Carolina Baseball Season Preview

Carolina's December Hitting Camp Is Full

February 14, 2007 | Baseball

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Feb. 14, 2007

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina's baseball team enjoyed the finest season in program history a year ago, winning a school-record 54 games and falling just one victory shy of the Atlantic Coast Conference's first national title since 1955. But rather than rest on their past successes, ninth-year head coach Mike Fox and the Tar Heels view last season as a springboard toward a permanent spot among the nation's elite.

Carolina will certainly miss first-round draft choices Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard and national earned run average leader Jonathan Hovis, but the Tar Heels return enough talent to warrant a consensous top-five national ranking from Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. UNC brings back eight regulars from a year ago, a pair of starting pitchers that combined for a 13-1 record and the ACC's leader in saves. The Tar Heels also have one of the nation's top freshman classes in the fold, giving Fox possibly his deepest team since returning to his alma mater in 1999.

"We have more depth," says Fox. "The guys could not take a day off this fall because they were being pushed. We have some freshmen that could play opening day, and that's because they proved themselves over five weeks in the fall."

Offensively, Carolina returns five players that drove in 44 or more runs a year ago and three players that hit 12 or more home runs. Leading the way will be a pair of junior preseason All-Americas in infielder Chad Flack and shortstop Josh Horton. Flack (.384-13-68) set the Tar Heels' single-season hit record with 112 a year ago, while Horton (.395-7-59) won just Carolina's second ACC batting crown since 1979.

Freshman All-America Tim Federowicz (.320-12-62) and junior Benji Johnson (.273-14-44) give the Tar Heels one of the top catching tandems in the nation, and returnees Reid Fronk (.298-9-44), Mike Cavasinni (.317-0-18) and Seth Williams (.298-3-23) are slated to start in the outfield.

Rookies Kyle Seager and Dustin Ackley also figure into the projected starting lineup at second base and first base, respectively.

On the mound, the Tar Heels will turn to senior Robert Woodard, who was 7-1 with a 3.43 ERA a year ago, as their ace. He owns a 23-3 career record and is on pace to become the program's all-time leader in victories this season. Sophomore Luke Putkonen, who was 6-0 as a midweek starter in 2006, will likely move into the weekend rotation, along with highly-touted freshman Alex White.

Junior preseason All-America closer Andrew Carignan, who led the ACC with 15 saves a year ago, will once again anchor the bullpen, and senior Matt Danford brings a wealth of experience to his middle relief role. Federowicz, who excelled on the mound with Team USA this summer, is slated to work in set-up situations.

The Tar Heels will have more depth in the bullpen this season, including a number of situational lefties that were lacking a year ago.

The 2006 Diamond Heels had certain intangibles and an obvious love for the game that helped propel them to the brink of a national title, and Fox sees the same attitude in this year's squad. "It seems to me the chemistry and camaraderie are the same," he says. "Our players seemed to be very hungry this fall, and our goal now is to try to be the first Carolina team to go back-to-back to the College World Series.

"This fall there was a little different air in the locker room and on the field. When you finally reach a goal it just reinforces that we have been on the right path. I think it gave the players assurance that they were doing things the right way. The hard worked paid off and they got rewarded. But you take a deep breath and say `now we've been there, now we know what it takes and we're just going to try and do it again.'"

STARTING PITCHING
Senior right-hander Robert Woodard, one of the most experienced, crafty and consistent pitchers in the nation, returns as the Tar Heels' Friday night ace. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, but elected to return to Chapel Hill. Woodard, who was 7-1 in 2006, is a big-game pitcher as evidenced by complete-game shutouts of top-10 opponents Virginia and Clemson a year ago. The Charlotte Myers Park product stands eighth all-time at UNC with 23 victories and can become the school's all-time leader with eight more wins.

Sophomore righty Luke Putkonen is also expected to figure into the weekend rotation after going 6-0 as a midweek starter a year ago. Putkonen posted a 3.08 ERA over 61.1 innings and also got some big-game experience in relief in the Super Regional at Alabama.

Prep All-America Alex White, a 14th-round choice by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Greenville's D.H. Conley High School, also has a shot at the weekend rotation as a rookie right-hander.

Veterans Matt Cox, who was cited as the team's most improved player in the fall, and Adam Warren also figure into the rotation and could start midweek games or slide into the weekend. Warren made three starts a year ago and went 1-0 with a 4.81 ERA over 24.1 innings. Cox worked 5.2 innings in 2006.

Freshmen Jared Bard, Rob Catapano, B.J. Dail and Matt Petiton add depth to the rotation and could spot start or work out of the bullpen.

RELIEF PITCHING
The Tar Heels will feature a deeper and more versatile bullpen this season. A year ago, Carolina relied mainly on the right arms of Andrew Carignan, Matt Danford and Jonathan Hovis, who combined for 103 appearances in 2006. Carignan and Danford are back to anchor the pen this season, with Carignan holding down the closer role. He saved an ACC-best 15 games a year ago (in 17 opportunities) and struck out 44 batters in just 33.2 innings.

Danford, who owns a 14-5 record and a 3.51 ERA in 83 career appearances, is one of the most experienced relievers in the ACC. He owns three postseason victories and is the only player in Carolina history to be on a pair of NCAA regional title teams.

Sophomore Tim Federowicz, who struck out 10 and did not allow an earned run in 5.2 innings with Team USA this season, figures to pitch in a set-up role.

