University of North Carolina Athletics
Top-Ranked Carolina Hosts Hokies At Boshamer
April 14, 2006 | Baseball
April 14, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina plays its first-ever weekend series with a No. 1 national ranking against Virginia Tech beginning Friday at Boshamer Stadium. Game times are 7 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. This weekend marks the first trip to Chapel Hill for Virginia Tech as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels (28-7, 9-6 ACC) and Hokies (14-19, 2-13 ACC) played just once in Blacksburg a year ago due to inclement weather.
All three games this weekend will be aired live on AM-1360 WCHL in Chapel Hill and at TarHeelBlue.com with Jones Angell and Adam Lucas calling the action.
Saturday's game is the annual Kids Take Over The Bosh Day, meaning kids will have a role in all parts of the game day experience. On Saturday only, kids will be selling game programs for $1 with all proceeds going toward the Reece Holbrook Golf Classic, benefitting the Pediatric Oncology Department at UNC Children's Hospital.
SERIES BREAKDOWN
Game Time UNC Starter/VT Starter Fri., 7 p.m. Andrew Miller (7-0, 1.53)/Evan Frederickson (0-2, 9.42) Sat., 1 p.m. Robert Woodard (3-1, 3.88)/David Cross (2-5, 5.81) Sun., 1:30 p.m. Daniel Bard (3-2, 5.16)/Greg Fryman (3-3, 4.60)
All-Time Series Record: North Carolina leads, 40-22-2
Last Meeting: North Carolina 17, Virginia Tech 3, March 11, 2005 in Blacksburg, Va.
Series Streak: The Tar Heels have won the only four meetings with the Hokies since 1977.
Fast Fact: With a victory Friday, Carolina's Andrew Miller will match his win total in 2005 and with two strikeouts he will move into sixth on the Tar Heels' career list.
TAR HEELS AT A GLANCE
• Through 35 games, the Tar Heels sit at 28-7 for the second straight season. The 28 wins are tied for the third most nationally. Carolina looks for a stronger finish this year after closing with a 13-12-1 mark last season.
• UNC's No. 1 national ranking in the NCBWA poll is the highest ranking in program history. The Tar Heels were rated No. 2 on three different occasions this season before earning the top spot in the writers poll.
• After hitting nine home runs in the Miami series, UNC leads the ACC with 45 homers and has allowed only 18 in 35 games.
• UNC has stolen 56 bases on the season and allowed just 16 steals. Five more steals and the Tar Heels will match their season total of 2005.
• Seven potential starters are batting over .300 for the Tar Heels, including Jay Cox at .411 and Josh Horton at .394. Both Cox ranks second in the ACC, while Horton sits fourth.
• Carolina's starting rotation of Daniel Bard, Andrew Miller and Robert Woodard is 13-3 this season and 58-21 over the last three years.
• Thanks in large part to reliable middle reliever Jonathan Hovis and emerging closer Andrew Carignan, Carolina is 22-1 this season when leading after six innings.
CAROLINA-VIRGINIA TECH SERIES
North Carolina leads its all-time series with Virginia Tech, 40-22-2. The Tar Heels and Hokies first met in 1907 but have played just three times since 1980 with Carolina winning all three. UNC won its only meeting with Virginia Tech last season, 17-3, in Blacksburg. The final two games in the series were cancelled due to inclement weather.
SCOUTING THE HOKIES
Virginia Tech enters the weekend batting .281 with first baseman Sean O'Brien leading the way with a .323 average, three homers and 25 RBI. Third baseman Bryan Thomas has driven in a team-high 36 runs, while outfielder Jose Cueto has hit a team-best five home runs. The Hokies have combined to hit 25 home runs and have 32 steals in 49 attempts.
On the mound, Virginia Tech sports a 6.47 ERA and is allowing the opposition to hit .316. Reliever Adam Redd leads all regulars with a 3.38 ERA and four wins. The Hokies will send freshman lefty Evan Frederickson (0-2, 9.42) to the mound Friday followed by junior right-handers David Cross (2-5, 5.81) and Greg Fryman (3-3, 4.60).
