University of North Carolina Athletics
Wes' Word: September 21
September 21, 2004 | Baseball
Sept. 21, 2004
By Wes Moyer
CHAPEL HILL - The much-anticipated first day of fall practice finally arrived Monday. Everyone was over their first week soreness from weight training and ready to get on the new diamond at The Bosh. The freshmen have settled into their daily routines of being a college athlete - rushing from here to there for meetings, classes and weight lifting and somewhere in between trying to squeeze in a meal to have the energy to do it all and not be late. The sophomores, juniors and seniors also have settled back into their daily schedules from the carefree days of summer.
There is going to be a lot of competition at every position this year so fall practice will be critical for players to separate themselves. One of the most difficult things to do as a college baseball player is to get excited about practice when our next game is five months away. However, we are excited to get out on the field and get a preview of the 2005 Tar Heels.
We are going to have a young team this year with three juniors leaving because of the draft and six seniors graduating. Our team has solid freshman and sophomore classes, but our juniors and seniors will provide leadership and experience. Chris Iannetta and Marshall Hubbard left big holes in our lineup offensively, but more importantly, Chris' leadership and skills as a catcher will be sorely missed. Jay Cox, Justin Webb, Benji Johnson and Chris' little brother Matt Iannetta will battle for the starting job. Different players always step up for teams offensively and that will happen again this season.
Being a fifth-year senior this year, I have experienced the rigors of playing college athletics and balancing everything that goes with that. With having such a young team this season I want to lead by example, showing the guys the hard work that it takes to be able to perform at your highest level at the end of the season. Fifty-six games, not including ACC and NCAA tournaments, is much different than the 30 or less games you play in high school. The season is long and can wear you down but if you can establish balance in your life and have good senior leadership to set the level of play and work expected we can be very successful and hopefully reach our ultimate goal...OMAHA!
Wes Moyer is a senior first baseman and journalism and mass communication major from Apex and is one of the most well-respected leaders on the Carolina team. A part-time starter at first base and designated hitter in each of the last two seasons, Moyer batted .312 in 2003 and .253 a year ago. He has seven homers and 40 runs batted in over the last two seasons. Check back each week at TarHeelBlue.com as Moyer and his teammates offer their thoughts and insight on fall practice in Chapel Hill.
