University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 9 Tar Heels Travel to Wake Forest
April 1, 2004 | Baseball
April 1, 2004
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Ranked No. 9 by Collegiate Baseball, North Carolina (20-6, 4-2 ACC) looks to win its third consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference series when it travels to Winston-Salem for a three-game set with Wake Forest (11-14, 1-5 ACC). Games are scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Hooks Stadium. Winners of 16 of their last 19 games, the Tar Heels have not won three consecutive ACC series since the 2002 team opened the conference slate 8-0. Fans can listen to Friday and Saturday's games live on AM-1360 WCHL, while Sunday's game can be heard on TarHeelBlue.com.
SERIES HISTORY
The Tar Heels and Deacons have met on the diamond 255 times, in what ranks as the longest-running series in UNC history. The teams first met in 1891, and Carolina leads the all-time slate, 137-115-3. Tar Heel head coach Mike Fox is 5-13 against the Deacons, including a 1-5 mark in Winston-Salem. WFU took the 2002 series, 2-1, and swept the Tar Heels in 2000. Carolina, which won last year's series in Chapel Hill, has not taken a series at Hooks Stadium since 1996 and has won just two series at Wake Forest since 1990. The Tar Heels are 8-13 in Winston-Salem over this stretch.
SCOUTING THE DEACONS
The Wake Forest offense is led by shortstop Ben Ingold, who is batting .374 and has driven in 23 runs. Freshman Matt Antonielli is batting .337 and leads the team with 24 RBI, while outfielder Steve LeFaivre tops the Deacs with five homers and ranks third with 21 RBI. As at team, Wake Forest is batting .298. The Deacon pitching staff sports a combined ERA of 5.99. Junior Tim Morley (2-2, 4.50) should start Friday with Justin Keadle (0-2, 6-32) and Kyle Young (3-2, 5.45) scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
A LOOK AT THE TAR HEEL STARTERS
Friday: Daniel Bard (Fr., RHP): Bard is 4-0 on the year and leads the ACC with a 1.07 ERA and a .162 opponent batting average (through games of March 28). He also averages an ACC-best 7.0 innings per start. Last week against Florida State, Bard scattered three hits and three walks over six shutout innings. In ACC play, he has allowed just two earned runs in 12.2 innings.
Saturday: Garry Bakker (Jr., RHP): Bakker is 2-2 on the year with a 4.50 ERA. Last time out, he allowed a career-high seven runs in 2.2 innings against Florida State. In his earlier ACC start, Bakker held Virginia to just three hits in seven innings. Earlier in the year, he had a string of 13 consecutive scoreless innings. Bakker is 1-1 in three career starts against Wake Forest.
Sunday: Andrew Miller (Fr., LHP): Miller is 2-2 on the year with a 3.34 ERA but has not won since March 9. At Virginia, he allowed just two runs in 5.2 innings, but surrendered a career-high five runs and four home runs against Florida State on March 28. He ranks seventh in the ACC with a .223 opponent batting average.
HUBBARD NAMED ACC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After leading the Tar Heels to a 4-1 record and two wins over then-No. 12 Florida State, junior right fielder Marshall Hubbard earned Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Player of the Week honors, the league office announced Monday. Hubbard shared the weekly honor with Florida State sophomore Eddy Martinez-Esteve. A native of Ashland, Va., Hubbard batted .500 (9-for-18) in five games last week. He posted two home runs, three doubles, eight runs batted in and seven runs scored to pace North Carolina. Against the Seminoles, Hubbard went 7-for-13 (.538) with a homer, three doubles and six RBI. He drove in three runs in UNC's 12-6 win on Sunday versus the Seminoles. For the season, Hubbard is hitting .347 with nine home runs and 36 RBI. He currently ranks among the ACC leaders in home runs, runs scored, RBI, total bases and slugging percentage.
LAST TIME OUT
The first-annual Battle of the Border between the Tar Heels and No. 6 South Carolina was posponed due to rain Wednesday. The game will be made up May 11 at 7 p.m. and will still be played at Knights Stadium in Fort Mill, S.C. Tickets for Wednesday's game will honored at the make-up date or at any Charlotte Knights game that does not feature a special promotion.
CAROLINA CONTINES TOUGH SCHEDULE
Despite the rain out of Wedneday's meeting with No. 6 South Carolina, North Carolina has played a nationally-ranked team in six of its last eight games. Last weekend, the Tar Heels took two of three from No. 12 Florida State. UNC won two of three at then No. 19 Virginia March 19-21. The Tar Heels are 4-4 versus the top 25 this year.
RECENT HISTORY AGAINST THE DEACONS
Wake Forest has won four of the teams seven meetings over the last two years. Individually, junior catcher Chris Iannetta has enjoyed the most success at the plate against the Demon Deacons. Over the last two years, Iannetta is 7-for-21 (.333) with five RBI and six runs scored in seven games against WFU. On the mound, junior Garry Bakker is 1-1 with a 7.20 ERA in three career starts against Wake Forest but beat the Deacs in Winston-Salem in 2002. In that start, he allowed five hits and four earned runs, while striking out five, in six innings. Bakker got a no decision in the 2002 ACC Tournament and took a loss last year despite allowing just four hits and three earned runs in 6.1 innings. Carolina's bullpen veterans have also enjoyed success against Wake Forest in their careers. Over the last two seasons, senior Whitley Benson has made three appearances and allowed just one earned run over 4.1 innings. Senior Scott Senatore did not allowed an earned run and struck out five in 4.1 innings against Wake Forest in 2003, while Michael Gross allowed just one earned run in three innings during the 2002 series.
