What UNCW baseball’s Randy Hood said about 2023 season after NCAA Tournament exit

CONWAY, S.C. – UNCW baseball coach Randy Hood wanted to see the Seahawks stick around a bit longer in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, but he doesn’t think the quick exit represents what the program accomplished this season. 

“Overall, I just thought we didn’t show up and play really good baseball after two innings (Friday against Duke),” Hood said following UNCW’s 12-2 season-ending loss to Coastal Carolina in the Conway Regional. 

“. … These two games don’t define our team. It’s just disappointing for all of us, because I know we wanted to have a little better showing.” 

Following a sweep of the CAA championships for the first time since 2012, the Seahawks (34-23) carried a six-game winning streak into their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. 

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But the Seahawks were outscored 24-5 in their losses to Duke and Coastal Carolina. UNCW won at least two regional games in 2015, 2016 and 2018 before losing its next four in the tournament. 

“We’ve had a hell of a season. I just didn’t think we really showed up this weekend,” Hood said. 

“We played two good innings at the start of (Friday) – looked like gangbusters –  and then the last 16 (innings) has a little bit to do with Duke and Coastal. But I didn’t think we played as well as what we’ve been playing at this point in the year. 

“. … It’s part of baseball. You live and learn – you take some punches – and we’ll be back. We’ve been here a lot and we’re gonna find a way to get to that next step.” 

The Seahawks had one senior and four underclassmen in Saturday’s starting lineup, including rookie Alec DeMartino, who finished 2-for-3 with a two-run homer against the Chanticleers. 

In addition to DeMartino, fellow freshmen Brock Wills and Tanner Thach started in nearly every game for the Seahawks. 

“Outside of the last couple games, we’ve been very consistent,” Hood said. 

“We’ve played well, we’ve bounced back after we have a loss. We’ve had a lot of young guys get a lot of experience and, hopefully, those guys will be back and be better next year.” 

As for the initial next steps for the program, Hood said he’ll be meeting with players over the next couple days to see who’s coming back and who’s moving on. 

“We’ll have some sit-down meetings over the next couple days to try to figure out what our roster’s gonna look like,” Hood said. 

“College baseball, a lot of things changes between recruits and the (transfer) portal, so hopefully we’ll be able to navigate all that and be back in this position next year. … We’ve been very successful over the last two decades. We just gotta find a way when we get to this stage to play a little bit better baseball.” 

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.