University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Baseball Monday Notebook
March 26, 2007 | Baseball
March 26, 2007
• North Carolina went 4-1 on the week to improve to 22-4 overall and 6-3 in the ACC. The Tar Heels won two of three at Virginia Tech and remain in first place in the ACC's Coastal Division, one game ahead of Virginia and Georgia Tech.
• The Tar Heels hit .352 (63-179) on the week and scored 10 or more runs in three of five games. Carolina had a season-best 19 hits in the Friday win over the Hokies and followed with 17 hits in the series finale Sunday.
• UNC played some solid defense last week with only four errors in five games. The Tar Heels posted a .978 fielding percentage on the week compared to a .971 mark for the season.
• Freshman first basemen Dustin Ackley went 11-for-22 at the plate with team highs of seven runs scored and nine RBI. He had four multi-hit games on the week, including a four-hit effort at Virginia Tech March 23. He homered in the first and second innings and posted career highs of four RBI and four runs scored. Against the Hokies, he went 7-for-15 with five runs scored, two home runs and five RBI. Ackley is riding an 18-game hitting streak, which is the longest by a Tar Heel since 2004, and is three games shy of Adam Greenberg's 21-game hitting streak in 2000, which is believed to be the school record for a freshman. He is batting .485 with 36 RBI through 26 games this season.
• Sophomore right-hander Luke Putkonen earned the win in his first career ACC road start with seven strong innings at Virginia Tech Sunday. He allowed just one run on five hits and struck out seven over seven innings against the Hokies. Putkonen gave up just two hits over the first five innings and picked up his fifth win of the season. The Marietta, Ga., native owns a 3.51 ERA over 33 1/3 innings this season and is 11-0 in his collegiate career.
• Freshman Kyle Seager, who has not been able to play second base due to a shoulder injury, thrived at designated hitter this week with a .500 average. He went 7-for-14 on the week and led the Tar Heels with a .667 average (6-9) in the series win at Virginia Tech. Seager posted a career-best three hits and had two RBI in the Friday win over the Hokies.
• Junior All-America Josh Horton hit .429 (6-14) and walked six times to post a team-high .545 on-base percentage. He also scored five runs and drove in six.
• Senior right-hander Robert Woodard won his fifth game of the season Friday to improve to 28-3 on his career. He is now second all-time at Carolina in victories and is tied for 24th in ACC history. Woodard, who is 5-0 with a 2.35 ERA on the year, is only three wins shy of eclipsing Michael Hoog's school record of 30 career victories.
• Closer Andrew Carignan earned one save on the week and struck out five of the six batters he faced.
• Freshman lefty Rob Catapano made four appearances on the week and did not allow a hit over four shutout innings.
• Senior Bryan Steed had a pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth inning Friday for his fourth career home run and third career four-RBI game.
