University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 8 Carolina Hits The Road to Face No. 11 Florida State
May 12, 2005 | Baseball
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May 12, 2005
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 8 North Carolina (37-11-1, 15-6-1 ACC) continues its challenging stretch run as it travels to No. 11 Florida State (43-14, 15-9 ACC) for a three-game series at Dick Howser Stadium beginning Friday at 7 p.m. Games are also set for 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Friday's game will be televised by Sun Sports, while Saturday's will be carried on Fox Sports Net South in North Carolina. An audio broadcast of all three games will be available on AM-1360 WCHL in Chapel Hill and at TarHeelBlue.com. Jones Angell and Adam Lucas will have the call for the Tar Heel Sports Network.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
North Carolina (37-11-1, 15-6-1) at Florida State (43-14, 15-9)
Fri., May 13, 7 p.m. (Sun Sports)
Sat., May 14, 1 p.m. (FSNS)
Sun., May 15, 1 p.m.
All-Time Series: Florida State leads, 48-20
Last Series: Carolina won two of three in Chapel Hill in 2004.
Quick Hit: Carolina is 7-4 against the Seminoles over the last three seasons.
TAR HEELS AT A GLANCE
2005 Carolina Record: 37-11-1, 15-6-1 ACC
Carolina in the National Rankings:
Sports Weekly/ESPN: 8th
NCBWA: 11th
aseball America: 14th
Collegiate Baseball: 14th
CAROLINA-FLORIDA STATE SERIES HISTORY
Florida State owns a 48-20 lead in the all-time series with the Tar Heels, but Carolina is 7-4 versus the Seminoles over the last three seasons. A year ago, the Tar Heels won two of three in Chapel Hill, but Florida State defeated Carolina, 8-7, in 11 innings en route to the ACC Tournament title. Carolina is just 3-14 in Tallahassee since FSU joined the ACC in 1992. The Tar Heels only series win at Florida State came when they took two of three in 1995. The Seminoles won two of three in the teams' last meeting at Dick Howser Stadium in 2003. Head coach Mike Fox is 8-13 versus Florida State in his six seasons at Carolina.
A LOOK AT THE TAR HEELS
Carolina dropped its first of four straight games against nationally-ranked opponents with Wednesday's 14-5 loss to No. 25 Coastal Carolina. The Tar Heels are batting .304 as a team, led by freshman Josh Horton and junior Mike Daniel, who are both batting .370 on the season. Carolina has hit 57 homers, led by rookies Seth Williams (13) and Chad Flack (12). Flack has also driven in 41 runs, while redshirt sophomore Matt Ellington has a team-best 48 RBI. On the mound, Carolina sports a 2.98 team ERA. Junior reliever Jonathan Hovis tops the staff with a 1.99 mark. Lefty Andrew Miller (8-1) has a 2.23 ERA and righty Robert Woodard (6-0) has a 2.30 mark. Miller will start Friday, Woodard Saturday and Daniel Bard (7-3, 3.50 ERA) Sunday against Florida State.
SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES
Winners of seven straight, Florida State enters the weekend series with a 43-14 overall record. The Seminoles are batting .297 as a team, led by sophomore outfielder Shane Robinson, who is hitting .441 with three homers, 23 doubles and 38 RBI. Senior outfielder Gibbs Chapman ranks as FSU's top run producer with team highs of nine home runs and 56 RBI. The Noles have swiped 99 bases, including 42 by Robinson. The FSU pitching staff sports a 3.33 ERA. Sophomore right-hander Bryan Henry (6-2, 1.63 ERA) is slated to start Friday, with junior righty Mark Sauls (6-1, 2.94 ERA) is set to throw Saturday. Lefty Hunter Jones (4-2, 4.78 ERA) is scheduled to go Sunday. Seminole closer Tyler Chambliss has a 1.69 ERA and leads the nation with 14 saves.
