The UNC Wilmington baseball team is one week away from opening conference play in Virginia against James Madison University. Across the country, college baseball teams are looking to solidify their lineups and pitching rotations in order to contend for a conference championship.

The Seahawks came into the season as the defending CAA champions and favorites to repeat based on their deep pitching staff and senior-laden lineup. As the most crucial segment of the college baseball season approaches, two freshmen outfielders, Casey Golden and Robbie Thorburn, are leading the UNCW offensive charge thus far this season.

“This definitely wasn’t an expectation for me,” Golden said. “Coming into a team with so many seniors, you just want to make an impact when you are given the chance.”

Both players played high school baseball in North Carolina and were highly recruited prospects. Despite recruitment from schools such as Eastern Carolina and the University of North Carolina, Golden and Thorburn decided to play college baseball here in Wilmington.

“The big schools are less personal I think,” Thorburn said. “They recruit in huge numbers and they weed out whoever doesn’t perform and here you feel like you are part of something. You are a key component in what they’re trying to do. You’re wanted here.”

Golden and Thorburn made their first two starts for the Seahawks together against the Ohio Bobcats back in February. In those two games, the freshmen combined to go 8-18 with four runs and six RBIs. Since then, the two have started every game for UNCW, batting leadoff and second and acting as the young catalysts for a conference favorite.

“Their athleticism and their aggressiveness and their desire to play hard every day has made them successful,” head coach Mark Scalf said. “Their willing to give that effort on both sides of the baseball. They have played very consistently defensively.”

Coming into this weekend’s series against West Virginia, Thorburn is hitting .299 and Golden is hitting .288. Those numbers rank them third and fourth in batting average for the Seahawks this season. On the opposite side of the ball, both players have yet to commit an error defensively and are leading the team in fielding percentage.

Serving as the team’s first two hitters, the freshmen must constantly work together at the top of the batting order. Golden says that as the leadoff hitter, his priority is getting on base every inning, which in turn allows Thorburn to execute his duties batting second in the lineup.

“My job is always to move Casey over,” Thorburn said. “If he’s on first I have to find a way to get him to second. If he’s on second then I have an opportunity to either get him even closer or drive him in.”

Despite their success this season, both Golden and Thorburn believe that there are many adjustments from high school to the college game. Specifically, the two have had to adjust to collegiate pitchers who can throw more than two types of pitches, the change-up in particular. From a mental aspect, Golden and Thorburn are learning how to bounce back from failures and not let poor at bats carry on throughout the rest of that game and the season.

Scalf believes that if the two freshmen can work on these very adjustments, their individual potential at UNCW is through the roof. However, for Casey and Robbie, they are more focused on helping this Seahawk team win games in the present and the future.

What has been their favorite moment this far into their young careers?

“Definitely when (Josh) Abshire got the walk off single against Indiana State,” Golden said. “I’ve never been a part of a walk off like that. To run out there and congratulate him on just a huge team win, it was something very special.”