All images by Brandon Sans/The Seahawk Sports Staff

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UNC Wilmington entered this weekend a game below a .500 record. Not only did it leave the weekend above .500 for the first time since March 25, but the Seahawks are now tied atop the Colonial Athletic Association standings after a weekend sweep of Northeastern (22-22, 11-7 CAA).

UNCW (24-22, 12-6) honored eight seniors in a pre-game ceremony before completing the sweep with a 7-3 win marked by another offensive onslaught in the early innings.

Things kept going in Casey Golden’s favor when his strikeout to end the second inning was canceled by a balk on Northeastern pitcher Brian Christian which scored left fielder Daniel Stack. Golden also homered for the third straight game in the sixth inning.

“(Logan) Beehler set the pace for us early,” said Golden of UNCW’s starting pitcher on Sunday. “That makes us a lot more confident and helps us continue our approach for the game.”

Beehler completed a strong third act to the weekend following Alex Royalty and Zarion Sharpe, throwing 7.1 solid innings of his own on the day. All three weekend starters pitched into the seventh inning for the first time this year.

“We’ll stay with (Royalty, Sharpe, and Beehler) next week,” said UNCW coach Mark Scalf. “They’ll be on regular rest with the short week (with the CAA tournament) after.”

Third baseman Terrance Connelly saved his first home run of the year for his final home appearance with a two-run shot to center field in the fourth inning. It was Connelly’s first home run since the 2015 season.

“The guys in front of me put good at-bats together,” said Connelly. “When that happens the pitchers are bound to make a mistake.”

Sunday’s game marked the last regular season home game for the Seahawks. It will conclude the regular season with a nine-game road trip that includes six CAA games before returning to Brooks Field to host the CAA Tournament on May 24-27.

Though it was the scenario many foresaw prior to the start of the year, the road to being tied atop the CAA standings with William & Mary was anything but expected.

Regardless, UNCW is right where it wants to be.

“That is the point we were working to get to. We dug ourselves a hole early,” said Scalf. “Players knew if we stayed with it and guys worked and made adjustments, we could put ourselves back in the mix.

Stat of the Day: Northeastern entered the weekend in first place in the CAA, but it was UNCW that never trailed. Aside from the ties in the ninth to eleventh innings on Friday, UNCW led at every point this weekend.

Quote of the Day: “Beginning of the season is over with. We try to learn from it, but don’t really dwell on it. Just keep moving forward, playing Seahawk baseball, and winning baseball games.” – Casey Golden, on how UNCW has responded to adversity this season