UNCW Tallies Opening Round Win At CAA Baseball Championships

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Daniel Hargrave had five hits and Jason Appel drove in five runs as No. 28 UNC Wilmington raced past Towson, 11-5, in a first round game at the Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament Wednesday at Brooks Field.

The top-seeded Seahawks improved to 42-13-1 overall on the season, while the Tigers fell to 28-27. UNCW will face William & Mary at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, while TU will face Old Dominion at noon in an elimination game.

Hargrave, who became UNCW's all-time runs scored leader with 183, had a career-high five hits and drove in two runs. Appel, meanwhile, matched his career-high with five RBI while banging out three hits. The Seahawks had 17 hits on the evening.

Junior Brad Holt (10-1) recorded his 10th consecutive win after allowing three runs on seven hits in eight innings. In tying his season-long eight inning stint, Holt fanned seven and walked three.

Towson starter Jon Dupski was saddled with the loss to fall to 5-7 on the season. Dupski was tagged for seven runs on 14 hits in five innings.

Kevin Collins, Jason Stiffler and Gary Helmick had two hits apiece for the Tigers. Collins topped the lineup with a pair of runs batted in.

UNCW plated three runs in the second to take the early lead, 3-0. Sophomore Mike Rooney squeezed the first run in and Hargrave knocked in the second run with a double to center. Appel closed out the scoring with sacrifice fly one batter later.

Towson scored once in the third on Helmick's seventh homer of the season and in the fourth, TU made it a one-run game, 3-2, when Steve Yarsinsky singled home Matt Collins with two out.

Appel knocked in two more runs in the bottom of the inning to stake the Seahawks to a 5-2 lead.

In the fifth, senior Nate Hall, who was named first-team All-CAA at third base, drilled a leadoff homer to make it 6-2 UNCW.

Towson answered with an unearned run in the sixth, but the Seahawks kept it a four-run game, 7-3, when Hargrave led off the sixth with his 18th homer of the season.

UNCW sent nine batters to the plate in a four-run as Appel and Hall keyed the inning with a pair of 2-run singles.

Kevin Collins doubled in two runs to round out the night's scoring in the ninth.

Notes: Daniel Hargrave now has 39 career homers and is one short of tying Bryan Britt's school-record set in 1996 ... Brad Holt is the seventh UNCW pitcher to win 10 games in a season ... Jason Appel moved into second all-time at UNCW with 251 career hits ... Hargrave's five hits tied a school-CAA tournament record ... Appel's five RBI also tied a school-tournament record ... Holt has allowed just four earned runs in 16 2/3 career innings in the CAA Tournament.

-Courtesy UNCW Sports Information

-- Jesse Jones, CAPE FEAR SPORTS REPORT