Catchers
http://www.uncwsports.com/news/2015/2/11...52228.aspx
Following three seasons with Drew Farber giving UNCW strong and steady efforts behind the plate, the Seahawks enter the season with a combined two games of collegiate experience between red-shirt sophomore Gavin Stupienski, red-shirt freshman Chris Gaffney and true-freshman Nick Feight.
While Stupienski may only have two games experience at catcher, he did play in 23 games last season and hit .257 with five runs batted in. He showcased his ability in the Coastal Plain League over the summer, finishing with a .342 batting average and tying for the league-lead with 66 hits and 42 runs batted in. He was second with 93 total bases for the Martinsville Mustangs.
Gaffney is a strong defensive player who showed signs of turning it around offensively during the fall and spring. Gaffney was an All-CHSAA selection and the league's Defensive Player-of-the-Year while learning the trade under the direction of long-time major leaguer John Habyan.
Feight was a first-team All-Virginia selection his junior and senior season. He concluded his career with a .448 batting average with 29 doubles and seven home runs.
Pitchers
http://www.uncwsports.com/news/2015/2/10...52218.aspx
Starting Pitchers
The Seahawks enter their first season since 2011 without two-time Colonial Athletic Association Pitcher-of-the-Year, Mat Batts, but do return three solid starters from last season.
Heading up the rotation is junior righthander Nick Monroe (1-4, 4.23 ERA), who will move into the Friday starting position after pitching in the middle and back end of the rotation as a sophomore. Monroe earned CAA Pitcher-of-the-Week honors, as well as several national player-of-the-week honors, following a near perfect game against NCAA participant Liberty. The righthander carried a perfect game into the ninth before allowing a one-out single. He then shut the game down with a double play one batter later.
Fellow junior Ryan Foster (2-3, 3.47) also flirted with a no-hitter when he held Big South Champion Campbell hitless for almost full eight innings. Foster helped bolster the staff and finished eighth in the league in earned run average. In the CAA tournament, he held Delaware to a run on five hits over seven innings for the win.
Evan Phillips, the third of three junior righthanders in the rotation, will round out the weekend rotation for the Seahawks. Phillips (2-4, 6.24) showed the ability to dominate as a sophomore as evidence of his seven innings of shutout baseball against Ohio and later in the season he fanned five in two innings of relief against North Carolina Central.
Sophomore righty Cory Gantz (3-1, 3.42) made two starts in 13 appearances in 2013 and will give the Seahawks another option on the mound as a starter. Gantz picked up wins in relief against Towson, College of Charleston and Campbell.
Bullpen
UNCW will have a stong bullpen again in 2015 with a combination of veterans and newcomers.
Junior lefthander Will Shepley is the lone returned in 2015 with a save to his credit. Shepley made 19 appearances, all in relief, and posted a 2-0 record. The southpaw limited opponents to a .223 batting average while striking out 19 in 26.1 innings.
Jared Gesell, another junior, made tremendous strides late in the 2014 season and last summer while pitching in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Gesell went 1-0 in 13 appearances and struck out 15 batters over that span.
Joining the bullpen following three seasons in the starting rotation is senior righthander Jordan Ramsey. As a junior Ramsey battled through several injuries to finish 2-4 in 12 appearances. Ramsey moved to the bullpen in the fall and show dominating ability. His last stint as a reliever came in 2012 when he pitched out of the bullpen for the Cotuit Kettleers (2-0, 3.93 ERA).
Newcomers will have an immediate impact on the staff both as starters and relievers. Possibilities include Justin Crump, Austin Easter, Josh Roberson, Clay Lockamon, Austin Magestro, Matt Maready, Whitman Barnes, Daniel Hamilton and Taylor Hyssong.