I really thought we would have a better showing than this, but I still think we are going to have a strong season.

(02-25-2020 06:17 PM)SEA33HAWK Wrote:  I really thought we would have a better showing than this, but I still think we are going to have a strong season.

Completely agreed.

State definitely looks like a team that will be hosting a Regional. So now we see what level we need to get to.

NC State picks up their 12th hit of the day. They're 12-28 on the day.

9-0 in the bottom of the 7th.

Elon is battling back against # 19 ECU. It's now 3-2 Pirates in the 8th.

10-0 State. Ugh.

FINAL: Virginia 8, W&M 5.

So much for Elon coming back on ECU. The Pirates extend their lead to 7-2 in the 8th.

11-0 final.

Next up, we hit the road for Lexington, KY to take on Kentucky for a 3-game series this weekend.

Yikes, the Wolfpeckers took us straight to the woodshed

Next up, the Kentucky Wildcats. They have a game today against Eastern Kentucky at 1 PM.

UNCW CURRENT RECORD: 6-3

SCHEDULE: Friday-4 PM; Saturday-1 PM; Sunday-1 PM
VIDEO: https://www.espn.com/watch?id=82f7bf48-4...c2b10a0e49
LISTEN: ESPN Radio AM 630
LIVE STATS: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/stat...1&gid=ncwi


Kentucky Wildcats
2020 Record: 5-3
2020 Preseason SEC Poll: 7th (last) in Eastern Division

After getting swept on opening weekend @ TCU, where the Wildcats were outscored 22-7, UK has won 5 straight. Most recently they defeated Tennessee Tech last night (Tuesday), 13-3, and have another midweek contest today (Wednesday) against EKU.

The Wildcats were picked to finish last in the Eastern Division by the SEC coaches, with only Western Division Alabama receiving less points in the 2020 SEC Poll. As a program, Kentucky has had some success this decade, reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2012, 2014, and 2017, including a Super Regional berth in '17. Playing in the tough SEC, easily the best baseball conference in the nation, has made it difficult to replicate that success the last two seasons. In 2018 the Wildcats went 34-22 overall and 13-17 in SEC play, and in '19 they plummetted to the bottom of the standings, finishing 26-29 and just 7-23 in SEC play.

Kentucky had one player reach the Preseason All-SEC team, senior 1B T.J. Collett. Last season, Collett hit .259 with 10 HR, 40 RBI and slugged .494. So far in 2020 he's off to a slow start in the middle of UK's lineup, hitting .219 (7-32) with 1 HR and 3 RBI. Offensive standouts so far for Kentucky include sophomore DH Trae Harmon (.318, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1.353 OPS), sophomore 2B Austin Schultz (.406, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 4 SB, 1.240 OPS) and freshman 3B John Rhodes (.370, 7 RBI, .963 OPS).

The expected weekend rotation for the Wildcats, which they've utilized the first two weekends, will be junior RHP Jimmy Ramsey on Friday, junior LHP Mason Hazelwood on Saturday and finishing with sophomore LHP Dillon Marsh on Sunday. Through 2 starts, Ramsey is 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA and 1.65 WHIP, striking out 6 batters in 9.1 innings. He kept UK competitive against TCU on opening weekend, but simply didn't receive any run support. Hazelwood is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, striking out 9 over 8.0 innings. Finally, Marsh has struggled to the tune of an 0-1 record, 11.37 ERA and 1.97 WHIP with 4 K's in 6.1 innings.

Standouts out of the bullpen so far for Kentucky include a trio of sophomores: RHP Alex Degen (0-0, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.48 WHIP, 11 K's, 6.2 IP), RHP Hunter Rigsby (0-0, 1.35 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 9 K's, 6.2 IP) and LHP Cole Daniels (1-0, 1.93 ERA, 0.48 WHIP, 7 K's, 5.2 IP). In addition, redshirt freshman Will Gambino hasn't allowed a baserunner in 3.1 innings of work, picking up a Save and striking out 3.

We need to go at least 2-1 against this Kentucky team after getting absolutely spanked by the Wolfpack.

UK's game with EKU today has been cancelled due to rain. They will enter the weekend at 5-3.

