University of North Carolina Athletics
A Look Back At 2007 On The Diamond
June 26, 2007 | Baseball
June 26, 2007
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina baseball team has firmly established itself among the nation's elite programs with back-to-back seasons of unprecedented success. The Tar Heels won a school-record 57 games, posted their second consecutive national runner-up finish and captured Carolina's first Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1990.
The 2007 season was a record-setting campaign on several fronts, and TarHeelBlue.com takes a look back at the news, notes and records that made this past season so unforgettable
WIN MARK FALLS AGAIN
For the second straight season, North Carolina posted a school-record win total. The Tar Heels' 57 victories led the nation, and their 111 wins over the last two years are second only to Rice (113) over the 2006-07 seasons.
LONGEST SEASON IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Carolina's 73-game campaign was the longest in school history, surpassing the 69-game season of 2006. Dustin Ackley, Tim Federowicz, Chad Flack, Reid Fronk and Josh Horton each played in all 73 games to set an individual record for games played in a single season.
FIRST BACK-TO-BACK CWS TRIPS
UNC made its sixth trip to the College World Series and earned the first consecutive appearances in Omaha in school history. Carolina joins Clemson and Florida State as the only ACC teams to earn back-to-back trips to the CWS. The Tar Heels are 8-5 in Omaha over the last two years after going just 2-8 in their first four visits.
SECOND STRAIGHT FINALS APPEARANCE
Carolina faced Oregon State in the CWS Finals for the second straight year and became just the fifth team to earn a runner-up finish in consecutive years joining Yale (1947-48), Arizona State (1972-73), Texas (1984-85) and Stanford (2000-01). The Tar Heels join Oregon State and Texas as the only two teams to make two CWS Finals appearances since the NCAA went to its current format in 2003.
ACC CHAMPIONS
The Tar Heels won their first ACC title since 1990 at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville with a 3-2 win over Wake Forest in the title game. Carolina has now won five conference tournament crowns. The baseball championship was the fifth of 2006-07 for the Tar Heels.
SENDING THE BOSH OUT IN STYLE
The Tar Heels hosted an NCAA Regional and Super Regional at Boshamer Stadium for the first time in school history this season. Playing in front of sold-out crowds, Carolina went 5-1 at home en route to Omaha. The Tar Heels had dramatic wins over East Carolina and Western Carolina in the regional before taking two of three from South Carolina in the supers. UNC will begin construction of a new state-of-the-art stadium later this summer.
POLL WATCHING
Carolina spent the entire season in the top-10 of all four major polls and ended the year ranked No. 2 for the second straight time (in the NCBWA and USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls). The Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 by Baseball America from Feb. 19-March 12 for just the second stint as the top-ranked team in program history.
GLOVE WORK
Carolina committed just 73 errors in 73 games this season for a school-record .974 fielding percentage. The Tar Heels' previous best was a .970 mark in 1967. The .974 mark was second in the ACC and is among the nation's best.
TEAM TOTALS FALL
The Tar Heels' 820 hits and 2,601 at-bats established school records. Carolina also had the second most doubles (143), triples (23) and third most extra-base hits (238) in program history.
ROOKIE HONORS FOR ACKLEY
First baseman Dustin Ackley was named the national freshman of the year by Collegiate Baseball and Rivals.com and is the first Tar Heel rookie to claim such honors since Brian Roberts in 1997. Also the ACC's Freshman of the Year and a first-team all-league honoree, Ackley was a consensus All-America selection and a freshman All-America choice. He hit .402 with 10 home runs and 74 RBI.
SEASON FOR THE AGES
Dustin Ackley posted one of the finest offensive seasons in school history and became just the fourth Tar Heel to hit over .400 in a single season. He led the country and set a school record with 119 hits en route to his .402 average, which was the fourth-best mark in school history. Ackley also set a UNC record with 296 at-bats, was fourth with 74 RBI, fourth with 175 total bases and ninth with 70 runs scored.
Ackley posted a 28-game hitting streak from Feb. 28-April 14, which was the third longest in school history and the seventh longest in the nation this season.
