University of North Carolina Athletics
Top-ranked Tar Heels Open Home Stand With Stony Brook
February 22, 2007 | Baseball
Feb. 22, 2007
Carolina-Stony Brook Notes in PDF Format
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Top-ranked North Carolina opens a 19-game home stand against America East Conference foe Stony Brook this weekend at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels (4-0) and Seawolves (0-0) will face off at 3 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
GAMES 5-7: VS. STONY BROOK, FEB. 23-25, CHAPEL HILL
STONY BROOK (0-0, 0-0 AMERICA EAST) AT #1 NORTH CAROLINA (4-0, 0-0 ACC)
• FRIDAY 3 P.M., SATURDAY 1 P.M., SUNDAY 1:30 P.M.
• ALL-TIME SERIES: First meeting
• LAST MEETING: None
|
Date |
Time | UNC Starter | SBU Starter | TV/Radio |
| Feb. 23 | 3 p.m. | Robert Woodard (Sr., RHP) 1-0, 0.00 |
Tom Koehler (Jr., RHP) 2006: 4-4, 5.17 |
None |
| Feb. 24 | 1 p.m. | Alex White (Fr., RHP) 1-0, 0.00 |
Tom Koehler (Jr., RHP) 2006: 3-4, 4.52 |
None |
| Feb. 25 | 1:30 p.m. | Luke Putkonen (So., RHP) 1-0, 0.00 |
Kurt Jung (Sr., RHP) 2006: 2-0, 1.08 |
None |
NATIONAL RANKINGS: North Carolina is ranked No. 1 by Baseball America and No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA. Stony Brook is unranked.
STONY BROOK SERIES: The Tar Heels and Seawolves have never met on the diamond. Carolina did host America East champion Maine in the 2006 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional.
TAR HEELS AT A GLANCE: The Tar Heels have started 4-0 for the fifth straight season ... UNC ranks among the top four in the ACC in team batting (.343) and ERA (1.75) ... Carolina has four players with four or more RBI through four games ... Three of the UNC's top five hitters are freshmen ... Tar Heel starting pitching has allowed just two runs in 24 innings ... Senior RHP Robert Woodard can become just the fifth player in school history with 25 victories with a win Friday ... Both Dustin Ackley and Josh Horton carry four-game hitting streaks into the weekend.
SCOUTING THE SEAWOLVES: Stony Brook was 25-29 overall and 13-8 in America East play in 2006. The top returning hitters from last season are outfielders Kyle Traylor (.326) and Brian Witkowski (.319). The Seawolves are scheduled to start right-handers Tom Koehler (4-4, 5.17), Mike Errigo (3-4, 4.52) and Kurt Jung (2-0, 1.08) this weekend.
LAST TIME OUT: Junior right-hander Mike Facchinei allowed just one hit over six-plus innings in his first career start, and right fielder Seth Williams hit a two-run home run to lead No. 1 North Carolina to a 6-5 win over host UNC Wilmington Wednesday at Brooks Field. The Tar Heels allowed three runs in the ninth but held on for their fourth straight victory over the Seahawks. Facchinei (1-0) allowed two runs on one hit and one walk, while striking out two. He carried a no-hitter into the sixth until UNCW right fielder Justin Barefoot broke up the no-hit and shutout bid with a solo homer in the sixth. In addition to Williams' key homer, second baseman Kyle Seager, shortstop Josh Horton and center fielder Drew Poulk each posted two hits on the day. Seager, who doubled twice, has a string of three straight multi-hit games, while Horton hit safely for the fourth straight outing.
TAR HEELS MOVE TO NO. 1: North Carolina moved into the top spot in this week's Baseball America Top 25 rankings after posting a sweep of Seton Hall last weekend to open the season. The Tar Heels are ranked No. 1 by Baseball America for the first time in program history after spending five weeks in the top spot in other polls last season. Carolina outscored the Pirates 27-4 last weekend and moved to No. 1 after top-ranked Clemson went 2-1 against George Mason. The Tar Heels are now 15-5 when holding the No. 1 ranking.
STELLAR START FOR STARTERS: North Carolina starting pitching has picked up all four of its wins on the season and worked a total of 24 innings without allowing a run. As a whole, the starters own a 0.73 ERA in 24 2/3 innings on the year. Against Seton Hall last weekend, right-handers Robert Woodard, Alex White and Luke Putkonen struck out a combined 14 batters and surrendered just one extra-base hit. As a staff, the Tar Heels sport a 1.75 ERA, which is third in the ACC, in 36 innings this season.
