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CARY, N.C. (AP) - Alex Hill had four singles, Mike Rooney scored the go-ahead run on a second-inning wild pitch and pitcher Bradley Holt took control after that in North Carolina-Wilmington's 5-2 victory over Elon on Friday at the Cary Regional.
Hill and Daniel Hargrave had back-to-back RBI singles in the sixth to break the game open for the second-seeded Seahawks (43-15-1), who will play the Mount St. Mary's-North Carolina winner on Saturday in the championship bracket.
Nate Hall and Colonial Athletic Association player of the year Mark Carver each had two hits and an RBI for UNC Wilmington, which snapped Elon's nine-game winning streak and set the school's single-season record for wins.
Mike Melillo and Harry Austin had run-scoring singles during Elon's two-run second inning, but after that, the third-seeded Phoenix (43-17) couldn't get anything going against Holt (11-1).
From the third inning on, the Seahawks' ace allowed only one Elon runner to get past second base, and during one particularly dominant stretch set down 12 of 14 batters. He struck out three in 8 2-3 innings before closer Cameron Roth came on to pick up his fourth save.
Holt's strong pitching performance came as a surprise because all indicators pointed toward a slugfest. The Phoenix rank eighth nationally with nearly nine runs per game, and the Seahawks needed an offensive surge to beat Elon 18-16 in their most recent meeting March 5.
Hill gave him more than enough offensive support, reaching base five times. His two-out single in the sixth got past diving second baseman Donny Jobe and pushed UNC Wilmington's lead to 4-2. Hargrave then sent Steven Hensley's next pitch into left field to make it a three-run game.
Hensley (10-2), Elon's ace, allowed a season-high 12 hits and lost for the first time in six starts.
UNCW bounced back from its surprisingly quick exit from last week's CAA tournament in Wilmington, never trailing in handling the Southern Conference champions their first loss since Appalachian State beat the Phoenix 9-3 on May 1.
