Confidence and unity: two words that sum up the feelings of the UNC Wilmington baseball team this season. From the coaching staff to returning players, this season has the highest hope than teams in recent years.

After returning multiple starters, practicing hard in the offseason and being picked to finish second in the CAA, the confidence level around the Seahawks is as high as ever. “We feel very comfortable with where we’re at right now,” senior relief pitcher Jack Lane said. “We have a really good group of guys this year with key players returning, who are keeping everyone on track.”

High expectations are nothing new to the team led by coach Mark Scalf. The Seahawks are currently the only team in the CAA who have been in the conference championship every season. James Madison, the defending CAA champions, were picked to finish first with five first-place votes while the Seahawks, Old Dominion and Georgia State all received two first-place votes. The Seahawks received the most second-place votes with 88.

“Our expectations typically don’t change,” Scalf said. “We expect to be in the top third of the league every year while we push to win the league every year. Expectations don’t change just because of the preseason poll. Our guys know what pressures are there.”

Senior outfielder Andrew Cain returns for his final season after being drafted in last season’s MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He has been selected as captain for the second consecutive season and said he is pleased with the team’s attitude about the season so far. “I think we’ve been able to come together as a team and really brought into the process,” Cain said. “The past few years we haven’t all been on the same page, but this year everyone has one objective: to get out there, get after it and win a championship.”

The unity this year’s team posesses has been noticeable to Scalf who believes that this will help them in close games and when the team faces adversity, especially on the road. The Seahawks will play more road games than last season, with two difficult traveling tests against top-ranked programs in Texas Christian University and Ole Miss University. Both of these programs usually finish in the top 25 in the nation.

Along with Cain, seniors Matt Campbell and Thomas Pope, and junior Hunter Ridge were selected as All-CAA with Pope being a first-team selection. Last season, Pope led the CAA in batting average, batting .396 and sporting an on-base average of .488.

By incorporating more sprint work and more focus on scoring runners from third base, Scalf hopes that the team will put more runs up this season along with relying heavily on their experienced bullpen to keep opposing runs down.

The Seahawks will open up this season, Feb. 17, hosting Ohio in a three-game series. After a tough non-conference season, CAA play will begin by hosting division favorite JMU, March 9-11, at Brooks Field.