WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Junior righthander Brian Whitaker went the distanceand UNC Wilmington used a five-run second inning to cruise past OldDominion, 9-3, Sunday afternoon, completing a three-game sweep of theMonarchs over the weekend at Brooks Field.
The Seahawks won their fourth straight and improved to 25-13 overall,7-4 in the CAA. The Monarchs fell to 14-22 and 5-7.
Whitaker, who retired the final 11 batters he faced, allowed just oneearned run on five hits in going all the way for the Seahawks, walking oneand striking out seven. ODU starter J.D. Jackson worked 5 1/3 innings andgave up six runs on six hits, walking five and fanning one.
Junior outfielder Kevin Hairr, junior catcher Magnus Pilegard andsophomore third baseman Pat Massey had two hits apiece for the Seahawks.Hairr went 2-for-5 and drove in two runs, Pilegard went 2-for-4 with threeRBIs and Massey went 2-for-3 and scored once. Five different players hadone hit each for the Monarchs.
ODU jumped on top early, scoring a pair of runs in its first at-bat fora 2-0 lead. With one out, Ross Robertson struck out, but reached first on awild pitch, and then took second on another wild pitch by Whitaker. JeffEure then delivered an RBI double down the leftfield line and came homewhen Massey booted Allen Stricks ground ball to third.
The Seahawks answered with a five spot in the bottom half of the second,however, to grab a 5-2 lead. UNCW took advantage of three walks issued byJackson, ripped two doubles in the frame, including a two-run double byPilegard over the head of ODU leftfielder Jared Musolf. Hairr also had atwo-run single in the rally as the Seahawks sent nine men to the plate inthe inning.
After ODU scored an unearned run in the third to cut the deficit to 5-3,the Seahawks added one more in the fifth and three in the eighth to put thegame out of reach. David McKenna, Pilegard and Matt Wright had successiveRBI hits in the eighth as the Seahawks moved to 19-5 at home this spring.
The Seahawks return to action on Tuesday by hosting Campbell at 7 p.m.The Monarchs visit William and Mary on Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. contestwith the Tribe at Plumeri Park.