CAA Baseball Championship Gets Underway On Wednesday
Rob Washburn
CAA Baseball Championship Bracket CAA Championship Central CAA NOTES/STATS
RICHMOND, Va. (May 25, 2021) – The 2021 CAA Baseball Championship gets started on Wednesday after a unique regular season that saw the conference’s nine teams compete in a divisional format due to CoVID-19 protocols.
Six teams will battle for the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament using a format that rewards the top two seeds with first-round byes. Eight different schools have won the CAA championship since 2009, with UNCW (2012, 2015, 2018, 2019) being the only team to earn more than one title during that stretch.
The conference was divided into North and South Divisions this season with each team playing a double round-robin schedule within their division, but not facing league foes in the other division. The top two teams in the North Division, Northeastern and Towson, and the top two teams in the South Division, UNCW and Elon, received automatic entry into the tournament. A committee of athletic administrators selected two at-large teams, Charleston and William & Mary, to round out the field and also determined the seeds.
The double-elimination tournament opens at Noon on Wednesday as #4 Charleston (24-23, 12-12 in CAA) faces #5 Towson (21-34, 11-12 in CAA). That game will be followed at 4 p.m. by #3 Elon (21-20, 10-8 CAA) taking on #6 William & Mary (13-27, 10-14 in CAA).
Thursday’s schedule begins with an 11 a.m. elimination game. Top-seeded Northeastern (32-9, 20-3 CAA) meets the lowest-seeded Game 1/2 winner at 3 p.m. and #2 UNCW (30-20, 13-8 CAA) takes on the highest-seeded Game 1/2 winner at 7 p.m. There are three more games on Friday and another on Saturday, setting the stage for the championship contest at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Northeastern is the top seed for the third time in the last four years and will be looking to capture its first CAA title after an outstanding regular season. The Huskies set a conference record by starting league play with an 18-0 mark and put together a 20-game winning streak, which was the longest by any team in the nation. NU’s pitching staff ranks third in Division I with a 2.95 team ERA and features a strong starting staff led by Cam Schlittler (7-0, 1.29 ERA) and Kyle Murphy (6-0, 2.74 ERA). The Huskies also top the CAA with a .299 team batting average. Five starters hit better than .300, led by CAA Player of the Year Jared Dupere (.355, 17 HR, 42 RBI’s), outfielder Jeff Costello (.370, 33 RBI’s) and infielder Scott Holzwasser (.303).
UNCW has claimed back-to-back CAA championships and is aiming to become the first league team in more than 25 years to win three in a row since Old Dominion (1994-96). The Seahawks’ have been solid on the mound behind CAA Pitcher of the Landen Roupp (7-4, 2.75 ERA) and Adam Smith (5-1, 2.28 ERA). Offensively, UNCW has belted a league-high 50 home runs. Outfielder Brooks Baldwin (.327, 13 HR, 42 RBI’s), catcher Matt Suggs (.282, 11 HR) and third baseman Cole Weiss (.275, 35 RBI’s) lead the attack.
Elon has made the tournament in all six seasons as a CAA member and has its sights set on winning it for the first time. The Phoenix offense features a talented group of young outfielders in Alex Iadisernia (.366, 10 HR, 29 RBI’s), Anthony Galason (.351, 6 HR, 28 RBI’s) and Justin Cassella (.298, 27 R). Elon’s pitching staff ranks third in team ERA. Brian Edgington (4-3, 3.84 ERA) is the team’s top starter, while Joe Sprake (6-1, 7 svs., 3.24 ERA) has had a big year out of the bullpen.
Charleston has earned a tournament berth in all seven years as a CAA member and is looking for its first championship since 2014. The Cougars’ lineup features six players batting at least .290, headlined by outfielder Harrison Hawkins (.348, 10 HR, 50 RBI’s) and veteran first baseman Ari Sechopoulos (.283, 7 HR, 38 RBI’s). Charleston’s pitching staff has been paced by Trey Pooser (4-1, 3.86 ERA) and Ty Good (5-5, 4.02 ERA).
Towson is making its first appearance in the CAA Baseball Championship since 2013, when the Tigers captured their first conference title as the #4 seed. Josh Seils (3-6) and Nick Janowicz (3-2) have anchored the Towson starting pitching staff, while Kody Reeser (4-5, 1.94 ERA) and Jake Pecilunas (4-3) have had strong seasons out of the bullpen. Offensively, the Tiger rely on outfielders Billy Godrick (.264, 35 R) and Javon Fields (.258, 3 HR, 28 RBI’s).
William & Mary is back in the tournament field for the seventh time in eight years and last won the event in 2016. The Tribe offense is led by infielders Ben Williamson (.315, 27 R) and Matt McDermott (.287, 4 HR, 22 RBI’s). W&M has experienced starting pitching with Wade Strain (5-5) and Zach Tsakounis (2-3, 3.95 ERA), while closer Jack Cone has recorded four saves.
All-session tournament passes are $50 for chairback/reserved seats and $40 for general admission/bleacher seats. Single-game tickets are $15 for reserved and $10 for general admission.
All games of the CAA Baseball Championship will be streamed live on FloBaseball.tv (
flosports.tv/caa). To stay up to date with what is happening be sure to follow the CAA on Twitter (@CAASports), Instagram (@caasports) and join the conversation using the hashtag #CAAChamps. For live results, recaps, and more, visit
CAASports.com/baseball.
2021 CAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Brooks Field – Wilmington, N.C.
Wednesday, May 26
Game 1 - #4 Charleston vs. #5 Towson – 12 pm
Game 2 - #3 Elon vs. #6 William & Mary – 4 pm
Thursday, May 27
Game 3 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser – 11 am
Game 4 - #1 Northeastern vs. Lowest-seeded Game 1/2 winner – 3 pm
Game 5 - #2 UNCW vs. Highest-seeded Game 1/2 winner – 7 pm
Friday May 28
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Lowest seeded Game 4/5 loser – 11 am
Game 7 - Game 6 winner vs. Highest seeded Game 4/5 loser – 3 pm
Game 8 – Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner – 7 pm
Saturday, May 29
Game 9 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 loser – 1 pm
Game 10 - Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner – 5 pm
Sunday, May 30
Game 11 (if necessary) – Game 10 winner vs. Game 10 loser – 1 pm