The UNC Wilmington baseball team came into the 2015 season with high expectations due of an experienced group of players who could looked to build off its success from last season.

The Seahawks (15-6, 3-0) are now 21 games into the season, and the optimism still remains.

However, a freshmen class filled with relievers is quietly becoming the biggest strength of this year’s team.

“We felt like coming into the season our bullpen was going to be a strength of ours,” UNCW head coach Mark Scalf said. “It was just a matter of us trying to determine exact roles for everybody.”

Austin Magestro, Whitman Barnes, and Josh Roberson are three freshmen who are excelling on the mound thus far in 2015. The three have a combined record of 7-2 to compliment a 3.31 ERA.

Barnes has especially come on as of late. He picked up the win in UNCW’s CAA-opening game against Northeastern, and the freshman hasn’t allowed a run in his last 14 innings pitched.

Of course, the Seahawks also have a veteran reliever in the back of the bullpen. Senior Jordan Ramsey is thriving in his new role as the closer.

Ramsey already has five saves and 26 strikeouts in just 15.1 innings pitched. He’s also upped his velocity, touching 95 mph during UNCW’s win against Northeastern on Saturday.

At the plate, the Seahawks are hitting a scorching .385 on the year. Preseason All-CAA first baseman Corey Dick recently went down with an upper body injury, and his timetable to return is unknown.

Despite the injury, Scalf believes this team can still thrive without the heralded slugger.

“These guys have been pretty good about picking each other up throughout the beginning of the year,” Scalf said. “You know somewhere along the way you’re going to lose a guy… and someone else has to be prepared to pick him up.”

The top of the order could provide enough of a spark to maintain UNCW’s hot start with Dick sidelined.

Steven Linkous and Zach Shields, who usually hit 1-2 in the lineup, are hitting a combined .333 at the top of the order to go along with 15 steals. Their speed on the base paths consistently poses a threat for UNCW.

“It (speed) changes the game,” Scalf said. “It always helps too when they execute. You talk about pushing the right buttons, it’s all about whether they execute.”

When Shields and Linkous do reach base, Gavin Stupienski is becoming a reliable batter in the middle of the lineup. He is tied for the CAA-lead with five home runs, and he also leads the Seahawks with 24 RBI’s.

The only reason for concern at this point in the season is UNCW’s starting pitching. The weekend rotation filled with juniors has yet to have an appearance last longer than six innings.

If the weekend starters can begin to turn the corner as the Seahawks get deeper into conference play, UNCW becomes an even more serious threat to win a conference championship.