University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels, Gamecocks Meet in Battle of the Border Tuesday
May 10, 2004 | Baseball
May 10, 2004
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - After rains postponed the scheduled Battle of the Border on March 31, No. 16 North Carolina (34-12, 11-8 ACC) and No. 7 South Carolina (34-13, 13-11 SEC) will finally meet in the regular season for the first time since 1988 Tuesday at Knights Stadium in Fort Mill, S.C. Since the rainout, the Tar Heels have gone 14-6, while the Gamecocks have posted a 13-8 mark. North Carolina is currently in fourth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while South Carolina sits in third in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference.
The Tar Heels took two of three against Maryland over the weekend but are coming off a 3-1 loss on Sunday and hope to avoid back-to-back losses for just the third time this season against South Carolina, which took two of three at No. 20 Auburn last weekend. Both the Gamecocks and Tar Heels have won seven of their last 10 games.
South Carolina is batting .311 as a team and is led by catcher Landon Powell, who is hitting .376 with 14 home runs and 55 runs batting in. Six Gamecock regulars are batting above .320 and four different players have at least 13 home runs.
The Tar Heels are led by sluggers Chris Iannetta and Marshall Hubbard, the top two run producers in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Iannetta is batting .370 with 10 home runs and 56 RBI, while Hubbard is batting .358 with 14 homers and 63 RBI. Hubbard is currently on an 18-game hitting streak.
Freshman righty Robert Woodard, a Charlotte native, is slated to start against the Gamecocks. He is 5-1 on the year with a 3.90 earned run average this season. Woodard is 3-0 as a starter and has a 5-0 record in midweek games. Since some early season struggles, Woodard has posted a 1.20 ERA in 15.0 innings in April and May and has not allowed a run in his last 11.1 innings. In his last start, he worked six shutout innings and recorded a season-best six strikeouts against UNC Greensboro on April 21. Woodard has 29 strikeouts against just 10 walks this season.
South Carolina is also expected to start a freshman right-hander in Harris Honeycutt. Honeycutt, who is from Fuquay-Varina, N.C., makes his first career start against the Tar Heels. He has worked just 9.1 innings in eight appearances out of the bullpen. He has 13 strikeouts on the year.
The Gamecocks lead the all-time series, which began in 1903, 58-30-1. South Carolina has also won four of five NCAA Tournament meetings with Carolina in 2002 and '03, eliminating the Tar Heels from the postseason each year. Last year, South Carolina swept North Carolina, 2-0, in the Columbia Super Regional. In 2002, the Gamecocks won the Columbia Regional by defeating the Tar Heels, 3-1, in the title game. UNC last defeated USC, 8-4, on June 2, 2002. With the teams last six meetings coming in the postseason, the Tar Heels and Gamecocks last met in the regular season in 1988, with North Carolina sweeping a two-game set at Boshamer Stadium. The two teams met annually when South Carolina was a member of the ACC from 1954-70.
Tuesday's contest marks the start of challenging week for the Tar Heels, who host Virginia Commonwealth (29-17) at 6 p.m. Tuesday before heading south for a three-game set with No. 3 Miami over the weekend.
