No. 4 Tar Heels Close Out ACC Home Slate With No. 24 Georgia Tech

May 10, 2007 | Baseball

By: UNC Athletic Communications

May 10, 2007

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Winners of seven of its last eight games, No. 4 North Carolina will play its third consecutive weekend series against a ranked opponent when No. 24 Georgia Tech comes to Boshamer Stadium for a three-game set beginning Friday. The Tar Heels (39-10, 16-8 ACC) and Yellow Jackets (30-18, 14-9 ACC) will play at 7 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. A webcast of all three games will be available at ACCSelect.com, and Jones Angell and Adam Lucas will have the radio call for the Tar Heel Sports Network. In addition to the usual coverage on AM-1360 WCHL and TarHeelBlue.com, WBAG in Burlington will air Saturday's game.

GAMES 50-52: VS. GEORGIA TECH, MAY 11-13
#24 GEORGIA TECH (30-18, 14-9 ACC) AT
#4 NORTH CAROLINA (39-10, 16-8 ACC)
• FRIDAY 7 P.M., SATURDAY 1 P.M., SUNDAY 1:30 P.M.
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Georgia Tech leads, 57-47
• LAST MEETING: GT 3, UNC 2, March 26, 2006

Date	Time	UNC Starter	GT Starter	Coverage
May 11	7 p.m.	Robert Woodard (Sr., RHP) 7-2, 2.82	David Duncan (So., LHP) 6-2, 2.77	ACC Select/ THSN
May 12	1 p.m.	Alex White (Fr., RHP) 4-3, 3.29	Eddie Burns (So., RHP) 3-2, 3.09	ACC Select/ THSN
May 13	1:30 p.m.	Luke Putkonen (So., RHP) 6-1, 4.10	Ryan Turner (Sr., LHP) 5-3, 4.24	ACC Select/ THSN

SENIORS HONORED SUNDAY: Seniors Matt Danford, Joe Pietropaoli, Bryan Steed and Robert Woodard will be honored prior to Sunday's series finale with Georgia Tech for their outstanding careers in Chapel Hill. Entering the weekend, this group has led the Tar Heels to 177 victories over the last four seasons, and Danford was a part of a 2003 team that won another 42 games. These players have made the NCAA Tournament in each season at Carolina and were a part of the winningest team in program history a year ago.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: North Carolina is ranked in the top five of all four major polls and is No. 4 according to the NCBWA. The Tar Heels are fifth in the other three polls. Georgia Tech is ranked No. 24 by Collegiate Baseball.

GEORGIA TECH SERIES: North Carolina trails its all-time series with Georgia Tech, 47-57. Before dropping a top-five match-up in Atlanta a year ago, the Tar Heels won two of three in Chapel Hill in 2005 in the final series of the regular season. The teams have split their last six meetings over the last two years, but the Jackets have won four of the last five series. Mike Fox is 9-18 against Georgia Tech at Carolina but is 6-6 at Boshamer Stadium.

TAR HEELS AT A GLANCE: The Tar Heels' have won seven of eight since losing a season-high three in a row ... Carolina's 39 wins are tied for the fourth most in the nation, trailing only Florida State, Vanderbilt and Wichita State ... The Tar Heels 11-5 against nationally opponents this season ... UNC is one of just two teams to rank among the ACC's top three in batting (.319), pitching (2.84) and fielding (.973) ... Eight Tar Heels have driven in at least 25 runs on the year and five have 30-plus RBI ... Dustin Ackley is in the hunt for the ACC and national batting titles with a .444 average ... Reid Fronk has four homers in the last four games, and the Tar Heels have hit 11 home runs over this stretch ... UNC has reached 10-plus hits in 32 of 49 games ... Carolina has drawn 196 walks and struck out just 189 times over 420 innings ... The Tar Heels lead the ACC with 54 home runs and have struck out a league-low 189 times ... Paced by a normal starting rotation that sports a 56-9 combined career record, the Tar Heels own a 2.84 staff ERA, which is nearly a half-run better than last year's team through 49 games ... With closer Andrew Carignan leading the way, Carolina has lost just one game it has led after the sixth inning.

