, it’s been a rotating cast of characters delivering as pinch hitters or part-time starters — Trevor Marsh, Ron Evans, Chris Thorburn and Zachary Bridges.
Freshman Jack Howell (.429) has emerged as a reliable bat in spot duty as either a pinch hitter or when he gets a start as the designated hitter.
Over the past two CAA series, Howell is 4-9 with an RBI, a stolen base, three walks and two runs scored. He’s making the most of his chances, and on the season, has more walks (6) than strikeouts (4).
Base Hits
Northeastern (28-6, 16-0) has won 18 straight game en route to clinching the CAA’s North Division.
Mongero has committed just one error in the past 18 games (69 chances).
UNCW has a 56-game streak without committing a balk, dating to Feb. 16, 2020 vs. Dayton.
If it holds up or improves, the Seahawks’ fielding percentage (.976) would be the best in program history. The 2002 team’s .974 mark is currently the record, followed by a .973 clip in 2014.
Opponents are hitting .229 vs. UNCW pitching this season. The 2018 and 2019 teams both posted the best in program history, holding them to .228 averages.
Kip Brandenburg has nine hits and seven RBI in his past six CAA games.