UNCW REACHES CAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WITH 10-9 COMEBACK WIN OVER JMU

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Junior catcher Chris Hatcher's two-out single to left in the bottom of the ninth plated freshman Grayson Evans to complete a furious seven-run comeback as fifth-seeded UNC Wilmington rallied past top-seeded James Madison 10-9 Friday night to reach the title game of the CAA Baseball Championship.

The Seahawks, who reached the 40-win plateau (40-19) for the fourth year in a row, will play in Saturday's 3:30 p.m. championship game against either JMU or VCU, who will play at noon tomorrow after their contest was suspended by rain in the bottom of the first late Friday. The Dukes fell to 38-20.

With the score tied at 9-all in the bottom of the ninth, Evans singled for his third hit of the night and later advanced to second on a throwing error by JMU second baseman Michael Cowgill. That set the stage for Hatcher, whose two-out, game-winning hit sent UNCW to the championship game for the second time in the past three years. It also avenged a pair of walk-off victories by the Dukes against the Seahawks in the final two games of the regular season last weekend.

Senior Adam Paul, UNCW's sixth pitcher of the game, earned the win (6-2) with an inning of scoreless relief. Seahawk relievers Will Hunt, Jeff Hatcher, Andrew Morgan and Paul held JMU to just three hits and no runs over the final six innings. The Dukes' Bobby Lasko took the loss (4-3) after giving up a pair of unearned runs in the ninth.

The climactic ninth inning followed a six-run eighth by the Seahawks that tied the game. Jonathan Batts was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, advanced to third on a Lee McLean double and scored on an Evans single. McLean came across on a fielder's choice to make it 9-5 and a Hatcher sacrifice fly cut the margin to three. Outfielder Jason Appel doubled to drive in Daniel Hargrave and make it 9-7. Appel advanced to third on a passed ball, and after Matt Poulk walked and stole second, another passed ball allowed Appel to score and moved Poulk to third. John Raynor walked to put runners on the corners. Raynor then got caught in a rundown between first and second on an attempted pickoff, and Poulk took off for home and slid across with the tying score.

The Dukes jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning on six hits. Singles by Joe Lake and Kellen Kulbacki sandwiched a Cowgill hit-by-pitch to load the bases for Nate Schill, who poked a base-hit to left to plate Lake. Matt Sluder followed with a double off the left-field wall to bring home Cowgill and Kulbacki, moving Schill to third in the process. Lee Bujakowski completed the inning's scoring when his left-field single drove in Schill and Sluder.

UNC Wilmington answered in the bottom of the first. Hatcher led off with a single before advancing to second on a passed ball, and then to third on an Appel bunt single. Poulk brought Hatcher home and sent Appel to second when he hit a chopper to first base, before Appel went to third on a wild pitch. John Raynor made it 5-2 when his grounder to short allowed Appel to score.

James Madison got those two runs back in its next at-bat. Lake reached on an infield single, went to second on a passed ball, and moved to third on a Kulbacki grounder. He then scored on a Schill infield single. Mitchell Moses followed with a single that moved Schill to third, before Sluder brought him home for his third RBI of the game with a blooper to shallow right-center field.

The JMU hit parade continued in the third, when Bujakowski and Rob Altieri led off with back-to-back singles before advancing into scoring position on a Lake sacrifice bunt. Schill proceeded to register his third and fourth RBIs of the afternoon when he singled home both runners to make it 9-2 in favor of the Dukes.

A thunderstorm halted the game for 2:16 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. The Seahawks were able to add a run in the sixth as McLean walked, Evans singled, and Kenny Smith walked to load the bases for Mike Marbry, who got hit by a pitch and allowed McLean to score.