PITCHING RICH: With his start Wednesday, Mike Facchinei become the 14th pitcher used by the Tar Heels in just four games this season. Carolina used only 13 pitchers all of last season, but this year the Tar Heels should feature a deeper and more versatile bullpen. Only four of the 14 pitchers used by UNC this year have allowed a run.
FRESHMEN FITTING IN: Three Carolina freshmen - Dustin Ackley, Drew Poulk and Kyle Seager - have started all four games for the Tar Heels and are batting a combined .419 (18-43) on the season.
• Ackley is second on the team with .500 average and has six doubles in just seven hits. He is slugging .929 and shares the team lead with five RBI.
• Poulk is batting .357 with a team-best two home runs. He is the first Tar Heel to homer in his first at-bat since Richie Grimsley in 1995 and is the first to go deep in his first game at Carolina since Brian Roberts in 1997.
• Seager is on a run of three straight multi-hit games and is third on the team with a .400 average. He has driven in at least one run in all four games and shares the team lead with five RBI.
WEEKLY HONORS FOR WOODARD: Right-hander Robert Woodard was named Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week and one of Collegiate Baseball's Louisville Slugger National Players of the Week Monday for his Feb. 16 start against Seton Hall. Woodard retired the first 20 batters he faced in the 11-0 shutout win over the Pirates. The senior allowed just one hit over 7 2/3 scoreless innings. He carried a perfect game into the seventh before allowing a two-out double and located 63 of his 80 pitches for strikes, while matching a career high with seven strikeouts. Woodard won for the 19th time in his last 20 decisions and improved to 24-3 in his career. He is now tied for fifth all-time at Carolina in victories and improved his career winning percentage to .889, which equals Scott Bankhead's school record. Woodard also moved into Carolina's top 10 in career innings pitched with his effort Friday.
HOT START FOR HORTON: Junior All-America Josh Horton picked up where he left off last season with a 7-for-13 start to 2007. The reigning ACC batting champ was is fifth in the league with a .538 average.
SETTING THE TABLE: Junior Reid Fronk had just three hits last weekend but reached base 10 times thanks to six walks and one hit by pitch. He reached base at a team-best .714 clip versus SHU and leads the team with six walks and seven runs scored in just four games. Fronk also extended his consecutive games played streak Wednesday to 75 dating back to the end of the 2005 season.
CAVASINNI SIDELINED: Sophomore centerfielder Mike Cavasinni is out indefinitely with an eye injury. He hit .317 a year ago and led the Tar Heels with 16 steals. Freshman Drew Poulk has started each game in center while Cavasinni has been out.
HEELS PICKED TO REPEAT: North Carolina was picked as the preseason favorite to defend its Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division baseball title, the league office announced Jan. 19. The Tar Heels, who were 54-15 and 22-8 in ACC action a year ago, received 60 points and four first-place votes in the Coastal Division. The preseason poll is determined by vote of the league's 12 head coaches. Clemson was picked to win the Atlantic Division for the second straight season and was picked as the overall league favorite. The Tar Heels and Tigers, who met at the College World Series, are not scheduled to play this season.
PROGRAM HONORED BY BA: The UNC baseball program was recently honored by Baseball America when the magazine ranked its top 64 teams of the 64-team field era (1999-2006). The Tar Heels were rated 14th overall and fifth among teams currently in the ACC. Winning percentage, postseason success, All-Americas, draft choices and number of alumni in the majors all played into the rankings.
WATCH OUT: Preseason All-Americas Andrew Carignan, Chad Flack and Josh Horton find themselves in exclusive company on the preseason watch lists for some of college baseball's top honors. Carignan, a junior closer, is a candidate for the Roger Clemens Award and the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, while Flack and Horton, junior infielders, are up for the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award.
HEELS PROJECTED TO IMPACT DRAFT: One year after having a pair of pitchers selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft, North Carolina is again projected to have an impact in June with four players on Baseball America's Top 100 College Prospects list for 2007. All-America shortstop Josh Horton (22), pitchers Luke Putkonen (69) and Andrew Carignan (86) and outfielder Reid Fronk (92) were each honored. The Tar Heels are one of just three teams with at least four players rated in the top 100 prospects. Top-ranked Rice leads the way with six, while Carolina and Clemson are tied for second with four each.
RATED ROOKIES: Collegiate Baseball newspaper rated North Carolina's 16-man freshman class sixth nationally in its annual recruiting rankings. The Tar Heels, who brought in five prep All-America selections, have now posted top-six classes twice in the last four years and top-20 groups in three of the last four seasons. The only class ranked in the top 18 comprised solely of high school talent, Carolina's newcomers rated as the No. 2 class in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Baseball America ranked the class eighth and projected RHP/1B Alex White as the league's top newcomer with second baseman Kyle Seager rated as the ACC's No. 4 newcomer.