In the only remaining CAA midweek action, Charleston's game against Coastal today has also been cancelled.

The CAA sits at 33-31 currently, # 3 in the very early Conference RPI rankings.

NCSU is tough early and fade late is the MO there-I would rather be the opposite of that myself. They come to Wilmington where hopefully the Seahawks can return the beatdown. Not sure how State gets all the recruits they land with the facilities there and the competition for players. Going to a game there is like getting a root canal.

Taking a look at the Seahawks who rank amongst the early national statistical leaders:

Landen Roupp

Wins: 2 (t-4th)
K/BB Ratio: 18.0 (t-9th)
Strikeouts: 18 (t-43rd)
K per 9 Innings: 13.5 (t-89th)
ERA: 0.75 (t-116th)


Ron Evans

HR: 3 (t-24th)
Slugging %: .840 (t-43rd)
Total Bases: 21 (t-55th)
Hit By Pitch: 3 (t-78th)


Adam Smith

Saves: 2 (t-19th)
Appearances: 4 (t-71st)


Zarion Sharpe

WHIP: 0.69 (t-101st)
K/BB Ratio: 7.0 (t-115th)


Noah Bridges

Stolen Bases: 7 (t-5th)


Kip Brandenburg

Triples: 2 (t-6th)


Matt Suggs

Walks: 9 (t-17th)


Team Stats

Stolen Bases: 15 (t-25th)
SB per Game: 1.67 (t-51st)
Walks: 43 (t-33rd)
HR: 6 (t-54th)
Strikeouts: 88 (t-25th)
K/BB Ratio: 3.52 (39th)
BB/9 Innings: 2.85 (35th)

CAA OOC series (3 games unless otherwise noted) schedule this weekend, while we'll be in Lexington:

* Towson (2-4) @ # 7 Miami (5-3)
* Charleston (5-1) vs. Xavier (2-5)
* Elon (6-2) vs. Indiana State (2-5)
* JMU (5-3) vs. Rider (5-2)
* Northeastern (3-3) vs. Villanova (3-3); Saint Louis (5-2); 2x vs. Eastern Michigan (1-6) in Snowbird Classic/Port Charlotte, FL
* W&M (3-5) vs. Wagner (2-5); West Virginia (5-3); Georgetown (2-6) in Central Virginia Challenge/Williamsburg, VA
* Delaware (2-4) vs. UMASS-Lowell (3-4)
* Hofstra (1-6) vs. Nevada (0-6); Wichita State (6-2) -- 2 games each in Nevada Tournament/Reno, NV

Game friday vs Kentucky has new start time 1:00 pm

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The weather in Lexington is going to be rough (cold) Friday and Saturday. Should moderate on Sunday.

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https://uncwsports.com/news/2020/2/27/ba...tucky.aspx

Baseball 2/27/2020 9:46:00 PM Tom Riordan

Baseball Preview: at Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. – UNCW continues its four-game road swing this weekend when the open a three-game series at Kentucky with a 1 p.m. start on Friday at Kentucky Proud Park.

The Seahawks (6-3) dropped their last outing at nationally-ranked NC State while the Wildcats (5-3) carry a five-game winning streak into the non-conference weekend series.

For the third straight weekend, the Seahawks will open the series with red-shirt junior Zarion Sharpe starting the series opener followed by junior Landen Roupp and senior Luke Gesell. All three games are 1 p.m. starts.

The programs last met in 2014 with the Wildcats, who have won both games in the brief series, topping the Seahawks, 10-4 at Brooks Field.

The series will be streamed on the SEC+ network and broadcast locally in Wilmington on ESPN AM 630 on Friday and Sunday with Saturday's game on The Breeze.

Kentucky will be throwing RHP Jimmy Ramsey (1-1, 2.89 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 6 K's, 9.1 IP) today and LHP Mason Hazelwood (1-0, 3.18 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 9 K's, 8.0 IP) tomorrow, mirroring their first two weekends.

Their Sunday starter is TBD. Not surprising giving the struggles of LHP Dillon Marsh (11.37 ERA) thru 2 starts. It might still be him but they might as well explore other options.

5-0 Hawks btm 6th