University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels, Jackets Meet In Top Five Match Up In Atlanta
March 23, 2006 | Baseball
March 23, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - In a meeting of two of the nation's top teams, No. 2 North Carolina (19-3, 4-2 ACC) visits No. 4 Georgia Tech (18-3, 3-3 ACC) for a three-game series beginning Friday at Russ Chandler Stadium in midtown Atlanta. Game times are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. This weekend marks the debut of the Tar Heel Sports Network's coverage of the Diamond Heels with Jones Angell and Adam Lucas calling all three games. Friday and Saturday's games will be broadcast on AM-1360 WCHL in Chapel Hill and online at TarHeelBlue.com. Sunday's game will be an internet-only broadcast. Saturday's game will also be televised by Fox Sports Net South with Wes Durham and Randy Carroll on the call.
SERIES BREAKDOWN
Game Time UNC Starter/GT Starter Fri., 7 p.m. Andrew Miller (4-0, 1.91)/Blake Wood (5-1, 4.68) Sat., 7 p.m. Daniel Bard (3-1, 4.05)/Tim Gustafson (1-0, 4.29) Sun., 1 p.m. Robert Woodard (2-0, 3.06)/David Duncan (2-0, 6.27)
All-Time Series Record: Georgia Tech leads, 55-46
Last Meeting: Georgia Tech 8, North Carolina 1, May 21, 2005, in Chapel Hill
Series Streak: The Tar Heels and Yellow Jackets have split their last six meetings over the last two seasons.
Fast Fact: This weekend marks the Tar Heels' first series featuring a pair of top-five teams since 1999.
TAR HEELS AT A GLANCE
• At 19-3, Carolina is off to its best start since the 2000 team opened 21-0.
• The Tar Heels' No. 2 national ranking matches the highest in program history.
• Carolina leads the ACC with 31 home runs, including 14 over the last seven games.
• The Tar Heels have scored 10 or more runs in four straight games and have 10 or more hits in each of the last eight games.
• Nine potential starters are batting over .300 for the Tar Heels, including Jay Cox, who is second in the ACC with a .469 average, and Josh Horton, who is fourth at .422.
• Carolina's starting rotation of Daniel Bard, Andrew Miller and Robert Woodard is 9-1 this season and 54-19 over the last three years.
• After struggling for much of the early season, the Tar Heel bullpen recorded 10 shutout innings in the Towson series.
CAROLINA-GEORGIA TECH SERIES
North Carolina trails its all-time series with Georgia Tech, 55-46. The Tar Heels won two of three in Chapel Hill a year ago in the final series of the regular season, and the teams have split their last six meetings over the last two years. The Jackets won the three previous series, and Carolina has not taken a three-game set in Atlanta since 1998. Mike Fox is 8-16 against Georgia Tech in his seven seasons in Chapel Hill.
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
No. 4 Georgia Tech will be well-rested heading into the Carolina series after not playing any midweek games since a series loss at NC State. The Yellow Jackets feature a balanced lineup led by third baseman Wes Hodges (.398-4-22) and outfielder Danny Payne (.393-4-23). Five regulars have driven in at least 20 runs, led by first baseman Whit Robbins (.375-5-30).
On the mound, Tech with start junior right-hander Blake Wood (5-1, 4.68) Friday. Junior righty Tim Gustafson (1-0, 4.29) will make just his second start of the season Saturday, and freshman lefty David Duncan (2-0, 6.27) will take the mound Sunday.
NOTING THE CAROLINA STARTERS
FRIDAY: Andrew Miller (Jr., LHP): Miller returns to the front of the Tar Heels' weekend rotation for the first time this season against Georgia Tech. In five starts, he is 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA with 39 strikeouts and just eight walks over 33 innings. The Gainesville, Fla., product looks to rebound after allowing season highs of six runs and nine hits against Maryland March 18. Against the Yellow Jackets, Miller is 0-0 with a 6.43 ERA in two career starts.
SATURDAY: Daniel Bard (Jr., RHP): Bard will make his first Saturday start of the season against Tech. He struggled in his last start, allowing career highs of 10 runs and 10 hits in a loss to Maryland March 17. On the season, Bard is 3-1 with a 4.05 ERA and 41 strikeouts and only eight walks in 33.1 innings. The Charlotte native leads the ACC in strikeouts per nine innings at 11.07. In his career against the Jackets, Bard is 1-1 with a 7.07 ERA in two career starts.
