University of North Carolina Athletics
Baseball Faces Maryland For Three-Game Set
April 6, 2001 | Baseball
April 6, 2001
UNC ROAD SWING HITS MARYLAND
Carolina continues a nine-game road stretch with three games this weekend versus Maryland in College Park. The Tar Heels, 5-11 over the last 16 games after a 14-3 start to the season, hope to pick up where they left off in ACC play Monday against NC State. After starting 0-7 in the ACC, UNC swept a make-up doubleheader against the Wolfpack on April 2 to improve to 2-7 in league play. Carolina is 103-47-2 all-time against the Terps, including a three-game sweep last year in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels have not lost a series to Maryland since dropping two seven-inning games to the Terrapins in 1986.
WEEKEND PITCHING ROTATION:
Fri. - Daniel Moore (2-2, 4.96 ERA)
Sat. - Dennis Robinson (2-2, 4.97 ERA)
Sun. - Ralph Roberts (1-0, 3.18 ERA)
TAR HEELS TAKE FIRST SERIES AT NC STATE SINCE 1993
After dropping the series opener to NC State, 16-9, Carolina rebounded by sweeping a make-up doubleheader on Monday, April 2. Carolina had not won a series in Raleigh since 1993. In the series-opener on Friday, the Wolfpack jumped on Carolina with a six-run third inning to take a 7-2 lead through three. But the Tar Heels answered with two runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth to take an 8-7 advantage. NC State countered with four runs in the bottom of the fifth and then rode the pitching of reliever Mike Sollie to a 16-9 win. Sollie allowed just one run on one hit while striking out eight UNC batters in 4.2 innings for the victory. Violent thunderstorms and rain washed out scheduled games on Saturday and Sunday, but when the two teams hit the field on Monday afternoon, it was all Carolina. The Tar Heels pounded out a season-high 24 hits en route to a 16-7 win in the first game, and used a five-run seventh inning in Game 2 to score an 8-7 win. Five different Tar Heels matched or set new career highs in hits -- Russ Adams, Chad Prosser, Adam Greenberg, Ron Braun and Brandon Russell -- while Prosser's five hits (5-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) were the most by a Tar Heel in one game since 1998. Dennis Robinson was equally impressive on the mound, going the final 7.2 innings (the longest outing of the year by a UNC pitcher) out of the bullpen for the win. Robinson also fanned a career-high seven batters. Ralph Roberts got the start in the second game and earned his first win after surrendering three runs and striking out five in 6.2 innings. Down 8-3 in the ninth, NC State threatened with four runs in the final inning before Sean Walsh grounded out with the bases loaded to end the game. Prosser finished the series 9-for-12 (.750), while Adam Greenberg broke out of a recent slide with a 7-for-14 series. Greenberg also knocked in five runs, scored three times and stole two bases. As a team, the Tar Heels hit .387 in the series.
CAROLINA STARTS ACC O-7, WORST IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Carolina got off to an 0-7 start in ACC play for the first time in school history prior to getting two league wins at NC State on Monday. The Tar Heels were swept by Wake Forest (March 16-18), at Florida State (March 23-25) and dropped the series opener at NC State on March 30 before collecting two wins to pull to 2-7 in league play. UNC started 0-4 in ACC play in both 1996 and 2000, but the Tar Heels had never dropped their first seven ACC contests prior to this season.
UNC IS 9-2 IN ONE-RUN GAMES
Carolina is 9-2 in one-run games in 2001, compared to 8-8 in games decided by a single run last year. Four of Carolina's last seven games have actually been decided by one run. Of Carolina's nine one-run wins, four have been won in the bottom of the ninth with game-ending hits, one was won on a game-ending sacrifice fly, and one was a game-winning homer in the bottom of the 11th inning.
PITCHING WOES CONTINUE TO HAUNT HEELS
Carolina has allowed double-digit runs in 10 games this season -- all losses. UNC's opponents have averaged 9.9 runs in Carolina's 14 losses in 2001, but only 5.4 in Carolina's 19 wins. In Carolina's last two losses -- at NC State and at VCU -- the Tar Heels allowed 26 runs on 28 hits.