NOTING THE CAROLINA STARTERS
FRIDAY: Andrew Miller (Jr., LHP): One of the most dominant starters in the nation, Miller has allowed just two earned runs and struck out 25 batters in 20 innings since moving into the Friday slot in Carolina's rotation three weeks ago. After shutting out Georgia Tech and Florida State over 14 combined innings, Miller picked up win No. 7 with two earned runs on five hits over six innings at Miami last time out. The Gainesville, Fla., native sports a 0.90 earned run average over this stretch.
He has recorded 10 or more strikeouts three times this season and has 64 on the season in just 53 innings. Miller has worked at least six innings in seven of his eight starts and has gone at least seven in five of his last seven starts. On the season, Miller has allowed just nine earned runs and sports a 1.53 ERA. He has not allowed an earned run in five of his eight starts and owns four shutout performances of at least six innings. Miller has given up just three extra-base hits and one home run all season.
Miller is the only Tar Heel with a start against Virginia Tech and he earned a win versus the Hokies a year ago. He allowed just one earned run and fanned eight in seven innings in Blacksburg.
SATURDAY: Robert Woodard (Jr., RHP): A winner of 14 of his last 15 decisions, Woodard looks to bounce back against the Hokies after allowing career highs of nine hits and five runs at Miami in his last start. Woodard is 3-1 on the year with a 3.88 ERA and 24 strikeouts to just 12 walks. He has lasted six innings or more in six of his eight starts, including his second career complete game in a win over then-No. 1 Florida State April 1. Woodard has also allowed three earned runs or less in six of eight starts. A win Saturday against the Hokies would push Woodard's career record to 20-3.
SUNDAY: Daniel Bard (Jr., RHP): Bard showed signs of turning things around at Miami, but has still struggled to the tune of a 10.38 ERA over his last four starts and has not pitched past the fifth in any of his last three. On the year, Bard is 3-2 with a 5.16 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 45.1 innings. He has five or more strikeouts in seven of eight starts, including a career-high 13 in a complete game versus Purdue March 4. Bard is 18-11 in his career and will reach the 200-strikeout plateau with just one more punchout.
TAR HEELS TOP-RANKED FOR FIRST TIME
After ascending to the top spot in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll, Carolina is ranked No. 1 in the country in one of the four major college baseball polls for the first time in program history. The Tar Heels have won back-to-back series against top-15 opponents and currently sit atop the standings in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division.
Carolina is coming off a series win at Miami and also took two of three from then-No. 1 Florida State the previous weekend. The Tar Heels are also ranked No. 2 by Collegiate Baseball this week, third by Baseball America and fourth in the USA Today coaches poll. UNC had reached its previous high ranking of No. 2 on three occasions this season and also twice in 2000.
FRONK FOURTH ACC HONOREE FOR UNC; NCBWA HITTER OF THE WEEK
After leading North Carolina to a 4-1 week and a series win over then-No. 14 Miami, third baseman Reid Fronk was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week Monday and NCBWA National Hitter of the Week Tuesday. Fronk went 11-for-19 last week with 10 runs scored, nine RBI, four doubles, a triple and three home runs. He slugged 1.368 with 26 total bases on the week and also notched a .625 on-base percentage on the strength of 11 hits, three walks and one hit by pitch.
In three games against the Hurricanes, Fronk went 6-for-10 with six runs scored, four RBI, two homers, a double and a triple. He reached base at a .667 clip in the series and slugged 1.500. He led Carolina to a 9-6 win Sunday in the rubber game of the series with a two-run home run in the fourth, a solo shot in the eighth and four RBI. He is the first Tar Heel to record a multi-home run game since Chad Flack against Winthrop May 10, 2005. Fronk matched a career high with three hits, including a home run, in the 23-7 win over Davidson Wednesday and also equaled a career-best with three runs scored against the Wildcats and in the loss to Miami Saturday.
