Cougars and Seahawks Renew Rivalry in Critical Series

Friday, May 14

Wilmington, N.C.

6:00 PM

College of Charleston

UNCW

Cougars and Seahawks Renew Rivalry in Critical Series

5/13/2021 4:15:00 PM | Baseball

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (22-18, 11-7 CAA) at UNCW (26-17, 10-8 CAA)
Game No. 41 | Friday, May 14 | 6:00 p.m. | Wilmington, N.C. | Brooks Field
Game No. 42 | Saturday, May 15 | 4:00 p.m. | Wilmington, N.C. | Brooks Field
Game No. 43 | Sunday, May 16 | 1:00 p.m. | Wilmington, N.C. | Brooks Field

How to Follow the Cougars
Twitter: @CofCBaseball
Live Stats: CofCStats.com
Video: FloBaseball.TV ($)
Audio: None

Probable Pitchers
Friday | 6:00 pm: RHP William Privette (1-1, 2.05 ERA, 23 K) vs. RHP Landon Roupp (5-4, 2.95 ERA, 79 K)
Saturday | 4:00 pm: RHP Trey Pooser (4-1, 3.51 ERA, 35 K) vs. RHP Adam Smith (5-1, 2.03 ERA, 45 K)
Sunday | 1:00 pm: LHP Connor Campbell (5-2, 3.40 ERA, 48 K) vs. RHP Luke Gesell (6-3, 4.06 ERA, 59 K)

CHARLESTON, S.C. --- The College of Charleston baseball team will embark on its final road trip of the regular season this weekend when the Cougars travel to Wilmington, N.C. for a critical three-game series against Colonial Athletic Association rival UNCW. First pitch for Friday's series opener is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

Series Preview
The Cougars have won five straight and seven of their last 10 with four players driving in at least nine runs over the last 10 games. UNCW is 4-1 in its last five games and 8-2 over the Seahawks' last 10. Charleston currently sits atop the CAA South Division with an 11-7 mark while UNCW is one game back at 10-8.

Scouting UNCW
UNCW comes into the weekend with a 26-17 overall record and a 10-8 mark in CAA play after sweeping James Madison last weekend. The Seahawks lead the conference and rank 20^th nationally with 43 home runs while also boasting the 21^st-best team ERA (3.59) in the land.

Brooks Baldwin paces the Seahawks in batting average (.321), triples (three), home runs (12) and RBI (37) while Matt Suggs is batting .280 with 11 homers and 29 runs driven in. Saturday starter Adam Smith carries a 5-1 record on the season with a 2.05 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 44.1 innings pitched over 16 appearances and four starts.

Series History
Charleston leads the all-time series with UNCW, 18-16. The Cougars have won three of the last five meetings including a 2-1 series victory at Patriots Point at the end of March.

Last Five Games in Series
W, 10-9          3/28/21 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
W, 11-8          3/27/21 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
L, 1-6             3/26/21 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
W, 10-3          4/28/19 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
L, 4-14 4/27/19 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

Last Time Out
The Cougars collected their fifth straight victory this season and 17^th consecutive win against The Citadel in the all-time series with a 6-3 victory over the Bulldogs on Tuesday evening. Ari Sechopoulos and Tanner Steffy each drove in two runs and Zach Williams pitched into the seventh inning to lead the charge.

Hammering Hawkins
Senior Harrison Hawkins has been feasting on CAA pitching through the first 18 games of the league schedule batting .467 with a division-best eight homers and 31 RBI in conference action. The Bishopville, S.C. native has seven multi-RBI performances to his credit in league play thus far and accounted for four homers and 12 RBI in six games against William & Mary.

Finding Their Form
The Cougars have enjoyed a superb run over the course of their five-game winning streak combining for a .317 batting average while the pitching staff has posted a 2.80 ERA in that span. Hawkins, Sechopoulos and Steffy have combined for four home runs, six doubles and 16 RBI during the win streak as the Cougars have totaled 36 runs on 58 hits – 18 of those for extra bases – as a team. The pitching staff has surrendered 15 runs on 42 hits while striking out 36 and limiting opponents to 11 walks in that span.