University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Tackle Mississippi State In CWS Opener
June 12, 2007 | Baseball
June 12, 2007
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Winner of 21 of its last 25 games, No. 3 national seed North Carolina opens its second straight College World Series appearance - and the sixth in program history - against Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi State Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2 from Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium. The Tar Heels (53-13) and Bulldogs (38-20) will be joined in their half of the bracket by No. 2 national seed Rice and Louisville.
No. 5 seed Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine and Oregon State round out the other side of the eight-team field.
In addition to the national television coverage, Jones Angell and Adam Lucas will have the radio call of each game for the Tar Heel Sports Network on AM-1360 WCHL and TarHeelBlue.com.
TAR HEELS AT A GLANCE:
• North Carolina has advanced to the College World Series in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. In fact, the 1960s is the only other decade that UNC made the trip to Omaha twice. The Tar Heels fell one win shy of a national title a year ago and are 6-10 in CWS play.
• UNC is now one of only three Atlantic Coast Conference programs to make back-to-back trips to the College World Series, joining Clemson and Florida State. The league has not won a national title since Wake Forest did so in 1955. Mike Fox joins Clemson's Bill Wilhelm and Jack Leggett and Florida State's Mike Martin as the only ACC coaches to go to Omaha in back-to-back seasons.
• The Tar Heels were one of just three top-eight national seeds to advance to the Super Regional round and then move on to Omaha. Additionally, Carolina joins Cal State Fullerton, Oregon State and Rice as returnees from the 2006 CWS field.
• UNC swept through the Chapel Hill Regional field before taking two of three from South Carolina last weekend to move on to the CWS. The Tar Heels are 10-1 in regional and super regional action over the last two seasons and are 14-3 overall in NCAA play in 2006-07.
• Carolina entered the NCAA Tournament as the Atlantic Coast Conference champion for the first time since 1990. The Tar Heels outscored their final three opponents in Jacksonville, 22-7, and topped Wake Forest, 3-2, in the title game to earn the league's automatic bid.
• In the final season at the current Boshamer Stadium, the Tar Heels hosted just the third and fourth NCAA events at the 35-year-old park this month. Carolina went 1-2 at the NCAA East Regional in 1983 before sweeping the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Chapel Hill regionals and winning this year's Super Regional. UNC is 9-3 in postseason play at home.
• Carolina's 53 wins are already the second most in program history, falling just short of last year's 54 victories. The Tar Heels have won 50 games just three times in program history - 1990, 2006 and 2007. UNC's 53 wins are tied for the second most in the nation behind only Vanderbilt's 54 victories.
• Carolina is ranked No. 2 in the most recent editions of three of the four major polls. The Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 by Baseball America from Feb. 19 to March 12 for just the second No. 1 ranking in program history.
• Since losing a season-high three in a row from April 17-21, Carolina has won 21 of its last 25 games. The Tar Heels have slugged 24 home runs over this stretch (but just one in the last 10 games) and committed just 19 errors for a .980 fielding percentage.
• The Tar Heels are the most balanced team in the ACC, which placed a record-tying seven teams in the tournament field. Carolina is the only team in the league to rank in the top two in batting (.321), earned run average (3.30) and fielding (.974).
• Carolina has seven players with 36 or more RBI, which is one more than it had all of last season. Four Tar Heels - Dustin Ackley, Tim Federowicz, Reid Fronk and Josh Horton - already have driven in 50-plus runs this year, giving the Tar Heels four 50-RBI men for the second straight year.
• Despite going homerless over a nine-game stretch, the Tar Heels are second in the ACC with 65 home runs, while also posting a league-low 255 strikeouts - 73 less than second place Virginia.
• The Tar Heels feature eight North Carolina natives in their regular starting lineup. Additionally, three of their four starting pitchers are homegrown talent, as are three of the top four relievers. UNC defeated East Carolina, Western Carolina and South Carolina to reach Omaha and went 25-5 in against teams from the Carolinas, which sent 10 teams to the 64-team NCAA Tournament field.
RECENT TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Tar Heels are making their 22nd appearance in NCAA Tournament play and their sixth straight, which marks a school record. Mike Fox has guided Carolina to the postseason in eight of his nine seasons in Chapel Hill and sports a 25-15 (.625) record after adding a 5-1 mark this season. The Tar Heels have reached the regional final in six of their last seven trips to the postseason and are making their second straight CWS appearance. In its 22 appearances, Carolina sports a 61-47 (.565) all-time NCAA record and has made six trips to the College World Series (1960, 1966, 1978, 1989, 2006, 2007). The Tar Heels came within one win of their first NCAA title on the diamond a year ago.
