The Diamond 'Heels Open Up ACC Play

The Diamond 'Heels opened ACC play with a 7-1 win over Wake Forest,their 8th win in a row and puts them at 14-1 on the season and they are shooting up the rankings with a bullet.

Patrick Johnson is on a roll with a 3-0 record and a 1.07 ERA and the relief pitching they are getting is off the charts. Levi Michael cooled down a little bit, being mired in a mini-slump, that has brought his batting average back down to the Ty Cobb range.

The 'Heels don't seem to have the power they have had in years past and are having to play more situational baseball. I read on one of the Tarheel websites that they have had 16 innings this year where they have scored 4 or more runs including an inning against Wake Forest last night where they plated 6. Ben Bunting had the big hit in the inning with a bases clearing double.

Home Opening Series

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!

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.