University of North Carolina Athletics
Baseball Hosts Le Moyne College This Weekend
March 8, 2001 | Baseball
March 8, 2001
TAR HEELS HOST LEMOYNE COLLEGE
Carolina, winners of eight of its last nine games, hosts Le Moyne College for a three-game series this weekend in Chapel Hill. The only other time the two schools have met was in 1978 when the Tar Heels and Dolphins split a two-game series at Boshamer Stadium.
WEEKEND PITCHING ROTATION
Fri. - Dennis Robinson (0-0, 5.40 ERA)
Sat. - Daniel Moore (2-0, 2.89 ERA)
Sun. - Scott Manshack (1-1, 6.62 ERA)
UNC GAINS SPOTS IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL
Carolina moved up three spots -- to No. 26 -- in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's latest Top 30 poll after going 2-1 last week, including one win over UCLA. UNC made its first appearance in the national polls last week when Collegiate Baseball ranked the Tar Heels No. 29. Carolina has also received votes in Baseball Weekly's Top 25 poll, but has not officially entered those rankings. Last year, the Tar Heels peaked at a school-best No. 2 in polls released March 6 and 13.
FOX CLOSES IN ON 100 WINS
Now in his third season as the head coach at North Carolina, Mike Fox's 99-38 overall record leaves him one win shy of becoming just the third UNC head coach all-time to win 100 games. Mike Roberts, Bunn Hearn and Walter Rabb are the other UNC coaches with at least 100 wins at Carolina. Fox is on pace to reach the 100-win plateau faster than any other UNC coach.
CAROLINA HAS BEEN HARD TO BEAT IN CHAPEL HILL VS NON-ACC FOES
Since 1998, Carolina is 73-3 in non-conference home games. Carolina's only three losses have come at the hands of UCLA, Towson and Seton Hall. The Tar Heels lost last weekend 12-2 to UCLA in the second game of a doubleheader. Carolina fell 9-8 to Towson last year and in 1998 to the Pirates.
UNC PERFECT IN ONE-RUN GAMES
With Carolina's dramatic 8-7 win in 11 innings over UCLA last Friday, the Tar Heels are now 6-0 in one-run games. Russ Adams hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 11th inning against the Bruins for the 8-7 win. Adams also provided the game-winner in comeback wins over James Madison and Minnesota, two games in which the Tar Heels rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth for 7-6 wins. Against JMU on Feb. 11, Adams had a bases-clearing triple to rally the Heels from a 6-4 deficit. On Feb. 18, Adams drove in the game-winner on a single against the Gophers.
RUSS ADAMS COMES UP BIG IN THE CLUTCH
Carolina's regular starting second baseman, Russ Adams has become one of Carolina's biggest threats at the plate. Adams, who ranks fourth among UNC regulars with a .306 batting average, leads the team with 19 hits, 16 runs scored and eight extra-base hits. Adams is also among the team leaders with 12 RBIs and he's ended three games thus far with game-winning hits.
LONE SENIOR GETTING IT DONE ON THE MOUND AND AT THE PLATE
Stocked with 15 freshmen, Carolina has just one senior on its 2001 roster, transfer Jason Howell. A three-year letterwinner at Appalachian State University, Howell enrolled at UNC in the fall and has made an immediate impact for the Tar Heels in the young season. Howell has seen time as the DH, at first base and on the mound and he leads the team with a .356 batting average. Howell's also pitched 13.2 innings of relief, striking out 10 batters while allowing just one run in earning three wins and three saves in seven appearances.
BLAKE MAKES HEALTHY RETURN
After losing All-ACC catcher Dan Moylan to last year's draft, it was important for Ryan Blake to make a healthy return to the lineup after missing the majority of last year recovering from surgery on his right rotator cuff. The red-shirt sophomore has not disappointed, playing solid both offensively and defensively. Blake's hitting .271 with 13 RBIs and he's scored 12 times. In the first game of Carolina's doubleheader with UCLA on March 2, Blake's fifth-inning grand slam off Bruin ace Josh Karp erased a 5-2 UNC deficit and helped lead the Heels to an 8-7 win in 11 innings. Blake also had an RBI double in the first inning and finished the game with a career-high five RBIs.