SUNDAY: Robert Woodard (Jr., RHP): A winner of his last 13 decisions, Woodard aims to get back in the win column against Georgia Tech after three straight no-decisions. On the year, he is 2-0 with a 3.06 ERA in 32.1 innings. He had the best start for the Tar Heels in the Maryland series, allowing two earned runs on just four hits in five innings. In his career against Georgia Tech, Woodard is 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA. He allowed just one run and struck out five in 6.2 innings in Chapel Hill a year ago, and worked two scoreless innings in relief in Atlanta in 2004.
RECENT STANDOUTS VS. TECH
Outfielder/designated hitter Jay Cox leads current Tar Heels with a career .529 average (7-17) against the Yellow Jackets. In the 2004 series in Atlanta, Cox went 6-for-12 with two home runs, including one inside-the-park homer, and five RBI. He earned ACC Player of the Week honors following this performance. First baseman Chad Flack hit .444 (4-9) in last year's series win in Chapel Hill with a homer and two RBI. Shortstop Josh Horton hit .500 in the series with three RBI.
HOT-HITTING HEELS
With nine potential starters batting .300 or better, Carolina has produced throughout its lineup this season to the tune of a .348 team average. Jay Cox (.469), Josh Horton (.422) and Kyle Shelton (.422) are all hitting well above .400 with another five players hitting above .350. The Tar Heels are hitting 54 points higher than they did last season, and Mike Daniel, who led Carolina with a .351 average a year ago, would currently rank eighth on this year's team in hitting.
TAR HEELS IN FIRST TOP-FIVE SERIES SINCE 1999
This weekend's meeting between No. 2 North Carolina and No. 4 Georgia Tech marks the first time the Tar Heels have participated in a series featuring two top-five teams since 1999, Mike Fox's first year in Chapel Hill. That season, Carolina was 22-2 and ranked third before being swept at No. 1 Florida State March 26-28.
COX HUNTING HITS
Junior outfielder Jay Cox leads the Tar Heels with a massive .469 batting average through 22 games. He has 13 multi-hit games, including six over his current nine-game hitting streak. Over this stretch, Cox has five homers, four doubles and 15 RBI. He has hit safely in 20 of the Tar Heels' 22 games this season and has 38 hits in just 81 at-bats. Cox has already hit a career-best eight home runs and leads the Tar Heels with 26 RBI, an .852 slugging percentage and .547 on-base percentage.
In the most recent ACC statistics, Cox ranks first in home runs, first in slugging, second in batting, second in hits per game, second in onbase percentage, sixth in runs and seventh in RBI per game.
BEST START SINCE 2000 FOR UNC
At 19-3 through 22 games, Carolina is off to its best start since the 2000 squad was 21-1 after opening a school-record 21-0. The Tar Heels opened 8-0 for the second straight season and have won eight of their last nine games heading into the Georgia Tech series. With three wins this weekend, Carolina can match it's program-best mark after 25 games of 22-3 set in 1999.
CARIGNAN CLOSING STRONG
Sophomore Andrew Carignan has emerged as a force in the Tar Heel bullpen with four saves and 11 strikeouts in just nine innings. Over his last five appearances, the Norwich, Conn., native has not allowed a base hit and has struck out 10 batters in just 6.2 innings. He sports a 0.00 ERA, having allowed just one unearned run on the season.
HORTON HEATS UP
Sophomore shortstop Josh Horton tied a career high with four hits Wednesday to raise his average to .422, which is good for fourth in the ACC. Over his current five-game hitting streak, Horton is batting .625 (10-16) with six RBI and four doubles. On the season, he has hit safely in 19 of 21 games played and is second on the squad with 24 RBI.
ALL-AMERICAS LIVE UP TO BILLING
Junior starters Daniel Bard, Andrew Miller and Robert Woodard are living up to their preseason hype in the early stages of 2006. The trio of preseason All-Americas is a combined 9-1 with a 3.01 earned run average and has struck out 94 batters in 98.2 innings, while walking just 23. Prior to last week's struggles with Maryland, the trio sported a 1.64 earned run average. All three starters enter this weekend's series with Georgia Tech with 18 career victories for 54 of the Tar Heels' 103 wins over the last three seasons.