A LOOK AT THE TAR HEEL STARTERS
FRIDAY: Andrew Miller (So., LHP): Sophomore left-hander Andrew Miller brings an 8-1 record into Friday's start at Florida State. Last time out, he went six innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks at NC State on April 29. He struck out five Wolfpack batters and now has 83 on the season and needs six for a new single-season career high. On the season, Miller has a 2.23 ERA and 83 strikeouts over a team-high 72.2 innings. He is holding opponents to just a .206 batting average. Miller has allowed one run or less in seven of his 12 starts and has allowed more than three runs just three times this season. Entering this week's action, he was ranked among the nation's top 40 in ERA and strikeouts per nine innings. He also ranks among the ACC's top five in wins, innings per start, strikeouts per nine innings and opponent batting average (through games of May 8). Miller has been at his best on the road this season with a 3-0 record and four earned runs and 34 strikeouts in 27 innings. The Gainesville, Fla., native has one career start versus the Seminoles and allowed five runs over 5.1 innings in a March 28, 2004 no-decision. He is 1-0 in his career when pitching in his home state with a victory at Miami last season. Miller will face FSU sophomore right-hander Bryan Henry (6-2, 1.63 ERA) Friday.
SATURDAY: Robert Woodard (So., RHP): Sophomore right-hander Robert Woodard will start for the Tar Heels Saturday in Tallahassee. Last time out, he picked up his sixth win of the season with three innings versus Winthrop Tuesday in a staff outing. Woodard has earned a win in four of his last five appearances, including a 6.2 shutout inning appearance at NC State on April 30. On the year, he owns a 2.30 ERA and is holding opponents to a .213 batting average. He has 59 strikeouts against just 10 walks in 70.1 innings. He ranks among the ACC's top 10 in ERA, strikeouts per nine innings and opponent batting average (through games of May 8). In ACC play, Woodard is third in both ERA (2.43) and opponent batting average (.209). Woodard has a 14-2 career record for a .875 career winning percentage, which ranks second all-time at Carolina. He has one career appearance against FSU and allowed two runs in one inning. Woodard will fave Seminole junior righty Mark Sauls (6-1, 2.94 ERA) Saturday.
SUNDAY: Daniel Bard (So., RHP): Sophomore righty Daniel Bard, who allowed five runs (one earned) in two innings Wednesday, will start against FSU Sunday. He is 7-3 this season with a 3.50 ERA in 72 innings. Bard is limiting opponents to just a .212 batting average and has 60 strikeouts compared to just 31 walks allowed. He has allowed three runs or less in eight of his 13 starts. He ranks among the ACC's top 10 in wins, innings per start, shutouts, complete games and opponent batting average (through games of May 8). Bard's last win came in his second career complete-game, two-hit shutout against Duke on April 24. Bard 1-0 in his career against the Seminoles after tossing six shutout innings on March 26, 2004. He allowed just three hits and three walks, while striking out five. Florida State will start lefty Hunter Jones (4-2, 4.78 ERA) against Bard.
LAST TIME OUT: COASTAL CAROLINA 14, NORTH CAROLINA 5
Designated hitter Chris Raber homered and drove in five runs to lead No. 25 Coastal Carolina to its second win over a top-10 opponent this week, a 14-5 victory over No. 8 North Carolina Wednesday at Boshamer Stadium. The Chanticleers also defeated fifth-ranked Georgia Tech in Atlanta Tuesday. The 14 runs marked the most allowed by the Tar Heels since an 18-9 loss to Miami on April 16. In addition to Raber's five RBI, center fielder Dom Duggan went 2-for-4 and drove in four runs on the night for the Chanticleers, who outhit the Tar Heels, 12-7. Coastal right-hander Mike Valter (3-0) picked up the win in relief with 6.2 strong innings. He allowed just one run on three hits and three walks, while striking out five. UNC sophomore righty Daniel Bard (7-3) went two innings in a predetermined staff outing and allowed five runs, just one of which was earned. He struck out three, gave up four hits, walked one batter and hit two in his first loss since March 19 at Clemson Freshman right-hander Andrew Carignan was the first of the eight pitchers used by Carolina to keep Coastal off the scoreboard, as he struck out two and retired the side in order in the sixth. Classmate Matt Spencer followed with a scoreless seventh, and junior Jonathan Hovis fanned the side in the eighth. Designated hitter Matt Ellington went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and drove in his team-best 48th run of the season to lead the Tar Heels at the plate. Outfielder Jay Cox went 2-for-4 and roped a two-run double in the fourth to extend his career-best hitting streak to nine games.
