Starting Pitching

UNCW's opening weekend rotation of red-shirt sophomore Mat Batts, junior Tyler DeLoach and freshman Jordan Ramsey has a total of three starts between them, all coming in 2010 by Matts when he attended Western Carolina.

Batts went 3-1 at WCU as a freshman with a 4.44 ERA in 20 appearances. He sat out the 2011 season, but pitched for the Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League. Batt made nine starts and fashioned a 1.89 ERA in 62 innings and limited opponents to a .227 average.

DeLoach, who has 9.2 career innings under his belt, also pitched for the Sharks and finished with 23 strikeouts in 18.1 innings. Opposing hitters hit a meager .197 against him.

Ramsey is just a freshman, but was picked by Kansas City in the 28th round of the MLB draft after a tremendous senior season at North Davidson High School. He was a 4A All-State selection his junior and senior seasons. As a senior, Ramsey fanned 95 batters in 53 innings while walking just nine.

UNCW's top returning starter is Tyler McSwain, who has been a work horse for the Seahawks in each of his three seasons. The righthander, who went 5-5, tossed 87 innings in 2011 over 16 appearances, including 14 starts.

Adding to the Seahawks depth in the rotation against one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules is senior Travis Bradley. After opening the season in the bullpen, Bradley moved into the rotation midway through the season and finished with a 2-5 mark and a 3.96 ERA.

Bullpen

UNCW has pieced together a deep bullpen that will be a strength, not only this season, but for seasons to come.

The Seahawks return their closer in William Prince, a righthanded sophomore that collected five saves and held opponents to a .192 batting average in 20 appearances. Also returning is junior righthander Tom Timoney, who added two saves in 2011. Timoney fanned 28 in 27.1 innings and finished with a 2-2 mark in 21 outings.

Returning in 2012 are red-shirt junior Jack Lane and sophomore Kelly Secrest. Lane appeared in 26 games while Secrest led all lefthanders, pitching in 28 games. He struck out 20 in 19.1 innings.

Looking to bolster the Seahawks options from the rightside is sophomore Ricky Holden, who despite some struggles as a rookie, pitched extremely well over the summer and carried that momentum into fall workouts.

UNCW welcomes the return of red-shirt junior Thomas Jones in 2012 after he missed 2011 following arm surgery. Jones progressed well in his rehabilitation and was effective during the later part of the fall and excelled during the Blue-Teal World Series.

Rounding out the bullpen for UNCW are righthanders Ryan Leach, Ryan Mayhew, Justin Livengood and Christian MacDonald.

Leach saw his 2011 season cut short following an arm injury, but tossed a complete game win against Campbell prior to the injury. Leach has been a reliever primarily during his career and he'll bring that experience to the Seahawks this season.

MacDonald joins Secrest as the Seahawks' option from the leftside in the bullpen. Although inconsistent as a freshman, MacDonald used summer baseball and fall workouts to iron out his delivery and fashioned good results. He may join Prince in the closer spot.

Mayhew and Livengood round out the pen for the Seahawks. Mayhew was a highly decorated pitcher at West Forsyth High School who showed the ability to get outs during the fall. Livengood is a strong righthander who can pitch in middle relief as well as situational spots.