University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Host St. Francis College
March 4, 2004 | Baseball
March 4, 2004
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- In the midst of an 11-game home stand, North Carolina (5-3) hosts St. Francis (N.Y.) College (1-3) for a three-game set at Boshamer Stadium beginning Friday at 3 p.m. Games are also scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m . and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The Tar Heels, who snapped a three-game skid with a win over Appalachian State Tuesday, have never faced the Terriers. Carolina is 5-0 at The Bosh this year.
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
Members of the Northeast Conference, St. Francis enters the weekend with a 1-3 record on the year. The Terriers played four games last weekend in Homestead, Fla., with their lone win coming over Detroit Mercy (2-1) on Feb. 28. St. Francis has lost two in a row to Maine (8-0) and LaSalle (6-1). Last season, the Terriers were 21-21-1 and owned a 17-10 mark in Northeast Conference play.
A LOOK AT THE TAR HEEL STARTERS
Friday: Daniel Bard (Fr., RHP): Bard has been stellar in his first two collegiate starts and owns a 1-0 record and a 2.08 ERA. He also leads the team with 13 strikeouts in 13.1 innings. Last time out he allowed just one run and four hits in eight innings against Northwestern State. Unfortunately, he did not pick up the win as the Demons scored five times in the ninth for a 6-2 come-back victory in Houston, Texas.
Saturday: Adam Kalkhof (So., LHP): A Freshman All-America a year ago, Kalkhof is 0-1 on the year with a 12.46 ERA. After four solid innings against Seton Hall of Feb. 22, Kalkhof struggled against Nebraska, giving up seven runs (five earned) in just one-third of an inning. He struck out six in his start against the Pirates.
Sunday: Garry Bakker (Jr., RHP): Bakker enters his third start with an 0-1 record an a 6.75 ERA. He ranks second on the team with 10 strikeouts in 9.1 innings. In his last outing, Bakker allowed four runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings versus No. 2 Rice.
LAST TIME OUT: CAROLINA 8, APP. STATE 5
Four pitchers combined on a four-hitter, and the Tar Heel bats came alive for a season-high three home runs to lead North Carolina (5-3) to an 8-5 win over Appalachian State (0-10) Tuesday. Junior right fielder Marshall Hubbard hit a three-run blast in the first inning, and freshmen Jay Cox and Bryan Steed followed with their first career round-trippers to lead the Tar Heel offense. Catcher Chris Iannetta was 2-for-3 with two RBI, and second baseman Greg Mangum also added two hits. Starter Andrew Miller and relievers Jonathan Hovis, Kevin Brower and Scott Senatore combined to limit Appalachian State to just four hits and one earned run. Hovis picked up his first win of the season, while Senatore worked a perfect ninth to record his first save.
MANGUM, IANNETTA PROVIDE PUNCH
Carolina's two most experienced position players - juniors Chris Iannetta and Greg Mangum - sit atop the Tar Heel stat sheet with matching batting averages of .333. Mangum is 11-for-33, while Iannetta stands 9-for-27 with a team-best six walks. Iannetta leads the team with eight runs batted in and a pair of homers, while Mangum has driven in five leads the team with three stolen bases. Both Iannetta and Mangum own four multi-hit games this season. Mangum has hit safely in seven of the eight games this year, and Iannetta has driven in runs in each of the last three outings. Against Appalachian State on Tuesday, both had two hits, and Iannetta's two-run single put the Tar Heels ahead 7-5 in the sixth.
SENIORS CARRY THE LOAD
On the season, Carolina's four senior relievers - Whitley Benson, Kevin Brower, Michael Gross and Scott Senatore - have combined to work 25.1 innings without allowing an earned run. The quartet has also combined for 23 strikeouts and made 15 appearances. Benson is 1-0 and has worked eight innings with six strikeouts. Brower, who tied a career high with four strikeouts against Appalachian State, has fanned seven and allowed just three hits in seven innings, while Gross is third on the team with nine strikeouts, also in seven innings. Senatore picked up a save against the Mountaineers Tuesday and has worked 3.1 innings.
ROOKIE HURLERS IMPRESSIVE EARLY
Carolina's highly-touted freshman pitchers have lived up to their billing through the early part of the season. Rookies Daniel Bard and Andrew Miller are a combined 2-0 and are the only Tar Heel starters to earn wins. Bard is 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA, while Miller is 1-0 with a 0.84 mark. The tandem has combined to allow just four earned runs and 15 hits in 24.0 innings, while striking out 21 batters. Through four total starts, Bard and Miller sport a combined earned run average of 1.50. A part of the weekend rotation since the start of the season, Bard beat Seton Hall in his college debut with just four hits and two earned runs in 5.1 innings. He went eight innings, allowing just one run on four hits, against Northwestern State on Feb. 28 but took a no-decision. Miller beat Gardner-Webb in his first start on Feb. 25 with just two hits in six shutout innings. Against Appalachian State on March 2, Miller allowed five runs (one earned) in four innings. Miller is rated the nation's No. 1 freshman prospect by Baseball America, while Bard checks in at No. 9 on the list.