TAKING STOCK OF THE ACC RACE
With its 15-6-1 record, North Carolina currently sits third in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings with a .705 winning percentage. Georgia Tech is first at .750 (18-6), while Miami is second at .729 (17-6-1). This weekend's series is key for the Tar Heels, as Florida State sits fourth at .625 (15-9) after sweeping Maryland last weekend. Georgia Tech hosts Virginia Tech, and Miami travels to Virginia in other key conference series this weekend. Carolina has a challenging road if it hopes to claim its first regular season title since 1990, as it hosts Georgia Tech next weekend after this weekend's trip to Tallahassee. The 2005 ACC Baseball Championship is set for May 24-29 at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
LAST SEASON AGAINST THE NOLES
A year ago, the Tar Heels won two of three versus FSU in Chapel Hill and then dropped an 8-7 game in the ACC Tournament to the Noles. Several current Tar Heels enjoyed success against Florida State last season, led by Jay Cox, who hit safely in all four games. He went 6-for-15 with five runs scored and two RBI. Matt Ellington played in just three of the games but went 6-for-11 with three runs scored and four RBI. He went 3-for-5 with three RBI in the Sunday series clincher at Boshamer Stadium. Bryan Steed went 4-for-8, while Justin Webb drove in three runs and also scored three times versus FSU. Junior reliever Jonathan Hovis made three appearances versus the Seminoles last season and worked 4.2 scoreless innings.
AT IT AGAIN
After combining for 22 of Carolina's 43 wins as freshmen a year ago, the sophomore trio of Daniel Bard, Andrew Miller and Robert Woodard has been victorious in 21 of Carolina' 37 wins (56.8 percent) in 2005. Miller is 8-1, Bard is 7-3 and Woodard is 6-0 thus far this season. For their careers, Bard, Miller and Woodard have combined to earn the win in 43 of Carolina's 80 victories (53.8 percent) over the last two seasons.
HORTON'S HEATING UP
Despite going hitless Wednesday, freshman shortstop Josh Horton has been one of the hottest Tar Heels of late, batting .517 (15-29) over the last seven games. He has scored six runs and driven in six over this stretch and has five multi-hit games in the last seven. Half of Horton's 30 RBI have come over the last 13 games, including a career-high of six in the 18-6 win at East Carolina April 19. Horton drove in four runs in one inning versus the Pirates with a triple and a double. The Hillsborough native is tied for the team lead with a .370 batting average and has two homers, 10 doubles and 30 RBI. He was named a midseason freshman All-America by Baseball America.
COX CONTINUES CAREER-BEST STREAK
Sophomore outfielder Jay Cox is on a career-best nine-game hitting streak and is batting .452 (14-31) over this stretch. He has driven in seven runs and scored seven times over his hitting streak. Cox has eight hits over the last three games, including a career high-tying four in the win over Winthrop Tuesday. He is batting .345 with one home run, 10 doubles and 29 RBI this season. He is slugging .446.
HEELS CLOSING IN ON 40 ONCE AGAIN
Carolina needs just three more wins to reach the 40-victory plateau for the fourth straight season and the sixth time in seven seasons under head coach Mike Fox. The Tar Heels have 12 40-win seasons since 1980, and the school record for wins is 51 set in 1990. The most victories for UNC under Fox is 46 in 2000.
CAROLINA SEEKS SCHOOL RECORD FOR HOME WINS
With one more victory at home, the Tar Heels can tie the school record for victories at Boshamer Stadium. Carolina is 29-3-1 at home this season and it won 30 games in both 1993 and 2000. UNC has four more home games this season - one against East Carolina and a three-game series with Georgia Tech.
WATCH OUT
North Carolina sophomore left-hander Andrew Miller finds himself on the watch list for most major collegiate baseball awards this season - the Dick Howser Award, the Golden Spikes Award, the Brooks Wallace Award and the Roger Clemens Award. A midseason second-team All-America according to Baseball America, Miller is 8-1 this season with a 2.23 earned run average. He has 83 strikeouts in 72.2 innings and is limiting opponents to just a .206 batting average. Miller has allowed just two home runs in 12 starts this year. The Gainesville, Fla., native is also a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week.
