No. 14 Pirates look for seventh straight victory over struggling Seahawks

East Carolina-UNCW to battle at Brooks Field on Wednesday night at 7pm

No. 14 East Carolina lost for just the second time in 17 games when it dropped a 3-1 decision at second-ranked North Carolina on Tuesday night.

The Pirates (25-6 overall, 8-1 CUSA), who committed four errors and struck out 15 times in their loss to the Tar Heels, will now look to avoid losing consecutive games for only the second time this season. That lone two-game skid came when East Carolina fell 10-9 and 8-6 in the first two contests against UCLA.

Tonight’s match-up will mark the second meeting between the in-state rivals. The two clubs met in Greenville on March 25 and the then No. 19 Pirates shutout the No. 26 Seahawks, 3-0, in a game that had a bit of a postseason feel to it. UNCW outhit ECU, eight to six, but was unable to get the clutch hits and left 12 on base.

The Seahawks have not won since before that meeting. That loss to East Carolina was the second in UNCW’s current eight-game losing streak. After going 0-5 last week versus Coastal Carolina and George Mason, Mark Scalf’s club delivered an uninspired effort in last night’s 10-2 loss at NC State. While the eight-run loss to the Wolfpack was just the second defeat of more than three runs during the skid, the Seahawks’ veteran coach isn’t happy with his team’s mentality.

UNCW (17-11 overall, 5-4 CAA) will also be attempting to end a losing streak and defeat East Carolina for the first time since 2006. The Pirates have won six straight against the Seahawks—including three in a row at Brooks Field—and are 8-1 against their rival under fourth year head coach Billy Godwin.

The Seahawks will call on freshman reliever Tyler McSwain (0-1, 1.47) to help get them back in the win column. McSwain, who will be making his first start in 14 appearances, has allowed only 13 hits—three for extra bases—in 18.1 innings of relief and opponents are hitting just .213. He has struck out 21 while walking eight and hitting two.

McSwain and the Seahawks’ pitching staff will probably need more run support than they’ve been receiving, as they’ve plated more than three runs just one time during the current slide.

Centerfielder Andrew Cain, who has started 13 of his team’s 28 games, leads UNCW with a .388 average. However, 17 of his 19 hits are singles. Grayson Evans, who has started all 28 games, is hitting .336 with a team-high ten doubles. Evans also leads the club with 12 multi-hit games—including two four-hit performances.

The Seahawks don’t possess as much power—20 home runs and 49 doubles—as they have in the past, but catcher Cody Stanley and first baseman Robbie Monday have seven each. Stanley, who has a four-game hit streak, is batting .299 and has driven in 27 runs—second most on the team. He also has 11 multi-hit games—including five where he collected three or more. Monday is hitting .289.

East Carolina will counter with a freshman righty also. Whiteville High School product Mike Wright (0-0, 4.66), who made his lone start in his eight appearances against UCLA, is limiting opponents to a .250 mark at the plate and had struck out 12 batter in 9.2 innings. In his start against the Bruins, Wright went 2.1 and allowed just one run on one hit. However, he struggled with his command as he walked three and hit one.

Offensively, East Carolina will be looking to bounce back from its worst output of the season. The Pirates’ team average dropped from .361 to .355 after collecting just four hits against the talented Tar Heels’ pitching staff. Four ECU hitters—Whitehead, Batts, Schieber and Avchen—struck out three times each and seven of the Pirates’ nine starters were “k’d” at least once.

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Pirate second baseman Ryan Wood, who is second on the team with his .392 average, will be looking to extend his hitting streak to 18 games. The senior has 13 multi-hit games and a team-high 13 doubles.

Lead-off man Trent Whitehead leads ECU with a .421 mark at the plate. The Pirates’ sophomore centerfielder is second on the team with 12 doubles, but has struck out a team-high 30 times.

Stephen Batts and Kyle Roller, who are each batting over .360, are tied for the team lead with eight home runs. Roller has also driven in the most runs (41) on the team.

Final Prediction and Analysis

Mark Scalf and his UNC-Wilmington club had a heart-to-heart talk following Tuesday night’s blowout loss at NC State. Expect the Seahawks to put forth a determined effort as they seek to snap their current losing streaks.

However, East Carolina has lost back-to-back games but once this season and the Pirates will no doubt be zoned in after last night’s lackluster performance.

While ECU will likely see UNCW’s best, don’t be surprised to see Billy Godwin and staff choose to do the same as they seek to get back on the winning track versus a quality Seahawk club before engaging in a battle for first place in Conference USA against No. 3 Rice this weekend.

East Carolina 7 UNCW 4