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Duke slugger MJ Metz belts 3 home runs in regional rout of UNC-Wilmington

On3 imageby:Sam Gillenwater•06/02/23•

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(Samuel Lewis | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Every player wants to bring their best to the table once the postseason arrives. However, it’s hard to imagine that anyone is going to play much better than Duke’s MJ Metz on the opening day of the NCAA Tournament.

Metz has gone the distance three times for the Blue Devils in the first seven innings of their matchup against UNC Wilmington. It’s even more impressive considering that he’s done it in three straight at-bats against the Seahawks.

Metz has now gone from 13 home runs on his season to 16 over the span of a single game. That’s nearly a quarter of his home runs from his 51 appearances this year in less than one in the opening round of the Conway Regional.

The Duke graduate student is absolutely pouring it on to UNCW right now with his team now up 12-3 as they head to the eighth inning. While that’ll be a very, very hard pace to keep, though, the Blue Devils will have their fingers crossed for more of the same from Metz for the remainder of their run in the postseason.

Conway Regional ranked as one of three easiest regionals in the 2023 NCAA Tournament

Coastal Carolina is hosting as the No. 10 overall seed, and the Chanticleers find themselves in one of the lightest regionals in this year’s tournament. Coastal won 39 games this season, including a 23-7 record in the Sun Belt. They also played the toughest non-conference schedule. But their numbers won’t blow anyone away. Pitching wise, Coastal has just one player with at least two appearances on the season with a sub-3.00 ERA. The staff ERA is 6.17 with a 1.63 WHIP. They can hit, though, with a team .310 average and 100 home runs.

Coastal Carolina’s No. 2 seed is Duke, a team that was in the mix to host until the final week or two of the regular season. The Blue Devils are a scrappy team offensively, with a nice mix of power, contact and speed. They also have a few great arms on the pitching staff, notably Fran Oschell III and James Tallon out of the bullpen. Both have sub-2.00 ERAs with a sub 1.00 WHIP.

UNC Wilmington is a sneaky No. 3 seed. The Seahawks only have 70 home runs as a team, but a strong lineup that’s led by Jac Croom, Trevor Marsh, and Tanner Thach could be scary for opposing pitchers. UNCW is also red hot, having won six games in a row that led them to a CAA Tournament title.

Rider, who went 35-19 overall and 14-7 in the MAAC, is the No. 4 seed in the Conway Regional.

What makes this one of the “easiest” regionals is the fact that any of the top three seeds could win it. Not one team blows you away, and it’s one of the weaker regionals in this year’s tournament from top to bottom.