UNC Wilmington’s men’s baseball team opened up CAA play over the weekend, sweeping the Elon Phoenix in two games. The Seahawks (15-6, 2-0 CAA) beat Elon (9-16, 1-4 CAA) by scores of 10-4 and 12-3 on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Sunday’s finale was cancelled due to rain.

After sweeping Iona and scoring a 6-4 upset victory at home over North Carolina State University last week, UNCW’s high-octane offense came into its opening conference series tied-12 in the nation in total runs scored (174 in 19 games). The Seahawks have now reached double-digit runs in 12 of 21 games and are averaging 9.3 runs per game, a statistic that has them among the nation’s best offensively.

“I think Coach [Randy] Hood and Coach [Robbie] Monday and the players have worked hard to create a consistent approach and consistent stroke for each one,” said head coach Mark Scalf after Saturday’s game. “In the game of baseball it comes and goes a little bit. The plus with this group that we have is that they’re not afraid to work.”

Ryan Foster earned the win for Wilmington on Friday. The Seahawks’ ace improved his ERA to 1.50 on the year, throwing seven innings and collecting three strikeouts. His two earned runs given up both came in the third inning.

UNCW started off quickly as senior catcher Gavin Stupienski launched a homerun in his first at-bat of the night in the bottom of the first inning. He was followed by sophomore Zack Canada in the next inning, who hit a two-run shot on the first pitch thrown his way.

In the third, the Seahawks scored four more runs off of just one hit. Casey Golden was walked with no outs and the bases loaded, while Daniel Stack followed with a single up the middle to add two on the board. Golden rounded out the inning by scoring on a fielder’s choice groundball.

The following day, despite having rain in the forecast and the air temperature dropping constantly throughout the game, Wilmington again put on a clinic against the Phoenix.

Alex Royalty started on the mound for the Seahawks. Things got off to a rocky start for him as the first batter of the day reached first on an E6. The very next batter sent a ball out of Brooks Field for the fans to enjoy, giving Elon a quick 2-0 lead.

Royalty would settle in afterward. The freshman right-hander would not allow another run in the rest of his six innings of work; he only surrendered three hits on the day.

“I used off-speed [pitches] more in this game than I ever have, I believe,” said Royalty. “I figured it worked. It kept them off balance and allowed my fastball to sneak up on them as well.”

It would take a bit longer for Wilmington to get back in the game on offense. A sacrifice fly from Canada (3-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI on the weekend) got the first run on the board, followed by Nick Feight (3-8, 2B, 3 RBI) who doubled down the left field line in the third inning to score two more.

Stupienski (4-9, 2 HR, 5 RBI) was productive once again following a slight dip in performance in previous weeks. The veteran catcher hit from the designated hitter spot on Saturday, letting Feight take over.

“A big thing with me has been my rhythm and timing and trying to get that right,” said Stupienski. “I kind of fell off there for a little bit, but I think I’m feeling more comfortable as the games go on, which is good. Hopefully I’m better than I was before.”

The Seahawks are set to take on East Carolina University in Greenville on Tuesday, April 5 in a one-game series. The road trip will continue when they head up north to face Northeastern University and resume CAA play.