UNCW Downs Elon; Top-Seeded Northeastern Awaits
Roupp goes the distance in dominant pitching effort
Luckily for Elon, it might have seen Landen Roupp for the last time.
Luckily for UNCW, the reigning CAA Pitcher of the Year showed the world why he took home the hardware, tossing a complete-game, three-hit shutout on Thursday night, striking out 12 Phoenix batters as the Seahawks grinded out a 2-0 victory in the CAA Championship.
With the win, the Hawks (31-20) move on to face top-seeded Northeastern (33-9) at 7 p.m. in a much-anticipated matchup between the league’s top two programs in recent seasons.
A quick breakdown of Thursday’s win, and look-ahead to Friday’s game.
Leading with Landen
What a performance.
An instant classic, up there with the greatest postseason efforts in UNCW history, and it was clear from Roupp’s first two pitches — both groundball outs — that he was locked in.
He kept the ball down in the zone from the start, remaining perfect through four innings on just 40 pitches, and only once did the Phoenix have a man reach third base in the game.
In three starts vs. Elon (22-21) this season, Roupp allowed just one earned run on nine hits over 24.2 innings, striking out 28 and walking seven.
Absolute dominance from Roupp, who was juiced up all night and didn’t hold back his emotions in big moments.
Fun to watch someone at the top of their craft under pressure and enjoying every second.
Showing the Growth
As the Hawks struggled to put together any offense in support of Roupp, things felt eerily similar to his April 23 start at Elon, when he carried a two-hit shutout into the ninth before the Phoenix rallied for a 2-1 extra-innings victory.
In fact, Elon used late heroics in all three of its one-run victories over UNCW this season.
Rather than tightening up, UNCW took care of business defensively, turning a timely double play in the seventh, handled a bunt well in the eighth and made the routine plays. Roupp took matters into his own hands with five strikeouts over the final three innings, while the offense played a little small ball and took advantage of a mistake to get an insurance run in the eigth.
A month ago, the result might have been very different. Now, the Hawks are playing with more confidence and taking care of the details.
Now, Looking ahead…
There’s an argument to be made about the value of Northeastern’s record in the putrid North Division, but still, it’s incredibly hard to stay focused and win that many baseball games against a schedule that doesn’t get you too fired up.
Coach Mike Glavine has built a program that’s won the CAA regular-season title three times in the past four completed seasons, reached an NCAA regional as an at-large selection and played well against Power Five competition.
Outfielder Jared Dupere is the CAA Player of the Year after hitting .353 with 18 homers, 43 RBI, 51 runs scored and 11 doubles, while his .795 slugging percentage ranks in the top five nationally.
Dupere is just the start of the Huskies’ weapons though, as five players are hitting better than .300, led by Jeff Costello (.367, 34 RBI) and Danny Crossen (.357, 25 RBI).
It’s likely Kyle Murphy (6-0, 2.74) on the mound for Northeastern, which boasts a team ERA of 2.95 and a WHIP of 1.11.
Batters are hitting .175 against the fifth-year senior, who has allowed 19 earned runs over 62.1 innings, striking out 81 and walking 14.
The Huskies will have a full complement out of a solid bullpen after using just two pitchers — starter Cam Schlittler and reliver David Stiehl — in their 10-4 win over Charleston on Thursday.
UNCW Adjustments
It would be good to hit the ball more, I guess.
There was nothing negative to take from the Hawks’ approach on Thursday night as they’ve struggled to hit Elon all season. The only major missed opportunity came in the sixth inning after Matt Suggs’ leadoff double, when the next three batters struck out swinging in a 1-0 game.
That’ll probably be a bunting situation on Friday night, regardless of who’s at the plate.
Naturally, noted postseason aficionado Cole Weiss was the only UNCW batter to get two hits, while Suggs, Noah Bridges and Kip Brandenburg accounted for the other three.
Facing another righthander, expect Brooks Baldwin (0-4 on Thursday) to make an impact. It also feels like a great matchup for Trevor Marsh, who had an unusual 0-3 night amid his May rampage.
Enjoy the Moment
A huge game at a packed Brooks Field on a beautiful Friday night was something that was literally a dream a few months back on media day.
After the long road from March 2020 until tonight, we’ve all endured so much. No one more than the teams on the field, who were forced to alter their routines, endure weekly testing, change their travel arrangements and essentially abandon their social lives just to keep playing.
Finally, we can pack the bleachers once again and share a moment with a stranger whose life might not look anything like our own, but for that one big hit, all that matters is that we’re yelling our heads off for the same team.
There’s no feeling like a crowded stadium for a big game — the anxiety, the optimism and sometimes, even the pessimism, just waiting to erupt in euphoria.