CAROLINA'S CWS HISTORY: The Tar Heels are making their sixth College World Series appearance and have compiled a 6-10 record in their first five trips to Omaha. Carolina's best showing on college baseball's ultimate stage came last season when it reached the championship series versus Oregon State. The Tar Heels defeated Cal State Fullerton (twice) and Clemson to win its side of the bracket.
FOX IN RARE COMPANY: Carolina head coach Mike Fox has joined an exclusive group over the last two years, becoming just the 10th head coach to both play and coach in the College World Series. Fox is also one of just six men to reach Omaha as a player and then guide his alma mater back to the CWS as a head coach. Joining Fox in this group are: Mike Gillespie (Southern California), George Horton (Cal State Fullerton), Jack Kaiser (St. John's), Mark Marquess (Stanford) and Joe Russo (St. John's). Fox was a member of the 1978 All-CWS team after batting .250 (4-16) with a home run, triple and three RBI.
FAMILIAR FOES AWAIT IN OMAHA: Carolina has faced five of its potential CWS opponents over the last five seasons, including opening round foe Mississippi State. The Tar Heels won the 2003 Starkville Regional with a pair of victories over the Bulldogs and have also faced Rice (2004), Arizona State (2005), Cal State Fullerton (2006) and Oregon State (2006) in recent years. Carolina is a combined 5-4 against these perennial powers over the last five seasons.
HISTORY VERSUS THE TAR HEELS' BRACKET:
Louisville: Carolina is 2-0 all-time against Louisville, sweeping a two-game set at Boshamer Stadium in 1995. Long-time UNC pitching coach Roger Williams is in his first season with the Cardinals.
Mississippi State: The Tar Heels are 5-2 all-time against Mississippi State and 5-1 in NCAA play. Carolina won regional titles in Starkville in 1989 and 2003 and also topped the Bulldogs in the 1966 posteason. UNC has only played more NCAA games against South Carolina.
Rice: Carolina is 1-1 against Rice, posting a win in 2000 (8-2) and falling in Houston in 2004 (8-2).
CAROLINA COMEBACKS: The Tar Heels have been fazed by very little this postseason, rallying from at least two runs down in each of their last four victories, including both Super Regional wins over South Carolina.
UNC'S POSTSEASON COMEBACKS Game Deficit Final East Carolina (6/2) 10-8, 9th Win 11-10 Western Carolina (6/4) 5-3, 7th Win 6-5 South Carolina (6/8) 6-0, 6th Win 9-6 South Carolina (6/10) 4-1, 5th Win 9-4
FLACK DOES IT AGAIN: One year to the day after sending the Tar Heels to Omaha with two home runs in the final game of the 2006 Tuscaloosa Super Regional, junior third baseman Chad Flack came through again in game three with South Carolina with a go-ahead two-run shot in the seventh inning for what proved to be the winning runs. Despite batting just .251 with seven home runs and 44 RBI this year, Flack is one of the Tar Heels' top postseason performers with a .380 average, four home runs and 22 RBI in 20 career NCAA Tournament games.
BACK FOR MORE: This year's active roster for the CWS features 18 players off Carolina's 25-man roster from last year's run to the championship series versus Oregon State. Seven players back in 2007 started all six games for the Tar Heels a year ago - Mike Cavasinni, Tim Federowicz, Chad Flack, Reid Fronk, Garrett Gore, Josh Horton and Seth Williams.
A VETERAN BUNCH: North Carolina brings a veteran club to Omaha for the second straight year with eight position players having played in 100-plus games in their careers, including five with over 160 games of experience: Chad Flack (192), Josh Horton (192), Reid Fronk (181), Seth Williams (168) and Bryan Steed (166). Additionally, Mike Cavasinni and Garrett Gore need just one more appearance to join the 100-game club. Pitchers Matt Danford (112), Andrew Carignan (84) and Robert Woodard (82) have each pitched in 80 or more games.
DEFENSE MAKING A DIFFERENCE: After making 96 errors and posting a .965 fielding percentage in 2006, the Tar Heels have shown marked improvement with the glove this season with just 67 errors and a .974 fielding percentage. Carolina has committed multiple errors just twice since April 24.
WOOTEN BEST AT TOURNEY TIME: Junior Rob Wooten has led the Tar Heels in appearances for much of the season, but has really made a leap in the postseason. He has pitched in all six games and is 3-0 with 14 strikeouts in 9 2/3 shutout innings. His 41 appearances are the second most in UNC history in a single season.