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS: Georgia Tech has won four of its last five games but is coming off a 9-4 loss at Georgia Wednesday. The Yellow Jackets are batting .295 as a team and are led by Danny Payne (.379-2-33) and Matt Wieters (.370-9-51). Tech has hit 40 home runs and owns 58 stolen bases. The Yellow Jackets sport a 4.37 staff ERA and will start lefty David Duncan (6-2, 2.77), right-hander Eddie Burns (3-2, 3.09) and left-hander Ryan Turner (5-3, 4.24) this weekend.

LAST TIME OUT: Sophomore Tim Federowicz hit one of three home runs for No. 4 North Carolina and struck out a career-high six batters in 2 1/3 innings in a 5-1 win over No. 30 East Carolina Wednesday at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Tar Heels swept the two-game season series from the Pirates and have won the last seven meetings. In addition to Federowicz, third baseman Chad Flack and left fielder Reid Fronk each went deep to give Carolina 11 home runs in the last four games. Fronk has four home runs over this stretch, while Flack homered for the second straight night. In just his fifth start in 106 career games, senior right-hander Matt Danford (4-0) struck out a season-high five batters over 3 1/3 innings in a predetermined staff outing, which saw the Tar Heels match a season high with 17 strikeouts. Danford allowed one run on two hits and two walks. One of six relievers for the Tar Heels, Federowicz worked out of a jam in the fourth with two strikeouts and came back to fan the side in the fifth. He allowed two hits and one walk. Junior Andrew Carignan struck out three in 1 1/3 innings, and Greenville native Alex White fanned two in the ninth in his first career relief appearance.

HISTORY VS. THE YELLOW JACKETS: All-America shortstop Josh Horton is batting .474 (9-19) in six career games vs. the Yellow Jackets ... Closer Andrew Carignan has not allowed a run in three innings vs. Georgia Tech ... Matt Danford has struck out 10 in 10 career innings ... Senior RHP Robert Woodard is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 14 2/3 innings in the series ... Regulars Tim Federowicz, Chad Flack, Reid Fronk, Benji Johnson and Seth Williams are all batting .200 or below in their careers against Tech.

CLOSING IN ON 40 AGAIN: UNC needs just one more victory for its sixth straight 40-win season - a program first. The Tar Heels have had 15 40-win seasons since 1983 with seven coming in the last eight years under head coach Mike Fox. UNC's school record for victories is 54 set a year ago. The Tar Heels needed just 49 games to reach the 40-win plateau a year ago and can do so in 50 games with a victory Friday.

TAR HEELS MOVE TO FOURTH IN RPI: North Carolina has risen to fourth in the latest official release of the NCAA's RPI, which includes games through May 6. The RPI plays a key role in seeding for the postseason, so the Tar Heels should be in the mix to host a second consecutive regional at Boshamer Stadium with continued strong play. Carolina is the top rated team in the ACC according to the RPI ahead of No. 10 Florida State and No. 11 Virginia.

HEELS WRAP UP LONGEST ROAD TRIP SINCE 2002: Carolina plays its first home game since April 25 Friday against Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels played five straight road games for the first time since 2002 and played back-to-back midweek games on the road for the first time since 1995 this week. Carolina went 4-1 over this five-game stretch and has actually played eight of its last 10 on the road, including seven contests against ranked teams. The Tar Heels are 11-4 on the road this season.

WOODARD HUNTING HISTORY AGAIN: Already tied with Michael Hoog atop Carolina's career win list, senior right-hander Robert Woodard can establish a new mark with a victory Friday against Georgia Tech. Currently 30-5 in his career, Woodard can also become just the 16th pitcher in ACC history to win at least 31 games. The Charlotte product has lost two straight starts for the first time in his career - both on the road to ranked opponents - and Friday marks his third chance to break the record. This season, Woodard is 7-2 with a 2.82 ERA. He has won at least seven games in each of his four years at UNC.

LOW ERA, HIGH GPA: Not only did sophomore right-hander Adam Warren extend his scoreless inning streak to 14 2/3 innings with 6 1/3 shutout frames against Elon Tuesday, but he also garnered a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III Second Team, which was announced Thursday. Warren owns a 3.41 grade point average and is 9-0 with a 1.58 ERA this season.

POWER SURGE: The Tar Heels have played long ball over the last four games to the tune of 11 home runs since the 11-1 loss to NC State on April 27. With an ACC-best 54 homers on the year, the Tar Heels have connected on 20.4 percent of their round-trippers over this four-game stretch. Reid Fronk has four homers in the last four games, while Josh Horton and Chad Flack have each added two.

