Seahawks continue homestand with heavy-hitting Catamounts

UNCW (3-0) vs. Western Carolina (4-0)

Friday, 1:30 p.m. (Flo) | Saturday, 2 p.m. (Flo) | Sunday, 1 p.m. (SDN)

A perfect 48-0 season is still within reach for the Seahawks as they begin a three-game series with the Catamounts on Friday afternoon, continuing a 14-game homestand.

OK, maybe an undefeated season is a little much, but how could you not be feeling good these days? A few sun-splashed, 70-degree North Carolina afternoons really work wonders after months stuck indoors reading mostly bad news.

Add the return of (a limited amount) fans at Brooks Field and an opening weekend sweep, and there’s plenty of reason for optimism in Wilmington.

Those among the 500 in the stands this weekend should get their money’s worth in a series matching a dominant UNCW pitching staff with a WCU club that piled up 47 runs last weekend against Towson, which was chosen to finish last in CAA’s North Division.

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Here’s what to watch for this weekend:

Meet the Catamounts

Despite the weather challenges that exist in Cullowhee, WCU has generally been competitive in the SoCon under 14th-year coach Bobby Moranda (351-334, 174-146 SoCon), twice taking the regular-season crown and once winning the tournament.

Picked fifth by league coaches in the preseason poll, the Catamounts had three first-team All-SoCon picks in OF Justice Bigbie, C Luke Robinson and pitcher Zach Franklin.

Bigbie lived up to the billing in the opening weekend, hitting .471 with three homers, a double and eight RBI. Robinson was productive at the plate, too, hitting .333 with two doubles and nine RBI while Franklin struck out five of the six batters he faced in two innings of work.

In all, WCU blasted 10 homers while 12 players had hits and nine collected at least two RBI.

That’s a heck of a weekend, no matter the opponent.

The third starter is…

This time around, it’ll be the 6-5, 240-pound Ryan Calvert, who gets the ball after fellow freshman Ethan Chenault started the final game of the VCU series.

Calvert, a two-way player who also ranked No. 20 among first basemen in the Class of 2020 according to Perfect Game, is a hard-throwing righthander that topped out with fastball in the low-90’s. Baseball America chose him as the CAA’s Freshman of the Year.

Named the 2019 Maryland Player of the Year by Prep Baseball Report, Calvert wrapped up his career at La Plata High School as its leader in hits, doubles, RBI, and pitching strikeouts.

Last weekend, Chenault’s fastball was in the low-90’s, but the freshman struggled with control in his collegiate debut, allowing three hits and three runs with three walks in 2 1/3 innings.

The next few weeks should allow both talented youngsters to settle in and make their cases to earn the third starting spot.

Calling for Backup

Regardless of who starts on the mound, the Seahawks are feeling pretty good about whoever follows them after a shutdown performance in the opening series.

In all, seven relievers combined for a 1.28 ERA over 14 innings, allowing seven hits and four walks while striking out 14 — good enough for a WHIP of .79. VCU batters hit just .152 against the bullpen, with only one extra-base hit.

Adam Smith has the most consistent, established body of work, while Breydan Gorham has carved out his role as a veteran who can be trusted for several innings.

Beyond those two, UNCW has the very good problem of how to fit the bullpen together by the start of CAA play, with both Cody and Cole Benton pitching well last weekend, as did transfer Bryce Cota. Jason Hudak gave up a couple of runs, but showed some poise while getting himself out of a jam.

Add in Gage Herring and others who didn’t appear last weekend, and there’s still a lot to learn about how good this group can be and who ends up in what role.

Three(ish) True Outcomes

It’s pretty clearly just the statistical anomaly of an opening weekend and has less to do with approach or defensive shifts, but UNCW’s opening weekend offense looked a little like the modern game is trending with 20 walks and 18 strikeouts, but just one home run in 97 at-bats.

In a bit of irony, the Seahawks rallied to win the season-opener with a walk-off walk in a game that saw them strike out 15 times.

That was obviously a point of emphasis afterward as UNCW rebounded on Sunday to strike out a combined 18 times in the doubleheader while walking 12 times.

Power won’t be a hallmark of this team, but it certainly exists on the roster with the likes of Kip Brandenburg, Ron Evans and Cole Weiss.

Against an opponent that can obviously put up runs in bunches, the Seahawks will need a few big swings this weekend while maintaining the good trends on walks and strikeouts.

Noah Watch

There are three Noahs on the UNCW roster — Noah Bridges, Noah Liles and Noah Overton — but none appeared during the opening weekend.

Given the Seahawks reliance on manufacturing runs with speed and contact this season, it would help to get Bridges (.260, 22 doubles, 60 RBI, 39 steals) back and in a groove sooner than later.

It’s mathematically unlikely for the Seahawks to go six straight games without a Noah seeing the field.