University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Big Game Luke
June 19, 2007 | Baseball
June 19, 2007
By Adam Lucas
OMAHA--In advance of each game of the College World Series, the ESPN announcing crew meets with Mike Fox to go over some points to watch in the upcoming game.
The crew for Tuesday's game had a simple question for the Carolina head coach: what should they watch for in the early innings from starting pitcher Luke Putkonen?
"Well, you could watch to see if he smiles," Fox said. "That would really be something."
Putkonen, you see, is legendarily stone-faced. He's not just a man of few words. He is, in most cases, a man of no words. It's become a bit of a joke to his teammates, to the point that when he had to give the obligatory on-field ESPN Radio interview following the 3-1 win over Louisville, four Tar Heels crowded behind him just to hear what--if anything--he might say.
Here is Putkonen's assessment of his pitching performance Tuesday against Louisville in the College World Series:
"I felt good about it."
In an upset, he expounded on the answer. "I was comfortable with all my pitches. My breaking ball was the best it has been all year, and I was able to keep them guessing up there."
Even one of the most verbose answers you're ever going to hear from Putkonen doesn't do his outing justice. He allowed just three hits over seven innings to a Louisville team that had piled up 22 runs in their previous two games in Omaha. The Cardinals got just two men in scoring position. They had just one leadoff runner on base all afternoon.
Because of Carolina's well-documented starting pitching problems, the outstanding performance went down like a Zesto's peanut butter-and-chocolate milkshake (which is to say, delightfully). Over seven innings, Putkonen allowed just half the number of hits that Rice piled up in the disastrous second inning alone Sunday night. His curve seemed to sharpen as the game progressed, and he used it effectively in all counts and all situations. The free-swinging Cardinals amassed seven strikeouts against him--one in each inning--and then fared even more poorly against Tar Heel relievers Rob Wooten and Andrew Carignan, who piled up four strikeouts in two innings.
Most importantly as Carolina stares at the daunting task of beating Rice two straight times, Wooten and Carignan didn't have to be extended. It was the first day all season that every pitcher on the staff was available, and the Tar Heel staff was prepared to be creative if early relief was needed. Wooten first headed for the bullpen in the fifth inning when Louisville leadoff man Pete Rodriguez was hit by a pitch. Had he been needed at that point, the Tar Heel arms would've been rubbery by Wednesday. Instead, Putkonen worked out of the jam and Wooten ended the day throwing just 15 pitches; Carignan needed only 14.
Every bit of the Georgia native's timely pitching performance was required, because the Tar Heel offense managed just three hits. Carolina has used three different lineups in Omaha; Dustin Ackley moved up to the second spot and Tim Fedroff was in the fifth spot in the order for the first time all season on Tuesday. Fedroff did walk and score a run, but the new order didn't solve an Omaha bugaboo: Carolina has earned 10 leadoff baserunners in their three College World Series games, but just two of them have scored. Six of those leadoff runners have not advanced past their initial base, pointing to some struggles moving runners (and a rash of double plays)
"Luke picked a good day to be terrific with us getting three hits," Fox said.
Putkonen has now been terrific in four different situations when the Tar Heels needed a big start: the Sunday games against Florida State and NC State, the ACC Tournament championship against Wake Forest, and Tuesday's gem. It's becoming a bit of a Carolina tradition.
Just like a short Luke Putkonen press conference.
Adam Lucas's third book on Carolina basketball, The Best Game Ever, chronicles the 1957 national championship season and is available now. His previous books include Going Home Again, focusing on Roy Williams's return to Carolina, and Led By Their Dreams, a collaboration with Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers on the 2005 championship team.