BULLPEN DOMINANCE: Carolina's top three relievers - Andrew Carignan, Matt Danford and Rob Wooten have been lights out since March 1 with a combined 1.13 ERA and 91 strikeouts over 87 2/3 innings. Carignan has not allowed an earned run over his last 30 1/3 innings and has 39 strikeouts over this stretch, while Danford has allowed just six earned runs over 33 2/3 during this period. Wooten has surrendered only five earned runs in his last 23 2/3. Two-way standout Tim Federowicz has also come on of late with a 2.08 ERA and 11 Ks over his last seven appearances.

DEPTH AT THE PLATE: Last year's team was one of the most balanced in recent memory, but in just 49 games the Tar Heels already have nine players with 21 or more RBI, something the record-setting 2006 team did not accomplish in 69 games. Six players did drive in 40-plus runs a year ago, and this time around five Tar Heels have already posted 30-plus RBI. Chad Flack needs to drive in just one more run to give UNC six players with 30 RBI to match the 2006 team. Dustin Ackley (55) and Tim Federowicz (52) have combined for 107 RBI on the year, the second most most of any duo in the ACC. Carolina is the only team to have two of the league's top five in RBI.

AMAZIN' ACKLEY: Freshman first baseman Dustin Ackley is in the midst of one of the finest offensive seasons in school history. The national freshman of the year candidate is batting an ACC-best .444 with team-highs of 17 doubles and 55 RBI and figures to etch his name in the UNC record book in several categories. Ackley is on pace to eclipse the school record for average (.427) but is also closing in on top-10 single-season totals in: • RBI (55, needs 12 for 10th)
• Hits (87, needs six for 10th)
• Doubles (17, needs three for 8th)
• Total Bases (128, needs 27 for 10th)
• Extra-Base Hits (27, needs nine for 9th)

FLACK MOVING UP HOMER LIST: With homers in each of his last two games and five this season, junior Chad Flack has cracked the Tar Heels' top 10 in career home runs. He now has 33 in his career and moved past UNC greats B.J. Surhoff and Chris Iannetta with his solo shot at East Carolina Wednesday. Flack is now one behind Manny DaSilva for ninth.

PITCHING BETTERING 2006 NUMBERS: Despite losing first-round picks Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard and national ERA leader Jonathan Hovis, the Tar Heels' pitching staff ranks among the national leaders with a 2.84 ERA in 2007. This mark is nearly a half run better than last year's 3.26 ERA through 49 games. Last year's staff had the edge in strikeouts (401 to 379), but the 2007 staff is holding the opposition to a .229 average, compared to a .235 mark a year ago. Last year's team finished ninth nationally with a 3.35 ERA.

CARIGNAN CLIMBING SAVES CHARTS: With 10 saves this season, junior closer Andrew Carignan is making a jump up the UNC and ACC career saves lists. He has 25 in his career and will match Derrick DePriest for second at Carolina and seventh in the ACC with his next save.

PATIENCE PAYS FOR HORTON: After posting 33 walks and 28 strikeouts a year ago, All-America shortstop Josh Horton ranks as one of the nation's toughest players to strikeout with just eight Ks in 169 at-bats. He was fifth nationally in this category through games of May 6. Horton has also drawn a team-high 40 walks and has helped lead the Tar Heels to a remarkable 196 walks against just 189 strikeouts. A year ago, Carolina punched out 385 times, while drawing just 271 walks.

WILLIAMS HEATS UP: Seth Williams has been a key part of Carolina's balanced offense of late with a .380 average, 19 RBI and nine multi-hit games over the last 18 outings. Williams has hit safely in nine straight and 16 of the last 18. He has continued to move up Mike Fox's batting order and seems to have found a home in the No. 2 spot. On the season, Williams is now batting .318 with a team-best seven home runs and 30 RBI. Williams was batting just .224 on March 21 and has raised his average 94 points in just over a month and a half.

BIG STRETCH FOR TAR HEELS: Beginning with a trip to No. 1 Florida State April 20-22, the Tar Heels have played eight of their last 10 games against nationally ranked opponents and will play three more against No. 24 Georgia Tech this weekend. Carolina went 5-3 against ranked teams over this most recent stretch and is 11-5 versus ranked teams this season.