University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 2 North Carolina Opens ACC Slate At Duke
March 6, 2008 | Baseball
March 6, 2008
Carolina-Duke Notes in PDF Format 
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 2 North Carolina opens Atlantic Coast Conference action this weekend with a three-game series at Duke's Jack Coombs Field beginning Friday. The Tar Heels (8-1) and Blue Devils (11-0) will play at 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. A webcast of all three games will available live and on-demand through ACC Select, and 850 AM The Buzz will carry the Tar Heel Sports Network's coverage with Jones Angell and Adam Lucas on the call.
GAMES 10-12: AT DUKE
North Carolina (8-1) at Duke (11-0)
March 7-9, 2008
3 p.m. Fri., 2 p.m. Sat., 1 p.m. Sun.
Site: Durham, N.C.
Stadium: Jack Coombs Field (2,000)
All-Time Series: UNC leads 167-91-2
Last Meeting: UNC 7-4, 4/14/07
| Date | Time | UNC Starter | Duke Starter | Coverage |
| March 7 | 3 p.m. | Alex White, RHP (So., 2-0, 0.00) |
Andrew Wolcott, RHP (Jr., 1-0, 1.64) |
ACC Select |
| March 8 | 2 p.m. | Adam Warren, RHP (Jr., 1-0, 12.15) |
Will Currier, RHP (So., 2-0, 0.75) |
ACC Select/ THSN |
| March 9 | 1 p.m. | TBA | Grant Monroe, RHP (Fr., 2-0, 1.80) |
ACC Select/ THSN |
NATIONAL RANKINGS: North Carolina is ranked in the top five of all four major polls, including the No. 2 spot in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. Duke is unranked.
SERIES HISTORY: North Carolina leads its all-time series with Duke, 167-91-2, and holds a 114-34-1 edge in games played since the formation of the ACC in 1954. The Tar Heels have won 17 of their last 19 meetings with the Blue Devils over the last six seasons. Carolina last dropped a series to Duke in 2001 (2-1 in Chapel Hill). Head coach Mike Fox is 25-4 versus the Blue Devils since 1999 and has led his club to series sweeps of the Blue Devils in four of the last six years. The Tar Heels have swept four of the last five series in Durham dating to 1998.
RECENT HISTORY VS. DUKE: Dustin Ackley hit just .231 (3-13) against the Blue Devils a year ago ... Tim Federowicz is a career .320 hitter (8-25) with four RBI against Duke ... Tim Fedroff hit .455 (5-11) in last year's series ... Chad Flack has hit .325 (13-40) with four home runs and 13 RBI in nine games against Duke ... Garrett Gore owns a .438 average (7-16) in five games vs. the Blue Devils ... Seth Williams is a .280 hitter (7-25) against Duke ... Rob Wooten allowed one run on two hits over 1 2/3 innings in one career appearance against Duke.
CARLYLE CUP: One point in the race towards the Carlyle Cup, the all-sports competition between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils, is on the line this weekend. The winner of the series will add a point to its school's total for the 2007-08 academic year. UNC enters the weekend with a 12-3 lead in the standings.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS: At 11-0, Duke is off to its second-best start in school history. The Blue Devils are batting .338 as a team with three regulars batting better than .400. Alex Hassan leads the way with a .465 average to go along with one home run and 11 RBI. On the mound, Duke owns a 1.55 ERA. The rotation for the weekend will be RHP Andrew Wolcott (1-0, 1.64), RHP Will Currier (2-0, 0.75) and RHP Grant Monroe (2-0, 1.80).
LAST TIME OUT: Right fielder Tim Fedroff went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and three RBI, and No. 2 North Carolina scored nine times over the first four innings en route to a 10-2 win over William & Mary Tuesday at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. Fedroff singled to lead off the game, drove in a run in the second on a sacrifice fly and hit his third home run of the season in the fourth. Additionally, shortstop Garrett Gore, who had two RBI, first baseman Dustin Ackley, third baseman Chad Flack and left fielder Ben Bunting had two hits apiece for Carolina. Ackley, who was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, extended his hitting streak to 13 games, and second baseman Kyle Seager hit safely for the fifth straight game. Freshman right-hander Matt Harvey (1-0) picked up the win in a predetermined staff outing.
PITCHING POWERS STREAK: Carolina has reeled off five straight wins behind its pitching staff, which owns a 1.20 ERA over this stretch. The Tar Heels have struck out 42 batters and issued just 18 walks in 45 innings. Opponents are hitting just .209 over this run. Only four of the 14 pitchers to work in the last five games have allowed an earned run, and no pitcher has given up more than two earned runs in the last five contests.