FLACK ATTACK
After batting a team-best .384 in April, freshman infielder Chad Flack has picked up where he left off in May with a .417 average (5-12) and three home runs. He connected twice against Winthrop Tuesday for his first career multi-homer game and a career-high seven RBI. Flack has nine home runs since April 1 and has driven in 29 of his 41 runs since April Fool's Day. He is batting .388 over this stretch, which includes 23 games. Flack has hit safely in 20 of these 23 games. On the year, he is third on the team with a .345 average, 12 home runs and 41 RBI. In ACC play, Flack is third with 0.29 homers per game and is seventh with a .605 slugging percentage.
WEBB ON FIRE IN CONFERENCE ACTION
Senior Justin Webb has been at his best in ACC play this season with six of his nine home runs and 28 of his 36 RBI coming in conference action. Webb has had monster games of a career-best seven RBI at Virginia Tech, five against Virginia and four at NC State. In conference games, he is fifth with 0.27 home runs per game and sixth with 1.27 RBI per game. Webb has set a career high twice this season with four hits in ACC play.
DESIGNATED HITTER
Redshirt sophomore Matt Ellington has delivered as the Tar Heels' top run producer this season with 48 RBI in 48 games played. Over the last 15 games, Ellington has driven in 17 runs and is batting .388 with three home runs. He has hit safely in 18 of the last 21 contests and is second on the team with 18 multi-hit games and leads the squad with 13 multi-RBI games. Ellington entered the season as Carolina's top returning RBI man with 26 in 2004 and now has 74 RBI for his career. He is currently hitting .337 with eight homers to go along with his 48 RBI.
HEELS DIG THE LONG BALL
With three home runs already this week, the Tar Heels rank second in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 57 round-trippers this season. Clemson is first with 61. With the losses of All-Americas Marshall Hubbard and Chris Iannetta, Carolina was not expected to have much power in the lineup this year. But the addition of key freshmen and a pair of career years have turned that into a strength. Freshman Seth Williams leads the way with a Carolina rookie record 13 home runs, and classmate Chad Flack is second on the team with 12. The 25 combined homers for Williams and Flack are the second most for any duo in the ACC, trailing Clemson's Kris Harvey and Andy D'Alessio, who have tallied 30. In all, freshmen have accounted for 34 of the Tar Heels' 57 homers or 59.6 percent. Veterans Matt Ellington and Justin Webb each entered the season with just two career home runs each, but Webb has nine and Ellington eight. Redshirt sophomore Matt Ellington has eight home runs on the season. Williams (3rd) and Flack (7th) each rank among the ACC's top 10 in homers per game this season (through games of May 8).
BULLPEN SLAMS THE DOOR
Carolina's bullpen has been outstanding this entire season, as evidenced by the Tar Heels' 29-1-1 record when leading after six innings. The only game UNC has lost when leading after six was the 4-3, 11-inning loss to Arizona State on March 4 at the Keith LeClair Classic. Carolina lost four key seniors from last year's group of relievers, but junior Jonathan Hovis and sophomores Matt Danford and Robert Woodard have been stellar throughout the entire season in a variety of roles. And senior Bryan Phillips, freshman Andrew Carignan and junior Adam Kalkhof have also made solid contributions out of the pen.
WILLIAMS GRABS ROOKIE HOMER MARK
With his 12th home run of the season versus High Point on April 27, freshman outfielder Seth Williams set a Carolina record for homers by a rookie, eclipsing the 11 hit by Drex Roberts in 1981. Williams leads all ACC freshmen with 13 round-trippers, which have come in just 124 at-bats. Despite having a career-best 14-game hitting streak snapped Wednesday, Williams is batting .304 with the 13 homers and 34 RBI. He has driven in three runs already this week on a two-run homer against Winthrop and a sac fly versus Coastal Carolina. Through games of May 8, he ranked third in the ACC with 0.29 home runs per game and third with a .667 slugging percentage.
CAROLINA COMPETES WITH NATION'S BEST
With a 37-11-1 record, Carolina appears to be in good shape to secure a fourth straight trip to the postseason. The Tar Heels are currently rated seventh in the Boyd's World Pseudo-RPI (BoydsWorld.com) and fourth in the WarrenNolan.com RPI, which is updated daily. Carolina is 9-8-1 against teams ranked among the top 50 in the RPI and 18-10-1 versus teams rated in the top 100.
