University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Baseball Returns To Action At Duke
May 10, 2002 | Baseball
May 10, 2002
The University of North Carolina baseball team, which has not played since a 7-3 win over Appalachian State on May 1, returns to the diamond with three games at Duke (21-27, 3-15) this weekend.
"Hopefully the break won't hurt us," said UNC head coach Mike Fox, whose Tar Heels have risen to No. 6 in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll. "We had some momentum going into exams, and hopefully we'll come out of it with that same momentum and play well. I get worried this time of year because exams are tough and you don't know how your team is going to respond coming out of them, but we should be excited to play and I expect our guys to be ready."
The Tar Heels are 35-15 overall and have won 11 of their last 13 games since dropping the first two games of the Clemson series on April 12 and 13. Carolina's only two losses in that stretch were one-run losses to then-No. 20 East Carolina (2-1 on April 17) and defending national champion Miami (4-3 on April 27). Carolina is 13-5 in ACC games and tied with Clemson for second place in the league with six regular-season games to play.
"I think we needed a break, but we've been itching to play," said center fielder Adam Greenberg, who is enjoying a tremendous junior season. "We got back out here practicing real hard and got refocused. We know what's at stake and we're ready to play. Our goal is to come out with that intensity and excitement that we had two weeks ago."
Carolina holds a 150-89-2 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1891, and has won eight straight games at Duke, including three-game sweeps in 2000 and 1998.
Carolina's balanced offensive attack includes seven regulars with at least a .310 batting average and three players with more than 70 hits, including All-America candidates Russ Adams, Chris Maples and Greenberg. Adams leads the Tar Heels with a .372 batting average and his 42 steals are the third most in a single season in UNC history. Maples leads the ACC and is tied for sixth nationally with 19 home runs, while Greenberg is hitting .345 with 14 homers and 29 steals.
Meanwhile, UNC ranks second in the conference with a 3.85 team ERA and its 419 strikeouts are tied for the most of any ACC team. The Tar Heels will use their normal weekend pitching rotation of Scott Autrey (Saturday), Garry Bakker (Sunday) and Daniel Moore (Monday) versus the Blue Devils.
UNC freshman right-hander Carter Harrell, who had been suspended from the team, has been reinstated by Fox and will available out of the bullpen this weekend. Harrell is 7-3 with a 3.68 ERA but has not pitched since April 20 vs. NC State.
Game times for this weekend at Jack Coombs Field on the Duke campus are Saturday at 5 p.m., Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and Monday at 7 p.m
