Baseball (20-11, 1-3 in Week 8) 

The UNC Wilmington baseball team endured a tough week, but luckily it was outside of CAA play. UNCW’s week off from CAA play came at the right time, as the Seahawks could not get their bats going. On Wednesday night, the Seahawks dropped a 6-4 contest in Greenville to No. 12 East Carolina. The Seahawks carried their untimely hitting into their weekend set with Wofford, as they got swept in a doubleheader on Friday. Junior infielder Jackson Meadows redeemed the weekend for the Seahawks on Sunday afternoon, ripping a walk-off single in the series finale for a 5-4 win.  

Pitcher of the Week: Austin Warren 

In a week where the UNCW starters pitched a mere 15.1 innings over four starts, Warren led the way out of the bullpen in three strong outings. He pitched a combined 4.2 innings over his three appearances in which he allowed no runs on two hits and tallied four strikeouts. Warren’s impressive week saw his ERA drop to 1.33. He now matches Clark Cota for most appearances on the team with 14.  

Player of the Week: Mason Berne 

The Seahawk first baseman continued to be the most consistent hitter for UNCW, although it wasn’t the most productive. Berne was only 4-for-14 on the week (.286), but his consistency continued to shine for the Seahawks. Berne improved his team-leading on-base streak to 25 games, dating back to a victory over Appalachian State on Feb. 25. Berne also improved his team-leading hitting streak to 12 games. He leads all CAA hitters in batting average (.372) and RBIs (33). 

Freshman of the Week: Brycen Braswell 

UNCW head coach Mark Scalf found another gem in the outfield this week in freshman Brycen Braswell. The freshman started and played in his first game Wednesday night at ECU. Braswell started off his collegiate career with a 2-for-3 night against the Pirates while adding a walk and a run scored on his stat line. Braswell finished the week going 1-for-9 in his last three games, but he added two more walks, two more runs scored and a stolen base to keep things moving for the Seahawks. 

What’s to come: 

On Wednesday night, the Seahawks welcome No. 4 NC State to Brooks Field for a midweek contest. Following their bout with the Wolfpack, UNCW will head north to Delaware for a three-game weekend series with the Blue Hens.  

Around the CAA: 

College of Charleston and Northeastern both enjoyed sweeps this weekend over James Madison and Elon, respectively. Northeastern now sits atop the CAA standings at 5-1 with College of Charleston close behind at 7-2. Northeastern has also gained national recognition from D1Baseball, listing the Huskies at #13 in their national RPI rankings. D1Baseball also released their first NCAA Tournament bracket projections, in which two CAA teams were included. They penciled in Charleston as the CAA automatic qualifier and Northeastern as an at-large bid, with both being 3-seeds in separate regionals. 

Softball (12-21, 2-2 in week 8) 

The UNC-Wilmington softball team turned in an impressive week, albeit with a .500 record. Knocking off an ACC school will always complete a week at UNCW, especially when it comes to bigger in-state school North Carolina. The Seahawks needed to win their CAA series over the weekend, but a dramatic, come-from-behind victory in the last game of the series put a bow on a week the Seahawks will look to build momentum from. 

Pitcher of the Week: Rylee Pate 

On the national stage against a “Power Five” conference opponent, the sophomore pitcher stepped up for the Seahawks. At home against UNC-Chapel Hill, Pate shutout the Tar Heels en route to a 3-0 Seahawk victory. Pate allowed seven hits and issued three walks, but she got the key groundball outs when she needed them most to keep the Tar Heels off the board. Pate’s seven-inning complete-game shutout was the first of her career. 

Player of the Week: Lacey Fox 

Fox continued to pace the Seahawk offense with another big week at the plate. The versatile junior went a combined 4-for-12 on the week, including a double and a two-run homer. As part of her four RBIs on the week, Fox clobbered a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth against the Tar Heels to break a scoreless deadlock in UNCW’s statement victory. 

Freshman of the Week: Hunter Bizzell 

After a slow start to her collegiate career, Bizzell made the most of her opportunities in Week 8 for the Seahawks. In UNCW’s doubleheader on Sunday, Bizzell started the day off 0-for-3 in their loss to Elon. However, in game two, she turned in a 3-for-3 outing at the plate while also scoring a run. Bizzell finished the week with a .500 batting average and increased her season average from .154 to .219. 

What’s to come: 

The Seahawks complete their eight-game homestead on Tuesday when they take on Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m. UNCW then heads north to Philadelphia to take on Drexel in a three-game weekend series. 

Around the CAA: 

The Hofstra Pride continued their dominance over the CAA with a sweep over College of Charleston. The sweep keeps the Pride on top of the CAA standings at 9-0. James Madison kept pace just behind Hofstra with a sweep over Delaware, to keep them alone in second place at 8-1.