Junior right-handers Mike Facchinei, Tyler Trice and Rob Wooten should also get some key middle relief innings, and the coaching staff is expecting big things of all three hurlers. Trice went 1-0 with a 3.57 ERA in 17.2 innings a year ago, while Facchinei was 0-1 with a 4.63 ERA in 11.2 innings. Wooten has dropped his arm slot and experienced great success in the fall.

Sophomore Brian Farrell and freshman Brian Moran, as well as Cox, Catapano and Petiton, give the Tar Heels plenty of options for a situational lefty, while rookies Bryant Gaines and Hunter Rome give pitching coach Scott Forbes more right-handers.

CATCHER
Carolina is once again blessed with one of the nation's top catching duos in sophomore Tim Federowicz and junior Benji Johnson. This duo combined for 26 home runs and 106 runs batted in a year ago, and also provided outstanding defense behind the plate. They combined for just nine errors and threw out 38.4 percent (28-73) of attempted base stealers.

Federowicz hit .320 with 12 homers and a UNC rookie record 62 RBI, while Johnson had a breakthrough year with 14 home runs and 44 RBI. This tandem should alternate at catcher and designated hitter much like last season.

Sophomore Mike McKee, one of the team's most vocal leaders, and freshman Mark Fleury add depth behind the plate.

FIRST BASE
Preseason All-America Chad Flack is the obvious choice to return at first base, but with him set to see more time at third, freshman Dustin Ackley could get the nod on opening day. He was a prep All-America at North Forsyth High School and hit .421 (8-19) in the Tar Heels' five-game Fall World Series.

Junior Kyle Shelton, who hit .328 in a reserve role a year ago, and freshman two-way standout Alex White add depth at first.

SECOND BASE
Freshman Kyle Seager is expected to start at second base after an outstanding fall. The prep All-America out of Northwest Cabarrus High School led all Tar Heels with a .429 average (9-21) in the Fall World Series. He is outstanding defensively and brings a left-handed bat with some pop to the lineup.

Second base should one of the deepest spots on the team this season with senior Bryan Steed and sophomore Garrett Gore behind Seager. Steed has started 92 games over the last three seasons for the Tar Heels and hit .265 with two homers and 20 RBI a year ago. Gore got the starting nod at the College World Series due to his outstanding glove work, and hit .227 with 10 RBI a year ago.

THIRD BASE
Preseason All-America Chad Flack, who played a lot of third base as a freshman in 2005, is likely to start there in 2007. He spent much of the fall playing third, and is outstanding defensively at either corner infield position.

At the plate, Flack set a Carolina record with 112 hits and added 13 home runs and 68 RBI en route to a .384 average a year ago. Flack put together one of the finest offensive seasons in school history and ranked among the ACC's top 10 in eight offensive categories.

Flack is one of the most clutch Tar Heels in recent memory, having hit back-to-back home runs to propel UNC past Alabama in the Super Regional and into the College World Series.

If Flack ends up playing mainly at first base, sophomore Garrett Gore and junior Kyle Shelton are the candidates to play at third. Both spent some time there in 2006.

Senior Joe Pietropaoli, a second-year transfer from Louisburg College, adds depth at third and is a team leader.

SHORTSTOP
Junior All-America Josh Horton returns for his third season as the Tar Heels' starting shortstop in 2007. The ACC batting champ a year ago, Horton owns the third best career batting average in UNC history with a .375 mark. Last season, he hit .395 with career-bests of seven home runs and 59 RBI en route to All-America honors from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and Rivals.com. He had a stellar postseason, earning spots on the all-tournament team at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional and the College World Series.

Horton has outstanding range defensively and one of the best infield arms in the nation. He showed great improvement with the glove down the stretch a year ago.

Freshman Ryan Graepel from Greenville's J.H. Rose High School adds depth at short after a standout prep career.

Andrew Carignan led the ACC with 15 saves a year ago.

Reid Fronk moves from third base to left field this season.

OUTFIELD
Carolina is expected to have more flexibility and depth in the outfield this season than in recent years. Juniors Reid Fronk (left) and Seth Williams (right) and sophomore Mike Cavasinni (center) are expected to earn the starting nod, with a solid group of freshmen giving the coaching staff many options in the outfield.

Fronk made the move from third base to the left field this fall and excelled in the eyes of the coaching staff. At the plate, Fronk is a patient hitter, evidenced by a .433 on-base percentage, as well as team highs of 19 doubles, 68 runs scored and 41 walks. He set a UNC record with 69 games played in 2006.

Williams is fully healthy after battling a hamstring injury for much of last season. As a rookie, he hit 13 home runs and that power should be back this season. Williams hit .298 a year ago and carries a 10-game hitting streak into this season. He owns the team's best outfield arm and should bring great range to right field.

Cavasinni is slated to bat leadoff and start in center field. He really came on strong in the second half of last season and finished with a .317 average and team bests of 16 stolen bases and 12 sacrifice bunts. Cavasinni brings a great deal of speed to the base paths and in the outfield, where he posted a .990 fielding percentage.

Sophomore Matt McNichol, one of the fastest players on the team, gives Carolina a great deal of depth in the outfield. He played in 16 games a year ago.

Freshmen Drew Poulk, Tim Fedroff, Kendric Burney and Dustin Ackley could also see time in the outfield. Poulk and Fedroff are extremely talented and should see plenty of action, and Ackley could also see time in the outfield when not at first base.