Fronk had an 11-game hitting streak and a run of six straight multi-hit games snapped Wednesday, but he reached base five times without a hit and scored a career-best four runs. He hit .439 (18-41) over the career-best hitting streak. On the season, Fronk is fourth on the team with a .339 average and 28 RBI, first with 11 doubles and second with seven home runs, all of which are career highs in just 35 games this season.
Carolina has now won one of the ACC's weekly honors in each of the last four weeks and five of the last six. Andrew Miller was named Pitcher of the Week March 27 and April 3, while Jay Cox picked up Player of the Week honors March 20. Daniel Bard was named Pitcher of the Week March 6.
MILLER TOP PITCHER AT MIDSEASON
Junior left-hander Andrew Miller was listed as the nation's top pitcher at the midseason point by Baseball America April 5. The publication cited Miller's dominating performances against Georgia Tech and Florida State as highlights of his outstanding start. Miller is 7-0 with a 1.53 ERA and 64 strikeouts in eight starts.
MILLER BEST IN BIG GAMES
In four games against nationally-ranked opponents, lefty Andrew Miller has been at his best. Against Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Florida State and Miami, the Tar Heels' ace is 4-0 with a miniscule 0.64 ERA in 28 innings. The only two earned runs he has allowed versus a ranked team came at Miami in his last start. Miller is holding the opposition to a .157 average and has 28 strikeouts to just nine walks in these games.
HEELS DIG THE LONG BALL
With an ACC-best 45 home runs through 35 games, the Tar Heels are well ahead of their 2005 homer pace. At this point in the season a year ago, Carolina had 37 home runs and finished with 63. The Tar Heels are on pace to hit 72 home runs during the regular season this year, which would rank as the 10th-most in program history.
Carolina has six games with three or more homers this season, including two of its last four outings. The Tar Heels slugged nine homers in the series win at Miami last weekend.
TAR HEELS TAKE FIRST IN COASTAL
Halfway through the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season, Carolina sits tied for first in the Coastal Division with a 9-6 record and owns the tie-breaker over Miami thanks to last weekend's series win. The Tar Heels completed one of the toughest stretches of the season with a 5-4 record against Georgia Tech, Florida State and Miami over consecutive weekends. Carolina hosts Virginia Tech, NC State and Boston College and travels to Duke and Virginia in the second half of the ACC slate.
FRONK FINDS A WAY
Third baseman/leadoff hitter Reid Fronk put up huge offensive numbers last week and carried an 11-game hitting streak into Wednesday's game. He went hitless against Charlotte but walked three times and was hit by a pitch twice to reach base five times in the game. He scored a career-best four runs. Fronk, who has drawn six walks over the last three games, is now second on the team with a .472 on-base percentage and has been hit by a pitch 12 times this season - eight more than any other Tar Heel. Fronk has reached base in all 34 games he has started this season and leads Carolina with 38 runs scored.
EIGHT IS MORE THAN ENOUGH
The Tar Heels have scored 244 runs this season for an average of 8.2 runs per game, and Carolina is 16-1 on the year when it scores eight or more times. UNC's 14 runs against Charlotte marked its 15th game this season with nine or more runs and the Tar Heels are 15-0 when nearing double-digit run production.
But with their outstanding pitching staff, Carolina can ususally get by with less, evidenced by a 21-2 record when scoring at least six games. Five of the Tar Heels' seven losses have come when scoring five runs or less.
CARIGNAN MOVING UP SAVES LIST
Sophomore Andrew Carignan has eight saves in 15 appearances this season and already sits ninth on the Tar Heels' single season list. One more save and Carignan will move into a seventh place with junior Matt Danford and Gordon Douglas, who each saved nine games. Thad Crismon owns Carolina's single-season record with 18 saves in 1993.
On the year, Carignan has allowed just one earned run over 18 innings for a 0.50 ERA. He has 22 strikeouts and just six walks. Two of his eight saves came in the Tar Heels' wins over Miami last weekend. Carignan has also proven to be durable with three two-inning saves in ACC play.
