UNCW Baseball Slams Western Carolina 15-2 in 2016 Season Opener

By Ethan Marsh, Reporter

Wilmington, NC - The UNCW Seahawks baseball team’s Friday afternoon game served as their season opener for the 2016 season that has anticipation for greatness. The Seahawk baseball team over exceeded the expectations by slamming Western Carolina out of the ball park 15-2. The UNCW Seahawks baseball team had a successful season in the 2015 campaign by winning the CAA tournament for the 4th time and reaching the NCAA tournament for the 7th time in their history. For the 2016 campaign, the baseball team at UNCW has been predicted to do well. The Seahawks started right away at living up to those expectations by validating those predictions on Friday.

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The Seahawks came ready to play as the team was saying “Let’s go, baby!” in the dugout before the matchup commenced. There was a good amount of UNCW students
cheering for the team. The group showcased a representation of enthusiasm through shouting “Let’s go, Seahawks!” The leaders were so enthusiastic to the point that they shouted to the entire bleacher of students to keep giving screams of encouragement. One of the leaders took off his shirt despite the cold conditions to incite enthusiasm and encouragement. The group also made their presence known by screeching the sounds of a Seahawk. The students were cheering on the team when the Seahawks were making no runs and when they were making several runs - in the good and in the bad.

This matchup was taken care of in the 5th inning. The Seahawks scored a total of 10 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning after striking out three Western Carolina players in a row during the top half. This was after Western Carolina dominated in the 4th inning. The Seahawks flexed their muscle and showed the power that is instilled in them by making the key play of hitting the ball right inside the line to increase the amount of runs from 3 to 7 in a short period.

Senior Steven Linkous made the first hit of the game and the first run of the game. Sophomore Nick Feight made the lone home run of the matchup in the bottom of the 5th inning to add on two more runs and increase the impressive amount of runs to 10. There were 3 foul balls that would have been home runs if it had been in the field lines earlier in the game. The 10 runs wrapped the win in the bag as it increased the lead to 11-2 as the 30-minute 5th inning came to an end. The Seahawks went on to score 4 more runs in the bottom of the 6th to make the final score 15-2.

This win marked Head Coach of 25 years Mark Scalf’s 800th victory with the team and marked the Seahawks eighth straight season opener win. The Seahawks will continue The Buffalo Wild Wings Battle at the Beach Saturday, February 20th at 4pm versus St. John’s.