PLENTY OF PITCHERS SEEING TIME FOR UNC
After losing nearly its entire pitching staff to the MLB Draft and graduation the past two years -- gone are 38 of 46 wins, 14 of 15 saves and 82.4 percent of UNC's total innings pitched from last year -- Carolina has nine true freshmen pitchers on its roster. Throw in senior transer Jason Howell and junior transfer Ralph Roberts and the Tar Heels have plenty of new faces on the mound in 2001. As a result, 14 different pitchers have seen action through 33 games. In fact, UNC has used an average of 4.2 different pitchers per game, while last year the Tar Heels averaged 3.0 pitchers per game over its 63-game schedule.
BENSON, HOWELL SOLIDIFY BULLPEN
Among the major holes that needed to be filled with the departure of last year's senior class was that of the closer. Afterall, All-America closer Derrick DePriest, whose 124 career appearances and 26 saves rank second all-time at UNC, had been UNC's ace out of the bullpen since 1998. Jason Howell and Whitley Benson have filled in admirably thus far in 2001, combining for an 8-2 record and five saves in 53.0 innings. After 14 appearances out of the bullpen in the early part of the season, Howell made two starts in a row. The senior lefty is not slated to start this weekend however.
TAR HEELS HELD SCORELESS IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES
When Towson won the seven-inning second game of the March 21 doubleheader 4-0, it marked the first time the Tar Heels have been held scoreless by an opponent since a 1998 ACC Tournament loss to Wake Forest. Florida State then defeated UNC 3-0 in Carolina's next outing (March 23), marking the first time the Tar Heels had been shut out in back-to-back games since May 5 and 6, 1992, when Princeton dropped Carolina 9-0 and 2-0 in consecutive games. The Towson loss marked the first time UNC had been held with out a run at home since a 9-0 loss to NC State on May 11, 1996.
PROSSER IS MR. ACC FOR THE TAR HEELS
After leading the Tar Heels with a .377 batting average in ACC games last year as a freshman, sophomore shortstop Chad Prosser is back it again in 2001, hitting a team-best .472 (17-for-36) in league games. Prosser's outstanding series at NC State last week (9-for-12, .750), has also now vaulted him to the team lead in overall batting average at .348. In the first game of the April 2 doubleheader with the Wolfpack, Prosser was 5-for-5, becoming the first Tar Heel to record five hits in a game since 1998. Prosser finished the doubleheader 7-for-8 with three RBIs and three runs.
RUSS ADAMS COMES UP BIG IN THE CLUTCH
Russ Adams has become one of Carolina's biggest threats at the plate as a sophomore. Adams, who ranks third among UNC regulars with a .329 batting average, leads the team with 46 hits, 35 runs scored and 14 extra-base hits. Adams also has 23 RBIs and he's ended three games thus far with game-winning hits -- JMU, Minnesota and UCLA. Adams has been particularly strong in ACC play, batting .409 (17-for-42) with eight RBIs and a team-high 10 runs. Last weekend at NC State, Adams had a career-high-tying four hits and scored a career-high four times in six at bats in the first game of the April 2 doubleheader.
FARRELL'S BEEN BIG AT THE PLATE
Sean Farrell is having a stellar sophomore season at the plate, ranking fourth on the team with a .327 batting average. Farrell has hit safely in six of the past seven games, including back-to-back games with a career-high-tying three hits (March 27-28). He's also drawn 24 walks already this year -- four more than he had all of last year.
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. Howell's among the ACC's best with five wins (5-1 overall) in 28.0 innings, striking out 15 batters while allowing 10 earned runs for a 3.21 ERA. He also leads UNC with three saves and ranks second on the team with a .341 batting average. Prior to an 0-for-3 game Wednesday at VCU, Howell had recorded four straight two-hit games.
GREENBERG BREAKS OUT OF SLUMP WITH BIG SERIES AT NC STATE
Centerfielder Adam Greenberg, the 2000 ACC Rookie of the Year, broke out of a recent slide at the plate with a career-high-tying four hits at NC State in Monday's first game of a doubleheader. Since an 0-for-15 stretch from March 21-25, Greenberg has hit in five of the past six games enetering this weekend. He has batted 9-for-21 (.429) in that six-game stretch, while also knocking in five runs, scoring three times and stealing four bases to up his team-high total 18, also tied for tops in the ACC. He also leads the team with a .439 on-base percentage, has walked a team-high-tying 24 times and has been hit eight times.