BALANCED ATTACK FOR CAROLINA
With seven potential starters batting .300 or better, Carolina has produced throughout its lineup this season to the tune of a .325 team average, which is 31 points higher than its team mark in 2005. Jay Cox (.411) and Josh Horton (.394) rank among the top hitters in the ACC. Another three regulars are hitting above .339. The Tar Heels also have:
• Five players with 29 or more runs scored
• Six players with at least eight doubles and nine with five or more doubles
• Five players with at least 25 RBI and three with at least 30
• Five players with at least five home runs
CAVASINNI COMING ON
Speedy freshman Mike Cavasinni is playing the best ball of his young college career recently, hitting .500 (7-14) with six RBI over the last six games. Last time out, the Huntersville product had his first career three-hit game and drove in two runs at Charlotte Wednesday. Over his last 16 games, Cavasinni is hitting .406 (13-32) and has nine runs scored and seven RBI over this stretch. He had five hits over his last two games for back-to-back multi-hit games for the first time as a Tar Heel.
BANNER WEEK FOR STEED
After and 0-for-13 slump from March 22-April 4, junior second baseman Bryan Steed closed last week on a tear, hitting .471 (8-17) with four doubles and his second career home run over the final four games of the week. He had three multi-hit games, including a 3-for-4 effort with four RBI against Davidson before hitting his first home run since 2004 April 7 against Miami. He closed the series with two doubles and two runs scored in game three against the Canes.
Despite an 0-for-3 effort Wednesday, Steed is batting a career-best .318 with one home run, eight doubles and 13 RBI in 31 games.
JOHNSON ON CAREER-BEST RUN
Sophomore catcher Benji Johnson had a six-game hitting streak snapped in the series finale at Miami, but he bounced back with two hits and two RBI at Charlotte Wednesday. In fact, Johnson has hit safely in 12 of his last 15 games for a .327 average over this stretch. He has four of his six home runs and 11 of his 17 RBI over this stretch. Johnson is batting a career-best .279 on the season.
CAREER YEAR FOR COX
Junior outfielder Jay Cox is in the midst of a career year having already hit a career-best eight home runs and driven in 34 runs, which matches his total in 55 games a year ago. Hitting a team-best .411, Cox is also just one double short on his single-season high of 11 set in 2004 and `05. Cox is slugging a whopping .685 and is also reaching base at a career-best .503 clip.
Cox leads all current Tar Heels with 163 career hits and 92 career RBI.
HOVIS ANCHORS HEELS' PEN
With a team-high 19 appearances through 34 games, senior closer Jonathan Hovis was a savior early in the season when the Tar Heels' bullpen struggled early in the year. He is 6-2 with two saves and has allowed just seven runs on 22 hits in 33.2 innings of work for a career-low 1.87 ERA. Hovis has four appearances of three or more innings, including a pair of four-inning outings, which both produced victories. He allowed just one hit over 3.1 scoreless innings to earn a win in the series clincher at Miami. Hovis is now 16-7 in his career with seven saves.
CAROLINA'S CATCHING SUCCESS
The Tar Heels' catching tandem of Tim Federowicz and Benji Johnson has been simply outstanding defensively this season. Opponents have stolen only 16 bases in 35 games and have attempted to steal only 31 times. Federowicz has thrown out 46.2 percent (6-13) of base runners, while Johnson has gunned down 55.6 percent (10-18), including his last five. The duo has also committed just four errors in 349 chances on the season.
CAREER STRIKEOUT WATCH
With 64 strikeouts over his first eight starts of the season, junior lefty Andrew Miller has 256 for his career. With just 33 more strikeouts this season, Miller can tie Michael Hoog's school record of 289 set between 1987-90. Mike Bynum, a 1999 first-round draft choice, owns the mark for strikeouts in a three-year career with 276 from 1997-99. Miller can move into sixth place on the Tar Heels all-time list with two strikeouts Friday.
CAREER STRIKEOUT LEADERS 1. Michael Hoog (1987-90) 289 2. Jim Dougherty (1987-90) 281 3. Thad Crismon (1992-95) 279 4. Mike Bynum (1997-99) 276 5. Ryan Snare (1998-2000) 269 6. Scott Bankhead (1982-84) 257 7. Andrew Miller (2004-pres.) 256
