UNCW baseball rallies to claim second straight CAA Championship, will play in NCAA Tournament

For the first time in five years, UNCW baseball is heading to the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons.

After days of bad weather and postponed games, UNCW emerged as the CAA Tournament champion for the second straight season Sunday, defeating College of Charleston 6-4.

The Seahawks finish the tournament a perfect 3-0, including Sunday's thrilling come-from-behind victory over Charleston.

SEMIFINAL UNCW baseball handles College of Charleston, advances to CAA Tournament Championship game

LIVE UPDATES UNCW baseball live updates, scores as Seahawks play for CAA Tournament title

"We've battled all year," UNCW coach Randy Hood said. "It's special doing it here at home in front of the home crowd."

The Cougars and Seahawks traded runs in the first inning before Cougar's outfielder Avery Neaves homered in the bottom of the second, scoring two runs to take the 3-1 lead.

UNCW came alive in the bottom of the seventh as a Trevor Marsh single scored two runs to give the Seahawks the 5-4 lead, their first of the day.

"I wanted to hit a bomb, but I can't always do that because I'll start flying out and not having good at-bats, and that was my main goal today," Marsh, who was named CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, said. "Everything didn't go our way today, but at the end it did."

Charleston couldn't stop UNCW from there, allowing one final run on a Brock Willis single in the top of the 9th. Seahawks sophomore pitcher Trace Baker threw four strikeouts in six innings.

"I knew I was going to have to go out there and kind of eat innings to get us deep into the game," Baker, who came on in the third inning, said. "This is what we worked all year for. We had this in our mind all the way back in August when we got on campus."

UNCW (39-19) will learn its destination in the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament during Monday's selection show on ESPN2 at noon.

"This is our expectation," Hood said of his team's championship win. "We had a bad taste in our mouth from how we finished last year in the regional. These guys worked hard to get to this moment and get back there."

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: UNCW baseball fends off Charleston to win 2024 CAA Baseball Tournament