NEWCOMERS ADD TO TAR HEEL LINE-UP
With the departure of Jeremy Cleveland, Sean Farrell and Chad Prosser, Carolina head coach Mike Fox knew that he would have to break some new parts to his line-up this season. While the team is still coming together offensively, several newcomers have shown flashes of what is to be expected for the rest of the season. Headlining this list is junior right fielder Marshall Hubbard, transferred from William & Mary. Despite batting just .200 (6-for-30) to start the year, Hubbard is tied for the team lead with two homers and ranks second with six RBI and six runs scored. Redshirt freshman Matt Ellington, who has mainly been used as the designated hitter, has also made an early impact. After missing last season due to back surgery, Ellington is batting .308 (7-for-23) with five RBI. Freshman left fielder Jay Cox has also impressed, batting .294 (5-for-17) with four runs scored. He hit his first collegiate home run against Appalachian State on Tuesday. Rookie infielder Bryan Steed also hit his first homer against the Mountaineers. Freshman Craig Corrado has also started each game at shortstop for the Tar Heels.
PINCH HITTING PROWESS
The Carolina coaching staff has been pushing all the right buttons when it comes to pinch hitting this season. In all, Tar Heel pinch hitters are batting .412 (7-for-17) on the young season. That mark is more than 160 points higher than the current team batting average of .249. Redshirt freshman Matt Ellington is 2-for-2 when coming off the bench, while junior Ross Cook is 2-for-3. Mell Adams, Mark Griffin and Wes Moyer have also contributed with base hits off the Tar Heel bench. By comparison, Carolina opponents are batting just .143 in pinch-hit situations.
UNC FRESHMAN CLASS RATED THE NATION'S BEST
North Carolina's 10-man freshman class was named the nation's best by Baseball America and shared top billing with South Carolina in Collegiate Baseball's recruiting rankings. Headlining the class for the Tar Heels are Major League Baseball draftees pitcher Andrew Miller (third round pick of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays), pitcher Daniel Bard (20th round pick of the New York Yankees) and catcher Trent Kline (39th round pick of the Montreal Expos). Rookie shortstop Craig Corrado and first baseman Brack Massey are expected to battle for starting spots, while pitcher Robert Woodard opens the season at the Tar Heel closer. Rookies Jay Cox, Bryan Steed and Tyler White add important depth. Kline and pitcher Rob Wooten are both rehabbing shoulder injuries.
Miller has brought home several preseason honors. He was named ACC Preseason Freshman of the Year by Baseball America and the league's Preseason Newcomer of the Year by Collegiate Baseball. Additionally, he was named the nation's No. 1 freshman prospect by Baseball America. Bard was ninth on that list.
TAR HEELS PICKED FOURTH IN ACC COACHES POLL
Off a 42-23 record a year ago, North Carolina was selected fourth in the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll, which was released Jan. 29. The Tar Heels tallied 58 points, just two points shy of third-place Clemson (60 points) and three points behind No. 2 Florida State (61 points). Defending ACC champ Georgia Tech claimed the top spot with six first-place votes and 77 points.
WALTER RABB LOUNGE DEDICATED
The Carolina baseball program played tribute to its past when the Walter Rabb Lounge was dedicated on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The lounge at Boshamer Stadium was financed by Carolina baseball letterwinner Dean Cassell and honors Rabb, who coached in Chapel Hill from 1947-77 and posted a career record of 540-358-9. Rabb, Cassell, several members of the UNC athletic department staff and many friends of Carolina baseball, including former basketball coach Dean Smith, former UNC chancellor William Aycock and former Tar Heel wrestling coach Bill Lam came out for the dedication. The lounge, which has been in use for around a year and a half, features a full kitchen, as well as tables, chairs and couches. Photos from Rabb's era hang on the walls.
"The lounge shows the history of our program," said UNC head coach Mike Fox. "It's important for our players to know that baseball has been played at North Carolina for a very, very long time. This is a room that has very much been used over the last year and a half. It's been used by our coaches and players, and we can bring recruits back here. We are extremely grateful to Dean for his generosity and more importantly his love and admiration for Coach Rabb. I think that's extremely important and special." Cassell pitched at Carolina from 1947-50 and was a part of the 1948 team that won the Southern Conference title and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
HEELS, COCKS SET FOR BATTLE OF THE BORDER
The University of North Carolina and University of South Carolina baseball teams will play the first annual "Battle of the Border" at Knights Stadium, home of the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, on Wednesday, March 31 at 7:15 p.m. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 58-30-1, but the Gamecocks have eliminated Carolina in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments, including last year's Super Regional. All tickets for the game are general admission and cost $8. UNC will be the home team and occupy the third base dugout. Tickets can be ordered by visiting the Charlotte Knights Box Office at Knights Stadium, online at www.charlotteknights.com or by calling (704) 36-HOMER.
CAROLINA HOSTS 35 AT THE BOSH
After playing a record 40 home games a year ago, Carolina will play 35 games at Boshamer Stadium in 2004. Since Mike Fox took over prior to the 1999 season, the Tar Heels have played at least 30 home games each season and own a 143-39 mark (.786) at home over the last five years. Since the stadium's opening in 1972, Carolina sports a 684-244-4 (.736) record at home. The school record for wins at home is 30, established when Fox's team went 30-5 in 2000. This year's team is 5-0 at home.
