University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Noles Lose Shirts, Games in Chapel Hill
March 24, 2002 | Baseball
March 24, 2002
By Adam Lucas
TarHeelBlue.com
Florida State lost their shirts in Chapel Hill this weekend. They also lost their helmets, some bats, and three baseball games.
A quick rundown of what they brought into Boshamer Stadium that they'll leave without: the nation's No. 1 ranking, $7,000 worth of equipment (although some of it was recovered), and an unbeatable aura in the ACC.
Mike Fox's Tar Heel squad hammered the Seminoles again on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, dealing out a 9-1 defeat in which Carolina did everything flawlessly. They pitched well, as Daniel Moore turned in seven strong innings on the mound and Carter Harrell picked up the save. They hit well, as Chris Maples continued his torrid series and Mell Adams added a solo homer. They ran the bases well, with Adam Greenberg and Russ Adams working the double steal to perfection on a play every Little League coach loves in the first inning to give the Heels a 1-0 lead. And they played defense well, with Russ Adams and Chad Prosser putting together two 4-6-3 double plays and Maples starting another twin killing in the first inning that snuffed out any potential Seminole momentum.
After Carolina thumped the 'Noles with a nine-run seventh inning on Friday-in which Maples had two homers, a solo shot and a grand slam-Florida State never seemed to have much of a chance. They also suffered the indignity of having to wear some UNC equipment on Saturday, as their equipment van, parked outside their Research Triangle Park hotel was broken into and the thieves made away with thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The theft continued a bad run of luck for FSU in Chapel Hill, as their football truck caught fire on a trip to Kenan Stadium several years ago.
Some of the items were returned on Saturday night, but the 'Noles' swings remained missing.
"This was the biggest series that we've won since I've been here," Maples said.
After a 6-8 start, it was obvious that the ship was righted after last weekend's sweep of Maryland that got the Heels off to a 3-0 league start. But their trip to Auburn the weekend before might have been just as important.
Although the Tigers swept the three-game series, Carolina was competitive in all three games and came away feeling that they could play with anyone.
"We went to Auburn and got swept, but we were in every game," Maples said. "That helped a lot with our confidence."
Scoring runs doesn't hurt the confidence, either. Until Saturday's 7-1 win, the Tar Heels had scored double-figure runs in their last four games and are averaging 11 runs per game during their current nine-game winning streak.
"Honestly, I think we were a little snakebit earlier in the season," Russ Adams said. "We were hitting it at people and we weren't hitting with runners in scoring position."
They're hitting constantly now. In fact, they're doing everything well now. That puts them on top of the ACC going into a stacked month of April that includes home series with Clemson, NC State, and Miami, plus a trip to Wake Forest.
"We've been looking for a sign that we're moving in the right direction and that all our hard work is coming to fruition," head coach Mike Fox said. "From my standpoint, you need some sort of validation that you have the right kids and the right philosophy...We've been telling our guys that we can win in this league, but until you go out and have a weekend like this, I'm not sure they totally believe it. Now they should."
Adam Lucas is a lifelong observer of UNC sports and a regular contributor to TarHeelBlue.com. He can be reached at jalucas@bellsouth.net.
