WILMINGTON, N.C. – UNC Wilmington’s resounding success on the baseball diamond this spring will keep veteran coach Mark Scalf in the dugout for five more seasons after the 17^th-year skipper received a five-year contract extension.

  A five-year boost in the length of Scalf’s contract was approved during Friday’s regularly-scheduled session of the UNCW Board of Trustees. He had one year remaining on his original pact.

  “In baseball vernacular, we’ve hit a home run,” said Kelly Mehrtens, UNCW’s athletic director. “Mark and his staff have done an incredible job with every aspect of the program. Our baseball program has become a source of pride for the university and the community. We’re very pleased to know that Mark will be our coach for quite some time.”

  With the 48-year-old Scalf at the helm, the program has become a national player over the last five years. The Seahawks won Colonial Athletic Association championships in 2004 and 2006 and advanced to the NCAA Regionals in 2003, 2004 and 2006. 

This year’s club stands 31-9-1 overall and leads the CAA with an 18-2-1 league mark. The team made its first appearance in the national polls early this month, climbing to as high as 17th, and is currently rated 27th by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

  The Seahawks have averaged 38 victories over the last five years and reeled off four consecutive 40-win seasons from 2003-06, becoming the first CAA school to accomplish the feat. Since 2000, UNCW stands 144-68-1 in conference action and is the only school in the league to play in every CAA Tournament.

Scalf has been named CAA Coach-of-the-Year three times (1995, 2000, 2005). He also served on the USA Baseball staff during the summer of 2003 and 2007, winning a Silver Medal at the 2003 Pan American Games.

  “I appreciate the confidence that Kelly and the administration has shown in myself and my staff by providing an opportunity to continue to lead this program,” said Scalf. “This is home for me. I hope that we can continue to make the kind of progress that we’ve made over the last six or seven years.

- Courtesy UNCW Sports Information