Seahawks Catch a Break, Win a Series
UNCW knocked off Elon to take a CAA series for the first time this season
Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.
Thankfully for UNCW, the Seahawks were a little bit of both this weekend, clinching their first CAA series victory of the season with an 8-2 win over Elon on Sunday afternoon at Brooks Field.
Like each of the first two conference weekends, it was nip-and-tuck for nearly every inning, and this time around, it was a momentum-swinging error that went the Seahawks’ way in the deciding game.
Friday: UNCW 6, Elon 4
Saturday:Elon 5, UNCW 4
Sunday:UNCW 8, Elon 2
“Great series win for us,” Coach Randy Hood said. “We needed it; needed it bad. Biggest thing, we just caught a break in the eighth inning.”
Here’s what we learned from the UNCW (15-9, 4-5) series victory.
Give and (Finally) Receive
No one can doubt the Seahawks’ status as the CAA’s most generous team in March, as UNCW gifted 15 unearned runs to Charleston and William & Mary, who seemingly capitalized on every mistake en route to series victories, despite being outscored.
Now, it wasn’t perfect, but UNCW cleaned things up and minimized mistakes significantly vs. Elon (7-13, 1-2), giving the Phoenix just three unearned runs in the series.
The big break arrived in the eighth inning on Sunday, when Noah Bridges’ two-out fly to centerfield dropped in, bringing in two runs and continuing an inning that saw the Seahawks plate five to break open yet another tight game.
Given the nature of the bad luck that had hit UNCW in CAA play, the Seahawks were starting to get a little impatient.
“Players probably don’t think that as much,” Hood said, “but coaches are like, ‘At what time are we going to get that break?'“
Luck was surely a part of it, but Hood also gave a nod to Bridges’ work at the plate, where he fouled off several pitches before putting a ball in play on a full count.
'“One, I thought it was a great at-bat even thought it was a pop-up from an outcome standpoint,” he said . “I thought Noah fouled off a lot of tough pitches, probably five or six, and just kept moving the baseball and we caught a break there.”
While UNCW cleaned up the unearned runs and errors (2) this weekend, walks still proved costly as Seahawk pitchers handed out 15 and hit four batters.
Of Elon’s 11 total runs in the series, seven of them reached base via walk and one, the deciding run on Saturday evening, was the runner placed on second at the start of the 10th inning.
Dis-Roupp-tive
Remember Landen Roupp’s inconsistent February? When he wasn’t himself?
We don’t know that guy.
Since Roupp (3-2, 2.95) said he made one tiny adjustment with his front leg, the CAA’s preseason player of the year has been untouchable in four starts, allowing five runs — three earned — on 14 hits with 26 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.
It’s quite the contrast to his first three starts of the season, when Roupp gave up 15 runs — 11 earned — on 16 hits in 15 innings as he fell to 0-2.
Friday’s start vs. Elon might have been his best of the season, as the Phoenix didn’t manage a hit until the fifth inning and only added one more before Roupp exited after seven innings and two unearned runs.
In all, Roupp has gone 18 straight innings without allowing an earned run.
Thievery!
With the amount of speed on the UNCW roster, it was pretty surprising that the Seahawks didn’t manage to steal a base in the Charleston series. Even more shocking, they only attempted to swipe two bags in a series that they had issues advancing runners past first.
Clearly, that was a point of emphasis this weekend, as the Seahawks were successful on all seven attempts to steal, with Cole Weiss getting three and Kip Brandenburg stealing two.
Of the seven steals, six of the runners scored — more than a quarter of UNCW’s total runs in the series.
Against William & Mary, the Seahawks were successful on 4 of 6 attempts to steal a base, and overall, UNCW is 25 of 34 for the season.
Offense Rolling
The Seahawk offense keeps improving, with the team batting average up to .280 after everyone in the lineup got a hit on Sunday, making marked improvement from Friday’s 15-strikeout performance.
Among them was Weiss, who had four hits and an RBI in the series to help extend his hitting streak to seven games, while Dillon Lifrieri continued swinging it well with three doubles on Friday and another hit on Saturday.
Matt Suggs has established himself as perhaps the most feared hitter in the lineup, collecting his team-leading 8th homer of the season on Sunday to help push his average to .312 to go along with 22 RBI.
Kip Brandenburg’s on-base streak stands at 28 games.
Bullpen Back
After some struggles in Charleston, the bullpen rebounded in a big way, allowing three earned runs on four hits in eight innings of work, with Adam Smith collecting two saves while Breydan Gorham got a win on Sunday.
Smith was lights-out over 4.1 innings, allowing one hit and striking out six as he faced 14 batters to earn the two saves.
Opponents are hitting .123 off the sophomore closer, who dropped his ERA to 1.50 with his dominant weekend. Smith has allowed three earned runs over 18 innings, striking out 23 and walking eight.
Looking For a Date
With Coastal Carolina canceling Tuesday’s nonconference matchup due to their COVID-19 issues, the Seahawks are looking for a midweek game in hope of keeping the momentum rolling.
“We want to play as much as we can,” Hood said.
The coach said he’s made 15-20 calls in the hope of finding a game, either on Tuesday in Wilmington or Wednesday going toward Harrisonburg, Va., where the Seahawks will meet James Madison for this weekend’s CAA series.
COVID testing protocols and policies also pose a challenging in finding an opponent, and in the case that Hood can’t line one up, he said the Seahawks will play a 7-9 inning intrasquad scrimmage on Tuesday night.
Neither N.C. A&T nor UNC Greensboro have midweek games scheduled, and in Virginia, Richmond, Old Dominion and George Mason are free.
Next Up
UNCW visits JMU (5-7, 2-1) for a three-game, set starting with a 6 p.m. meeting on Friday night at Veterans Memorial Park.
The Dukes have had trouble getting on — and staying on — the field this season, going more than two weeks between games in March.
After being swept at North Carolina to start the season, JMU took advantage of its biggest opportunity of the season this past weekend, taking two of three vs. Charleston.
Base Hi
Ryan Calvert matched a career-high with his five-inning outing on Sunday, allowing one run on three hits. The freshman’s ERA is down to 3.43.
The Seahawks are 7-1 on Sundays this season.
UNCW turned four double plays in the series.
Opponents are now hitting .199 against Roupp.
The Seahawks didn’t commit an error on Sunday, completing their ninth error-free game of the season.
After committing three errors on 13 chances in the first five CAA games, Taber Mongero has played four straight error-free games, converting all 12 defensive chances.