Coming off a sweep of CAA foe Old Dominion University, the UNC Wilmington baseball team was back in action Tuesday afternoon, looking to build on their recent success against East Carolina University. Then, they ran into ECU freshman pitcher Jeff Hoffman, who shut out the Seahawks in a 5-0 loss.

Hoffman shut down the Seahawk hitters, throwing 6 1/3 innings while allowing only five hits, walking two and striking out seven. It was a completely different story for UNCW starter Travis Bradley. Bradley only lasted 2 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks before being pulled for relief pitcher Jack Lane.

The lone bright spot for UNCW was relief pitcher Ricky Holden, who threw 4 1/3 innings of no-run ball, while only allowing three hits. The loss dropped the Seahawks to 15-13 on the season, while the win helped ECU improve to 20-8.

Offensively, it just wasn’t the Seahawks’ day. They managed only seven hits, while leaving 10 men on base. When asked about what the Seahawks will have to do better next game, skipper Mark Scalf seemed confident in his team’s abilities to put runs on the board. “Tonight, I don’t think we were as aggressive as we have been early in the count, but we had some good at bats,” Scalf said.

UNCW faces its toughest test of the year this weekend, traveling down to Ft. Worth to face national powerhouse Texas Christian University. Scalf was confident the Seahawks can compete with the Horned Frogs. “We’re going to play our game, and we can’t let the atmosphere or the name on their jersey change the way we play our game,” he said.

The Seahawks head down to TCU for a weekend series starting Thursday.