GROSS GETS IT DONE
Senior reliever Michael Gross has been outstanding this season, but has closed the door on the opposition in his last five outings. Over this stretch, he is 3-0 with a save. After picking up both wins in the Virginia series, Gross earned a save against Towson and worked the final 2.1 innings of Sunday's win over Florida State. Over this five-appearance stretch, Gross has allowed no runs on six hits in 7.1 innings and has fanned 11 batters. On the year, he leads the Carolina bullpen with a 0.44 ERA and has not allowed a run in his last eight appearances. Gross is third on the team with 27 strikeouts in just 20.1 innings.
HEWITT'S HEATING UP
Senior third baseman Sammy Hewitt struggled out of the gates this season but appears to have things turned in the right direction. After managing just 10 hits and batting .185 through his first 14 games of the year, Hewitt has 12 hits in his last 10 games and is batting .333 with three homers and 11 RBI over this stretch. On the year, he is now batting .244 (22-for-90) ranks third of the team with four homers and fourth with 15 RBI.
IANNETTA NAMED TO JOHNNY BENCH LIST
Junior catcher Chris Iannetta was named to the official watch list for the 2004 Johnny Bench Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate catcher by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. The 45-member watch list was released March 11 and can be updated to include other candidates until May 3. Iannetta is having an outstanding season at the plate, batting .366 with five home runs and 29 RBI. Over the last 20 games, he is batting .403 with three homers and 24 RBI. He is currently on a career-best 15-game hitting streak. Behind the plate, he has picked off seven runners and has thrown out 9-of-15 would-be base stealers. Iannetta owns a .984 fielding percentage in a team-best 250 chances.
BARD'S BRILLIANCE
Freshman right-hander Daniel Bard has been dominant in his first six collegiate starts. He owns a 4-0 record and a sparkling 1.07 ERA. Through games of March 28, Bard leads the ACC in ERA, innings per appearance (7.0), shutouts (1), complete games (1) and opponent batting average (.162). He has gone at least six innings in each of his last five starts and fired a complete-game two-hit shutout of California on March 14. Last time out, he allowed just three hits in six shutout innings against Florida State. He is scheduled to start Friday's game at Wake Forest. Thus far in ACC play, Bard is 1-0 and has allowed just two earned runs in 12.2 innings.
IANNETTA RIDES 15-GAME HITTING STREAK
Chris Iannetta brings a career-best hitting streak into Wednesday's game with South Carolina. Iannetta has hit safely in his last 15 games, which is the team's longest streak of the year. Over the streak he is batting .352 (19-for-54) with three homers and 17 RBI.
HUBBARD HAS FOUND A HOME
Junior Marshall Hubbard, who transferred to Carolina from William & Mary and had to sit out last season, has been a stalwart in the middle of the Tar Heel lineup since the start of the season. After homering in his first game at UNC, Hubbard has continued to lead the team with nine home runs and 36 RBI on the year. Since struggling a bit in the first six games of the year, he has hit .397 (29-for-73) with eight homers and 33 RBI in the last 20 games. Hubbard has hit safely in 18 of the last 20 games and had a 12-game hitting streak from February 29 to March 17.
BENSON CLIMBS CAREER CHARTS
With 11 appearances this season, senior Whitley Benson has now made 96 career appearances, which ranks fourth in program history. After starting the season tied for fifth all-time, Benson just passed Tim Kirk, who made 92 appearances from 1983-86. Brad Woodall is third with 97, and Thad Crismon is the all-time leader with 141 appearances. On the year, Benson is 3-0 with a 1.07 ERA. He has won a pair of midweek starts and now owns an 11-6 career record.
HEELS HOT AT HOME
efore a 12-4 loss to Cal on March 14, Carolina opened the season 12-0 at Boshamer Stadium. The 12-game win streak at home was the longest since the 2002 squad won 15 straight at The Bosh from March 13-April 10, and the 10 consectutive home wins to open a season were the most since the 2000 team, which opened 21-0, won its first 15 games at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels are currently 18-2 at home on the year.
SCHEDULE CHANGES
To accommodate the rescheduling of the Battle of the Border between North Carolina and South Carolina, the Tar Heel baseball program has announced a pair of schedule changes for early May. The March 31 game between UNC and USC was rained out. The Tar Heels and Gamecocks will now play their first regular season game since 1988 on May 11 at 7 p.m. The game will still be played at Knights Stadium in Fort Mill, S.C., and all tickets for the rainout will be honored at that time. In order to accommodate this change, the Tar Heels have moved their home game with Virginia Commonwealth from May 11 to May 12. The game will still begin at 6 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium.
