The UNC baseball team opened up the home portion of their schedule against Seton Hall this weekend with two straight wins, 10-5 and 7-1. This is the first time the Tarheels have opened up their season 6-0 since 2007 I read off of tarheelblue.com. I don't know how good Seton Hall is but two wins is two wins.
Levi Michael is still tearing it up, batting over .500 in the first six games and leading the team with 8 RBI's and 4 stolen bases. Freshman 3B Colin Moran is right behind him batting over .400 with 7 RBI's and he hit his first collegiate homerun in the home opener against Seton Hall. Senior Outfielder Ben Bunting is in a little bit of a slump, batting below .200 but has been figuring out a way to get on base as he leads the team with 10 runs scored.
The starting pitching has been solid as both Patrick Johnson and Chris Munnelly picked up their first wins of the season against Seton Hall and the relief pitching has been lights out all season. They didn't give up any runs against Seton Hall in 5 1/3 innings pitched.
I hope to be able to make it down for a game or two this season and see the new Boshamer Stadium and take in the green grass and feel the warmth of the sun from the bleachers. I love baseball!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The Diamond Tarheels
The college baseball season has started and I don't believe coach Mike Fox and the North Carolina Tarheels baseball team receive enough credit for bringing attention to the University of North Carolina. They have made several College World Series appearances and came within a game of winning the title a few years ago.
Coach Fox recruits very well nationally and very often this works against him. Many of his recruits are top draft picks in the Major League draft every year and sign professional contracts rather than spend a minimum of three years in college. Many recent players such as Andrew Miller, Alex White, Matt Harvey, and Dustin Ackley have played their college careers out and have been very high draft picks in the Major League draft and the latter three are on the verge of making their major league debuts.
The 'Heels had their opening series last weekend in a tournament in southern California against some solid competition and came away with a 4-0 sweep, including a 4-3 victory against #8 Cal State-Fullerton. Right now, pitching seems to be the 'Heels strong suit this early in the season. They don't seem to have the big bats they have had in years past and they may have to play more situational baseball, some hit-and-run, take more cances on the basepaths. A little bit of old school baseball.
Junior Levi Michael had a great first series leading the team with a .500 batting average and 4 stolen bases. Junior Jacob Stallings led the team with a homer and 5 RBI's and chipped in with a .412 average. Senior Greg Holt got 2 of the 4 wins in relief as he didn't give up a run in 4 2/3 innings and starting pitchers Chirs Munnelly, Patrick Johnson, and Kent Emanuel were equally impressive only giving up a combined total of 4 runs in 17 innings.
4-0 is not a bad way to start for a team that was only picked to be in the middle of the pack in a very strong ACC.
Coach Fox recruits very well nationally and very often this works against him. Many of his recruits are top draft picks in the Major League draft every year and sign professional contracts rather than spend a minimum of three years in college. Many recent players such as Andrew Miller, Alex White, Matt Harvey, and Dustin Ackley have played their college careers out and have been very high draft picks in the Major League draft and the latter three are on the verge of making their major league debuts.
The 'Heels had their opening series last weekend in a tournament in southern California against some solid competition and came away with a 4-0 sweep, including a 4-3 victory against #8 Cal State-Fullerton. Right now, pitching seems to be the 'Heels strong suit this early in the season. They don't seem to have the big bats they have had in years past and they may have to play more situational baseball, some hit-and-run, take more cances on the basepaths. A little bit of old school baseball.
Junior Levi Michael had a great first series leading the team with a .500 batting average and 4 stolen bases. Junior Jacob Stallings led the team with a homer and 5 RBI's and chipped in with a .412 average. Senior Greg Holt got 2 of the 4 wins in relief as he didn't give up a run in 4 2/3 innings and starting pitchers Chirs Munnelly, Patrick Johnson, and Kent Emanuel were equally impressive only giving up a combined total of 4 runs in 17 innings.
4-0 is not a bad way to start for a team that was only picked to be in the middle of the pack in a very strong ACC.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Tarheels on a Roll
The Tarheels vanquished rival NC State last night for the tenth straight time. I would love to say it was easy but nothing is easy this season for the Tarheels. This is easily the worst shooting team in Tarheels basketball history at least since I have been an ardent fan since the Phil Ford years of the mid-1970's. It used to be news if the 'Heels shot under 50 percent for a game, now it is a major part of the story if they shoot over 50 percent. One reason for this is they are not getting as many fast break points as they have in past seasons and and are not pushing the ball up the court as hard.
They are 21-6 on the season and should be a lock for the NCAA's this season and are slowly working their way back up the polls. The last I checked they were #19 in one poll with a game against Duke on the horizon. I really can't explain how the 'Heels have been winning but they just have is the bottom line. Some credit their defense, others point out the weak ACC this season, and I am beginning to believe smoke and mirrors.
They still have a few weaknesses and the two most obvious are three point shooting and inside depth. The Tarheels bench has all but disappeared over the course of the past 5 or 6 games, Justin Knox is the only big man coming off the bench and no one is providing any points. Other ACC teams are finally figuring out to beat the 'Heels or at least to stay with them, you have to play zone and the 'Heels are incapable of shooting them out of it. The ACC tournament should be very interesting this year and I am hoping the 'Heels will snap out of their team wide shooting slump and get really hot for the tournament.
On a very positive note, center Tyler Zeller was named Academic All-American just a few days ago. That is the first Academic All-American the Tarheels have had since Eric Montross in 1994. Most fans forget that the players are student athletes and that the student part is more important than the basketball or football part.
They are 21-6 on the season and should be a lock for the NCAA's this season and are slowly working their way back up the polls. The last I checked they were #19 in one poll with a game against Duke on the horizon. I really can't explain how the 'Heels have been winning but they just have is the bottom line. Some credit their defense, others point out the weak ACC this season, and I am beginning to believe smoke and mirrors.
They still have a few weaknesses and the two most obvious are three point shooting and inside depth. The Tarheels bench has all but disappeared over the course of the past 5 or 6 games, Justin Knox is the only big man coming off the bench and no one is providing any points. Other ACC teams are finally figuring out to beat the 'Heels or at least to stay with them, you have to play zone and the 'Heels are incapable of shooting them out of it. The ACC tournament should be very interesting this year and I am hoping the 'Heels will snap out of their team wide shooting slump and get really hot for the tournament.
On a very positive note, center Tyler Zeller was named Academic All-American just a few days ago. That is the first Academic All-American the Tarheels have had since Eric Montross in 1994. Most fans forget that the players are student athletes and that the student part is more important than the basketball or football part.
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