UNC CONTINUES ACC ROLL
Despite dropping two of three at NC State in its last league series, the Tar Heels are 15-6-1 in ACC play. Carolina has only won more than 15 conference games twice, going 17-4 in 1990 and 17-7 in 2002. The Tar Heels own four conference three-game sweeps for just the second time in program history and first since 2002. Currently third in the league standings, Carolina's first-place regular season finish came in 1990.
TAR HEELS TROUBLED BY ERRORS
UNC entered the year with an outstanding pitching staff and the bats have come around as the season has progressed, but defensively the Tar Heels still have room for improvement. Carolina ranked eighth in the ACC with a .956 fielding percentage (as of May 8) and has committed 88 errors in 49 games. Over the last 15 games, The Tar Heels have made 37 errors - nearly 2.5 per game. UNC has made four errors this week, including two in the first inning versus Coastal Carolina, which led to four unearned runs.
DANIEL CONTINUES TO GET IT DONE
Carolina's co-leader in batting average at .370, junior outfielder Mike Daniel is batting .414 over the last 12 games (12-29) He has also scored seven runs and driven in five over this stretch. After batting just .263 in February, Daniel hit .408 (42-103) over March and April and ranked eighth in the ACC in batting as of May 8. He has 13 multi-hit games this season and his three home runs are a new single-season high.
HOVIS EQUALS CAREER BEST IN APPEARANCES
With a shutout inning against Coastal Carolina Wednesday, junior right-hander Jonathan Hovis equaled his career-best with 22 appearances on the season. Hovis, who lowered his team-best ERA to 1.99, has pitched in both set-up and closing roles and is 5-3 with four saves and is holding opponents to a .231 batting average. Through games of May 8, Hovis ranked third in the ACC with a 2.03 ERA and was fourth with 9.25 strikeouts per nine innings. He also ranked 24th nationally in ERA.
TAR HEELS SPORT BALANCED OFFENSIVE ATTACK
After relying heavily on the bats of Marshall Hubbard and Chris Iannetta a year ago, the Tar Heels have found an offensive balance in 2005. Last season, Hubbard (83), Iannetta (71) and Sammy Hewitt (46) all drove in more than 40 runs but no one else plated more than 27. This season, the Tar Heels have shown a very balanced offense, and Matt Ellington (48), Chad Flack (41), Justin Webb (36), Seth Williams (34) and Josh Horton (30) all have at least 30 RBI. Jay Cox, who drove in two runs Wednesday, needs just one more to to give Carolina six players with at least 30 RBI.
DANFORD CLOSING IN ON SAVES CHART
Redshirt sophomore Matt Danford has eight saves on the season and needs just one more to tie Gordon Douglas for seventh on the single-season save list with nine. Danford's eight saves are fourth in the ACC and equal the number posted by Michael Gross a year ago. Danford, who missed all of last season with a right shoulder injury, is 4-1 with a 1.69 earned run average this season. The Tar Heels are 17-4-1 in games in which Danford has pitched. He displayed his durability in the Miami series when he worked 6.1 innings of relief in the May 17 tie.
TAR HEELS HEADED FOR TOP PITCHING SEASON
After getting back on track on the mound against Duke, Carolina appears headed for one of the top pitching seasons in program history. The Tar Heels, who have a 2.98 staff ERA, have not had a team ERA below 3.00 since a 2.89 mark in 1983. Carolina's lowest team mark since 1970 is a 2.23 ERA in 1972, the first year the Tar Heels played in Boshamer Stadium. This year, Carolina has allowed 149 earned runs in 450 innings and is holding opponents to a .229 batting average. Carolina recorded its seventh shutout of the season against Duke April 24. Detailed pitching stats are only available since the early 1950s, and the top Tar Heel ERA since that time was a 1.66 staff mark in 1967. Garry Hill went 8-0 and led the team with a school-record 0.70 mark in 89 innings.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Freshman Chad Flack recorded the Tar Heels fourth multi-homer game Tuesday in the 13-5 win over Winthrop with a three-run shot and a grand slam. Mike Daniel homered twice in the March 23 6-0 win over Towson, Matt Ellington homered twice and drove in five runs in the Feb. 18 win over Seton Hall and Justin Webb hit a three-run shot and a grand slam in the 17-3 win at Virginia Tech March 11. Daniel hit two solo shots for his first career multi-homer game. Webb's, Ellington's and Flack's efforts also marked their first-ever multi-home run performances.