FED EX DELIVERS
Known around the Carolina clubhouse as Fed Ex, rookie catcher Tim Federowicz has simply delivered this season to the tune of a .370 average. The Apex product leads the Tar Heels with eight doubles and is third on the team with four home runs and 21 RBI. Federowicz is slugging .617 and has been outstanding defensively with just one error in 113 chances.
Over his current eight-game hitting streak, Federowicz is batting .452 with two homers and 11 RBI.
COX CLAIMS ACC, NATIONAL HONORS
After powering third-ranked North Carolina to a 4-1 week and back-to-back come-from-behind wins over Maryland, outfielder Jay Cox was named Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week Monday. Cox led the Tar Heels with four home runs, eight runs scored and 10 runs batted in over a five-game stretch.
The Smithfield native went 9-for-22 at the plate and notched 22 total bases for a perfect 1.000 slugging percentage last week. He homered in all three games against Maryland, including a key three-run shot March 19 that helped secure the series for Carolina. March 18, he was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a solo homer in the third. Cox hit a two-run home run in the first game with George Mason and followed with a 2-for-3 effort including a double in the second.
MAKING THE JUMP
A year ago, Carolina regularly started as many as five freshman in its lineup - infielders Chad Flack, Reid Fronk and Josh Horton, outfielder Seth Williams and catcher Benji Johnson. All five started at least 22 games with Horton and Flack starting 53 and 56, respectively. Two-way player Matt Spencer also played in 28 games (nine starts).
So far in 2006, this group has been a key part of the team's extremely balanced lineup with 97 of its 173 RBI. Spencer and Fronk have combined for 39 RBI this season after driving in just 25 runs all last season. Add classmates Matt Iannetta, who had just two at-bats a year ago, and Kyle Shelton and the sophomore class has tallied 110 of Carolina's 173 RBI this season.
Six sophs are also batting over .300 on the young season for head coach Mike Fox.
HOMECOMING FOR STEED
Second baseman Bryan Steed makes his second trip home as a Tar Heel when Carolina heads to Georgia Tech this weekend. Steed is batting a career-best .358 on the season. The Atlanta native attended The Marist School, where he was a baseball and football standout. Steed's father, Dick, played baseball at Tech from 1970-73.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Carolina's series at Georgia Tech marks its first games outside the Old North State this season. The Tar Heels own a 17-2 record at Boshamer Stadium and took two of three at Wake Forest in only road series of the season.
TOUGH STRETCH OPENS FOR HEELS
The Georgia Tech series opens a stretch of three straight weekends against some of the top programs in collegiate baseball for the Tar Heels. After three games with the No. 4 Jackets, Carolina hosts Florida State, ranked No. 1 in three of the four major polls, March 31 to April 2 before heading to Miami for a three-game set with the 12th-ranked Hurricanes April 7-9. Carolina is 2-1 this season against nationally-ranked opponents.
SHELTON STEPS UP
Second baseman/designated hitter Kyle Shelton has been on a tear of late with 11 hits and a .440 average over the last seven games. The South Mecklenburg High School product has hit safely in 14 of the 16 games he has played this season and has nearly tripled his hit total of a year ago. Shelton has 19 hits this season after recording just seven in 2005. On the year, he is batting .422 to rank second on the team.
THE RUNNIN' HEELS
UNC head coach Mike Fox said he wanted to run more this season, and so far so good. The Tar Heels have swiped 42 bases in 54 attempts through 22 games, led by Matt Spencer, who is 12-for-14 on the base paths. Carolina is already a more than two-third of the way to its 2005 stolen base total of 61 in 81 attempts. The Tar Heels last swiped more than 100 bases in 2002.
HOVIS ANCHORS HEELS' PEN
Senior closer Jonathan Hovis has been a savior in the bullpen, as Carolina's relievers have struggled at times this season. He is 4-1 with two saves and has allowed just three runs on 14 hits in 20.1 innings of work. Hovis has pitched in 13 of the Tar Heels' 22 games and has earned a win in two of his last three appearances. He went a season-long four innings to earn a win over Maryland March 18. Hovis is now 14-6 in his career with seven saves.