CARIGNAN CLOSES STRONG
Consensus All-America closer Andrew Carignan matched a school record with 18 saves, including five in the NCAA Tournament and three in the CWS. He appeared in 40 games - the third-best total in school history - and posted a 1.43 ERA to equal the ninth-best mark at UNC. Carignan struck out 69 in just 63 innings. His 33 career saves are second at Carolina and his five career CWS saves equals a series record.
Anchored by Carginan, the bullpen helped the Tar Heels post a 47-2 record when leading after six innings.
WOODARD MOVES UP CAREER CHARTS
Right-hander Robert Woodard, who went 11-2 with a 3.30 ERA in 18 starts, became the winningest pitcher in UNC history this season and finished his career with a 34-5 record. In addition to his win total, which is also seventh in ACC history, Woodard is second in winning percentage (.872), second in innings (377.1) and seventh in strikeouts (264). He is the only pitcher in school history in the top 10 in these four categories.
WARREN EMERGES
Sophomore right-hander Adam Warren went 12-0 for the most wins without a loss in school history. His 12 wins were also second in the ACC. Warren, who posted a 2.17 ERA in 70 2/3 innings, was the Tar Heels' primary midweek starter but also earned two of UNC's four wins in Omaha - one in relief against Mississippi State and the other over No. 1 Rice. The 23 combined wins for Warren and Robert Woodard are the most by any duo in UNC history.
WOOTEN GRABS APPEARANCES RECORD
Junior set-up man Rob Wooten appeared in a school-record 47 games, including 12 of 13 in the NCAA Tournament and a record six in the CWS. He went 6-1 with a 2.35 ERA on the year and was 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA in the postseason.
FLACK & HORTON IN THE RECORD BOOK
Juniors Chad Flack and Josh Horton continued to move up the Tar Heels' career record charts in 2007. Flack is now seventh in RBI (163), seventh in total bases (409), eighth in extra-base hits (82), eighth in at-bats (784), ninth in hits (252) and ninth in home runs (35).
Horton is fifth in average (.360), sixth in hits (264), sixth in triples (10), seventh in doubles (46) and eighth in total bases (384).
FINE SEASON FOR FRONK
In his first season as an outfielder, Reid Fronk earned All-ACC honors and had one of the top offensive seasons in UNC history. He hit .318 with a team-best 11 home runs and 58 RBI. Fronk also posted top-10 single-season totals in at-bats (283 - 4th), runs (73 - 6th), doubles (21 - 5th), triples (5 - 7th) and extra base hits (37 - 9th).
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Several Tar Heels were at their best come tournament time and earned spots on postseason all-tournament teams. Shortstop Josh Horton had title-winning hits in both the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional and was named MVP of both events. Additionally, Horton, Dustin Ackley, Tim Fedroff, Reid Fronk and Alex White were named to the ACC All-Tournament Team. Horton, Fronk and Rob Wooten were chosen for the regional all-tournament team, while Ackley, Fedroff and Andrew Carignan were honored on the All-CWS squad.
FEELING A DRAFT
Six players were chosen in the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft for the most for the Tar Heels since 2000. Josh Horton was chosen in the second round (90th overall) by Oakland to lead the way. Luke Putkonen (3rd, Detroit), Andrew Carignan (5th, Oakland), Reid Fronk (7th, Tampa Bay), Benji Johnson (17th, Atlanta) and Robert Woodard (20th, San Diego) were also selected.
SEVEN TAR HEELS NAMED ALL-ACC
Led by Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year Dustin Ackley, North Carolina had a record seven individuals earn spots on the league's all-conference teams. Joining Ackley on the first team were shortstop Josh Horton and relief pitcher Andrew Carignan, while outfielders Tim Fedroff and Reid Fronk, starting pitcher Robert Woodard and utility man Tim Federowicz garnered second team honors. The Tar Heels also had seven All-ACC choices in 1981, but Joe Reto made the first team as a designated hitter and second team at first base.
