University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Baseball Weekly Notebook
March 5, 2007 | Baseball
March 5, 2007
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Atop the Baseball America national rankings for the third straight week, No. 1 North Carolina hosts Temple at 3 p.m. Wednesday in its final tune-up before the start of Atlantic Coast Conference action. The Tar Heels (11-1) will send sophomore right-hander Adam Warren to the mound for his second start of the season against the Owls (2-7).
Temple, which is 1-4 all-time against Carolina, will play at Duke Tuesday and has already faced familiar opponents UNC Wilmington and Winthrop. The Owls scored a 5-4 win over the Eagles March 2 at the Winthrop Challenege.
NORTH CAROLINA NOTES FROM THE WEEK OF FEB. 26-MARCH 4:
• No. 1 North Carolina went 4-1 on the week, sweeping midweek games with Gardner-Webb and No. 22 Coastal Carolina and winning two of three against Penn State. The Tar Heels are now 22-6 all-time when ranked No. 1 in the nation.
• The Tar Heels got off to their best start since 2000 with Friday's win, which improved UNC's record to 10-0. Carolina's extra-inning loss to Penn State Saturday snapped that 10-game win streak and also ended the Tar Heels' 16-game home winning streak, which was the second longest in the nation.
• The pitching staff carried UNC to its 4-1 week with a 1.91 ERA over the five games. The starters continued their hot start and allowed just four earned runs over a combined 27 2/3 innings, good for a 1.30 ERA on the week. On the season, Carolina's starters are a combined 10-0, and the weekend rotation of Robert Woodard, Alex White and Luke Putkonen has surrendered only six earned runs in 55 1/3 innings for a 0.98 ERA. All three are ranked among the ACC's top six in ERA, and the staff's 1.80 mark is second in the league.
• Carolina's bats struggled last week to the tune of a .233 average, which dropped their season mark from .333 to .293 in a span of five games. The Tar Heels, who are averaging 6.8 runs per game on the year, scored more than five runs just once on the week. UNC did hit seven home runs last week, including a season-high four against Penn State March 2. The Tar Heels are second in the ACC with 14 homers on the year.
• Freshman Dustin Ackley drove in 10 runs last week and now has a team-high 18 RBI on the year. He hit .316 (6-19) last week with his first career home run and was 3-for-4 with a career-best three RBI in the March 4 win. Ackley is third in the ACC with 1.50 RBI per game.
• Junior All-America shortstop Josh Horton went 6-for-12 with eight walks last week for a .700 on-base percentage and a .500 batting average. He matched a career high with four hits, including his first home run of the season, March 2 and also scored six runs and tallied three RBI on the week. He leads the Tar Heels with a .429 average (15-35) and a .588 on-base percentage.