ACKLEY CLOSING IN ON HIT MARK: Despite going just 4-for-22 in the NCAA tourney, freshman first baseman Dustin Ackley needs just two hits to eclipse Chad Flack's single-season hit record of 112 set in 2006. Ackley shares the national lead with 111 and already owns UNC rookie records in hits and RBI. Tim Federowicz is already at 95 hits and needs just five more to become just the sixth Tar Heel and fourth in the last two seasons with 100-plus hits.
WILLIAMS STREAKIN' IN THE POSTSEASON: Junior center fielder Seth Williams carries a 16-game NCAA Tournament hitting streak into the College World Series, where he hit .375 a year ago. Williams hit safely in the final 10 postseason games a year ago and the first six this time around. He is batting .424 (25-59) over this streak.
NOTING THE 2007 CHAPEL HILL SUPER REGIONAL:
• Carolina has defeated a Southeastern Conference team (Alabama, South Carolina) in each of the last two years in the Super Regional and has won two of its three Super Regional appearances since 2003.
• The Tar Heels are the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to make consecutive trips to Omaha since Florida State in 1999 and 2000.
• Carolina is 8-1 at home in NCAA play over the last two seasons. The Tar Heels have won 14 of 17 games in the postseason over 2006-07.
• The Super Regional win over the Gamecocks marked the Tar Heels' first time eliminating South Carolina from the NCAA Tournament since the 1998 Atlantic I Regional in Coral Gables, Fla. The Tar Heels were eliminated in 2002, 2003 and 2004 in Columbia.
• Chad Flack's go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh was the Tar Heels' first homer since May 19 at Maryland, snapping a nine-game homerless stretch, which spanned 390 at-bats since a leadoff home run by Reid Fronk in the season finale. It was Flack's first home run since May 12, his seventh this season, fourth career NCAA Tournament homer and the 35th of his career, which ranks ninth all-time at UNC. He also homered twice in the deciding game of the 2006 Tuscaloosa Super Regional.
• Reliever Andrew Carignan matched a career-high with four innings pitched in the June 10 win over South Carolina. He threw a career-high 69 pitches and allowed just one hit and three walks en route to his second win of the season.
• Center fielder Seth Williams, who went 2-for-3 June 10 and gave the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead in the second with a one-out single, is on a nine-game hitting streak - one shy of a season best. Additionally, he has hit in 16 straight NCAA Tournament games dating to last year (last 10 in 2006, first six this year).
• Left fielder Reid Fronk recorded his third three-hit game of the NCAA Tournament Sunday. He was 3-for-5 with two RBI in the decisive game three.
• Catcher Tim Federowicz recorded his second straight multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 effort June 10. He had three hits in the second game of the series.
• Right-hander Rob Wooten also pitched in the conclusion of game two earlier June 10, marking the third time this season that he has pitched in two different games on the same day, joining Boston College and Virginia doubleheaders.
• The Tar Heels' first 14 runs of the Super Regional came with two out. Carolina scored all nine runs with two out in game one and added five more in the second game (two in the second, one in the fifth, two in the seventh). Kyle Seager's pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the eighth plated the first run of the weekend with less than two out for the Tar Heels.
• The game one win snapped a six-game skid against the Gamecocks, including a five-game losing streak in NCAA Tournament play. The Tar Heels' victory was their first against South Carolina since the 2002 NCAA Columbia Regional.
WOODARD WOWS IN THE POSTSEASON: Senior right-hander Robert Woodard has been stellar over his postseason career with a 4-0 record and a 2.31 ERA over 46 2/3 innings. He has thrown two of his five career complete games in the NCAA Tournament, including a three-hit shutout of Clemson in the 2006 College World Series. With his eight shutout innings against Jacksonville in the regional, he has started the first game of NCAA regional play for the Tar Heels in each of the last three seasons. Woodard is one of just three Tar Heels to win at least three postseason games.
CAREER NCAA TOURNAMENT WINS 1. Derrick DePriest (1997-2000) 5 2. Robert Woodard (2004-07) 4 3. Matt Danford (2003, 05-07) 3 Rob Wooten (2005-07) 3
BULLPEN SHUTS THE DOOR: Anchored by All-America closer Andrew Carignan, Carolina's bullpen has been stellar this season. The Tar Heels are 43-2 when leading after six innings, 45-1 when leading after seven and 50-1 when leading after eight. Carolina's only losses this season when leading after six came against Penn State March 3 and Georgia Tech May 23 to open the ACC tourney.
