The record-setting crowd of 3,826 had all already filed in before first pitch.

Fans were out in full force on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon to watch the UNC Wilmington baseball team lose to top-ranked University of Virginia, 7-2, in the final game of the annual Hughes Brother Challenge. 

On the mound, both teams elected to test their younger pitchers. Evan Phillips, a sophomore, started for the Seahawks, while Josh Sborz, also a sophomore, got the nod for UVA.

Phillips and the Seahawks ran into trouble in the first inning, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. Phillips struggled with control all day, throwing 3 wild pitches and hitting 2 batters in 3.2 innings pitched. After the game, Phillips was pleased with the learning experience this game had offered him.

“[Control issues] are something I’ll work on in-between starts,” Phillips said. “There’s always stuff I need to build off of. Today was good; it was better than it has been. But there’s still a lot of work I have to do.”

UNCW manager Mark Scalf echoed Phillips’ sentiments, noting his ability to pitch out of tough situations.

“UVA jumped on us real early in the ballgame with 3 hits in the first,” said Scalf. “[Phillips] did a reasonable job trying to pitch out of damage and trouble for 3 innings. Unfortunately he was behind in the count probably a little too often; he needed strike one more often. He’ll continue to get better and learn from today.”

At the plate, UNCW was hitless for the first 6.1 innings until pinch hitter Dylan Bass came through with a line drive back up the middle. Sborz was masterful all day, pitching 6 innings of no-hit baseball while striking out four and walking three. He effectively mixed his pitches and had excellent control of his off-speed stuff. It was an effort that would leave any baseball fan impressed.

“Sborz was very good,” Scalf said. “His fastball had some life and movement. He probably had better command of his breaking ball than his fastball, and he threw it in every situation. I thought he was very good tonight.”

The Seahawks finally got on the scoreboard in the eighth when Joe Bertone, pinch hitting for Christian Wolfe, snuck an 0-2 curveball over the right field fence for a 2-run home run. The shot cut the score to 7-2, and was the first of Bertone’s career.

“Once I got it, I knew it was gone,” Bertone said after the game. “I thought he was going to throw something soft at me because it was an 0-2 count. I was really just trying to fight it off, but I got a good piece of it. It was a good experience. It was real cool doing it at home in front of all these fans.”

A scary moment took place in the bottom of the third inning. After trying to beat out a throw at first, starting left fielder Luke Dunlap rolled his ankle awkwardly on the bag and immediately fell to the ground. After spending a few minutes getting looked at by the trainers, Dunlap was helped off the field and didn’t put any weight on his ankle. The injury came just one inning after starting catcher Josh Abshire left the game following a collision at the plate.

Scalf touched on the topic after the game, mentioning that while they still weren’t sure about the severity of the injuries, they were confident that this upcoming week off would give both players plenty of time to rest and recover.

It wasn’t all bad news for the Seahawks, though. Coaches got to get a good look at several of UNCW’s reserves, many of which got multiple at-bats and a few innings in the field.

“We were able to get some different guys on the mound to get some work in and see how they’re going to react,” Scalf said. “For the most part, Ryan Foster threw strikes, but I thought Nick Monroe was the best guy we had going tonight, the way he attacked hitters with a fastball change up mix.”

The Seahawks finished the opening weekend tournament with a record of 1-2. UNCW dropped 2 straight after beating Virginia Military Institute 5-3 on Friday night, losing 10-4 to Kentucky on Saturday before getting beat by UVA on Sunday. Despite the underwhelming results, the players and coaches insisted that this weekend was an overall positive experience for the team.

“This weekend just showed us that we have a lot of work to do,” catcher Drew Farber said. “I do think we accomplished a lot just by seeing who we have, who we have on the bench, and what kind of arms we have in the bullpen. I think we saw a lot of good things that I think we can build on too. I think it’s going to be a good team.”

As for the record crowd in attendance to watch the Sunday matinee, both the players and coaches expressed gratitude and excitement for all the support shown over the weekend.

“[The crowd] was phenomenal; I know our players and UVA appreciated it,” Scalf said. “I’d liked to thank all the people who came out to see these guys play this weekend. The folks that did come out got to see some very good college baseball players and some very good college baseball. Hopefully they’ll find a way back here and continue to follow this group because we’re going to get better. We’ll improve, and we’ll be where we want to be in the back end.”

UNCW next plays on Friday, Feb. 21, when they take on Liberty College in the first game of the Buffalo Wild Wings Battle at the Beach Tournament. The tournament takes place at Brooks Field and includes UNCW, Liberty and Ohio.