BLAKE NAMED TO JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST
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, as he was recently named to the 2001 Johnny Bench Award Watch List (given annually to the nation's top catcher). Blake has struggled as of late at the plate (just two RBIs in the last 10 games), but he still has a team-high 30 runs batted in and five home runs. In the Wake Forest series (March 16-18), Blake had two home runs and nine RBIs in three games. 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.
TAR HEEL TIDBITS
THE FLORIDA STATE SERIES: TAR HEELS DROP TO 0-6 IN THE ACC
Carolina dropped to 0-6 in the ACC for the first time in school history with three straight losses to Florida State in Tallahassee (March 23-25). In the series-opener, Carolina played one of its better games of the season, but still suffered a 3-0 loss. Carolina out-hit FSU 10-4, but failed to score for the second consecutive game. UNC starter Dennis Robinson allowed two runs on four hits, while Ralph Roberts saw his first significant time of the year out the bullpen and struck out five Seminoles in three innings. But FSU scored all three runs on sacrifice flies, and Blair Varnes and Justin Lord combined for the shutout win. FSU jumped on Carolina early in Saturday's 12-6 Seminole victory, as the Tar Heels trailed 11-0 before they mustered a five-run sixth inning -- which included a three-run homer by Jeremy Cleveland -- and one run in the ninth in the loss. On Sunday, it looked like Carolina may get its first conference win of the year, but FSU erased an early 5-2 UNC lead to win 8-7. The Seminoles capitalized on an error by first baseman Jason Howell to get four unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth and eventually won the game on an RBI single by Jeff Probst in the bottom of the eighth.
THE WAKE FOREST SERIES: UNC SWEPT AT HOME TO START ACC SEASON
Wake Forest pounded out 35 runs on 42 hits, including eight home runs, in sweeping UNC in Chapel Hill for the first time since 1991. The Demon Deacons opened the series with a 12-5 win on Friday, a game in which Wake Forest got 16 hits but benefitted from seven walks and 12 stranded UNC base-runners. On Saturday, Wake erased a 6-1 Carolina lead to score a 12-7 victory. Wake Forest standout Cory Sullivan stole the show in Sunday's 11-3 win over the Tar Heels. Making his first career start on the mound, Sullivan allowed just one run on three hits over 7.0 innings for the win. Meanwhile, Sullivan was 4-for-5 at the plate with three RBIs and three runs scored. Sullivan had one of four Wake Forest home runs. Ryan Johnson's two-out grand slam in the fifth inning blew open a 3-1 game for the Deacs. Jeremy Cleveland and Ryan Blake provided bright spots in the 0-3 start to the ACC season. Cleveland was 6-for-13 (.462) in his first ACC series, while Ryan Blake had two home runs and knocked in eight of UNC's 15 runs in the series in batting 4-for-11 (.364).
FOX WINS 100th GAME IN RECORD PACE
Now in his third season as the head coach at North Carolina, Mike Fox reached the 100-win plateau faster than any other coach in Carolina history with a 9-3 victory over Le Moyne College on March 9. Mike Roberts, Bunn Hearn and Walter Rabb are the only other UNC coaches with at least 100 wins at Carolina.
CAROLINA HAS BEEN HARD TO BEAT AT HOME IN MIKE FOX ERA
Carolina is 72-14 (.837) at Boshamer Stadium under Mike Fox (since 1999), which includes a 17-10 mark againt ACC competition and a 55-4 mark against non-league foes. Since 1998, Carolina is actually 76-5 in non-conference home games.
HEELS HAVE CLICKED IN FEBRUARY UNDER FOX
After recording a 10-2 mark this year in February, the Tar Heels are 30-2 now under third-year head coach Mike Fox in the month of February. Carolina, 10-0 in both 1999 and 2000 in February, got off to school-record 16-0 and 21-0 starts in Fox's first two years.
