Seahawks Stumble in Charleston
UNCW falls to 2-4 in conference play
From the days of Jackie Robinson and Ted Williams, baseball has served to inspired the greatest American writers to craft some of finest prose this world has ever seen, with the likes of Grantland Rice and Shirley Povich painting scenes that should live on far beyond the years they can survive on a sports page.
Sometimes, sportswriting requires a less-than-poetic approach.
This is one of those times.
Quite simply, that sucked.
(Apologies, but you get what you pay for!)
That was the prevailing feeling after UNCW suffered an especially-stinging 10-9 loss on Sunday as Charleston overcame an impressive rally to win the series, as mistakes and missed opportunities doomed the Seahawks for a second straight weekend.
Box Scores: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
The loss — the fifth in the past seven games — dropped UNCW to 13-8 overall and 2-4 in the CAA, two games behind the Cougars (7-11), who lead the South division at 4-2.
Here’s what we learned at Patriots Point.
Given, Not Earned
Defense had been a strength for the Seahawks through the nonconference schedule, heading into CAA play on a four-game errorless streak.
Since Taber Mongero’s throwing error in ninth inning of the first game at William & Mary, it’s been a struggle, with UNCW committing a total of seven errors over six conference games — a contrast from the 11 errors totaled over 15 nonconference games.
Seemingly, every one of them has led to catastrophe, with unearned runs accounting for 15 of the 35 the Seahawks have allowed.
Cole Weiss was charged with his first error in 61 chances this season on Sunday when the ball got under his glove with two outs in the bottom of the ninth as the winning run came home for the Cougars.
That’s just no good, rotten luck for a guy who has been excellent this season.
Adding on to the errors have been the other freebies, with 21 walks and four hit batters leading to eight runs. Another 11 wild pitches and three passed balls have contributed to six runs for the opposition.
The reason? There’s never a clear explanation for mistakes, but UNCW playing clean baseball against East Carolina and N.C. State seem to point toward it not being the pressure of big games.
Left Hanging
It’s tough to point to any offensive issues when you put up 23 runs over a three-game stretch, but the Seahawks left quite a few out there.
22 to be exact.
UNCW actually had an excellent offensive weekend by every measure, hitting .333 with five doubles, two triples and four homers. Situationally, the Seahawks put up numbers good enough to win, too, going 11 for 27 (.407) with runners in scoring position.
The problem was getting into scoring position, as the Seahawks had 18 batters reach first base without advancing any further.
UNCW had two runners attempt to steal second on Friday night, but both were gunned down. Overall, the Seahawks are 4 for 8 on stolen base attempts in CAA play, while opponents have swiped 8 of 11 attempts.
Rally Time
How about something positive?
After struggling to put together a big inning vs. William & Mary and State, the Seahawks managed five inning of three or more runs, including a four-run seventh to = give themselves a chance on Saturday and a four-run outburst on Sunday to tie the game.
Included in that rally was a double for reserve Kevin Pitarra and full-count walks for Kip Brandenburg and Noah Bridges.
Add a five-run second inning on Sunday, and that’s proof of just how explosive the offense can be when it gets rolling.
Working the Count
A major factor in the ninth-inning was the ability to draw those two walks — something that has been a major indicator of UNCW’s performance.
In victories, the Seahawks are getting 4.8 free passes per game while taking just 2.3 walks in losses.
Getting on via walk has been especially challenging in CAA play, with the Seahawks drawing just 2.2 per game (5.2 percent) which points to something else that could be keeping the offense from maximizing its potential.
In all, UNCW has sent 240 batters to the plate in the six games, with pitchers throwing them a total of 848 pitches.
On the flip side, UNCW pitchers have thrown 906 pitches to 229 batters.
We’re dealing with tiny numbers here — opposing batters see 3.95 pitches per plate appearance, while Seahawk hitters are getting 3.53 per trip up.
In all, it’s about 10 pitches per game, but what would it mean for the heart of UNCW’s order to see another 10 pitches? Is 10 pitches the difference between a starter finishing an inning? How about 10 extra pitches from an already-taxed bullpen in a Sunday game?
Gone Streaking
Brandenburg’s 22-game hit streak came to an end on Sunday when he took the ninth-inning walk rather than chasing the school record.
His total is the fourth-longest streak in UNCW history, tied with Mark Maultsby’s 22-game streak in 1986.
Jason Roach had a 23-game streak in 1997 while Michael Bass (2013) and Magnus Pilegard (2001) share the all-time mark at 26 games.
Brandenburg had four hits and an RBI in the series, also drawing three walks.
Weiss now leads the Seahawks with a four-game hit streak.
Some Perspective
There’s a reason an audience exists for regular coverage of a mid-major baseball program, and there’s plenty of reasons we’re invested in its success. We’ve been incredibly lucky, especially in the recent stretch of watching UNCW make it to six of the past eight NCAA tournaments.
Fans are used to seeing this program win games, have fun and stage a few epic comebacks every season.
A big portion of players — some in key roles — aren’t used to anything at this level, as the roster features 23 freshmen who are either brand-new to college baseball or experienced the 12-game season in 2020.
COVID protocols have made this anything but normal, from offseason work through roadtrips and fans in the stands.
It was incredible to watch this group come out of the gate playing great baseball, but inevitably, there are adjustments and adjustments to adjustments to be made.
This is surely a rough stretch, but this team has already shown what it’s capable of, and there’s more than enough talent to get back on track.
Up Next
The Seahawks finally get a CAA series at home, playing host to Elon starting Friday at 6 p.m.
The Phoenix (6-10) have yet to play a league series, twice cancelling matchups with James Madison due to COVID-19 protocols.
UNCW and Elon have a couple of common opponents, as the Phoenix won two of three vs. VCU and split a two-game set with ECU this past weekend.
Elon is 1-5 vs. UNC Greensboro this season, 2-1 vs. N.C. A&T and has losses to North Carolina and Wake Forest.
The Phoenix was picked to finish third in the South Division in the CAA’s preseason poll.
With COVID-19 restrictions eased yet again on March 23, stadiums are now allowed up to 50 percent capacity. Any available tickets will go on sale Wednesday at 2 p.m.