HEELS SURE UP DEFENSE: Carolina opened the year with 10 errors over its first four games and eight errors over a two-game stretch. Since then, the Tar Heels have made just four total errors over the last five games for a .980 fielding percentage over this stretch.
ACKLEY STREAKIN' AGAIN: Sophomore 1B/OF Dustin Ackley had a 28-game hitting streak a year ago and is in the midst of a 13-game streak dating to last year. This season, Ackley has six multi-hit games in nine games and is batting an even .500 (19-38) on the year with three home runs and 10 RBI. In the season-opening series at Florida Atlantic, the Walnut Cove, N.C., native compiled a .714 batting average for the week and posted three home runs, seven RBI and scored five runs to claim national hitter of the week honors.
SEAGER ON A ROLL: Sophomore 2B Kyle Seager is on a five-game hitting streak and owns a .529 average (9-17) with a home run and 11 RBI over this stretch. Last weekend, Seager led Carolina to the Winthrop Coca-Cola Classic title with four straight multi-hit games and 10 RBI. For the week, he hit .444 (8-18) with four runs scored, two doubles, a home run and the 10 RBI. Seager drove in three runs in each of the first three games in Rock Hill, equaling a career high on each occasion. He was named to the College Baseball Foundation "National All-Star Lineup" for his efforts.
ROAD WARRIORS: This season is a break from the ordinary for the Tar Heels, who will play 10 of their first 12 games on the road. In 2007, Carolina played just one of its first 23 contests away from Boshamer Stadium. The last time UNC opened a season with a similar stretch was 1985 when it played 14 of its first 15 games outside of Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels are 7-0 on the road or at neutral sites this season.
WHITE STARTS STRONG: Sophomore right-hander Alex White has yet to allow an earned run this season and is 2-0 after two starts. On the season, White has struck out 12 and walked only three over 11 2/3 innings. The Greenville, N.C., native will start Friday against Duke.
BREAKING OUT THE BATS: Carolina has clubbed 15 home runs over its first nine games, including 11 in its series sweep at Florida Atlantic. Dustin Ackley, Tim Fedroff, Kyle Seager and Seth Williams share the team lead with three homers apiece. Seager hit just two all last season, and Fedroff hit five in 2007.
THE KILLER Bs: Freshmen Zeke Blanton and Ben Bunting are both off to quick starts as part-time starters for the Tar Heels. Blanton is batting .375 (3-8) with two RBI in seven games, while Bunting checks in at .368 (7-19) with three RBI and a four-game hitting streak.
STARTERS, BULLPEN COMPARISON: Over the last six games, Carolina's starters have allowed just four earned runs over 25 2/3 innings for a 1.40 ERA. The bullpen has been even better with just three earned runs over 29 1/3 innings for a 0.92 ERA. As a whole, the staff sports a 1.15 ERA in the last six games with 58 strikeouts in 55 innings.
ROOKIES SHINE ON THE MOUND: The Tar Heels are going to have to rely on a youth movement in their bullpen for much of this season. Carolina has already used a freshman or redshirt freshman in 17 of its 31 relief appearances this year with positive results. Rookie right-handers Colin Bates, Ryan Leach and Nate Striz have combined for five wins out of the bullpen.
BATES BACK IN A BIG WAY: Redshirt freshman right-hander Colin Bates should be a fixture in the bullpen this season after missing all of last year. The Naperville, Ill., native had thoracic outlet decompression surgery due to a blood clot in his right shoulder in November 2006 and spent last season rehabbing. He has already earned two wins this season and sports a 2.70 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 10 innings.
DOUBLE DIPPING: The Tar Heels posted three multi-homer games in the first two outings of the season. Seth Williams and Dustin Ackley both went deep twice on opening day and Kyle Seager followed the next day with two of his own. Williams and Ackley's effort Feb. 22 at FAU marked the first time a pair of Tar Heels homered twice in the same game since Jeremy Cleveland and Ryan Blake did so against Duke April 20, 2003.
VETERAN LINEUP RETURNS: The Tar Heels opening day starting lineup featured seven position starters back in the fold from 2007. All eight position starters have made at last 45 career starts and they have each been very productive players. The lowest career average among the eight players is .288.
Career Stats For UNC's Probable Starters Player Starts Career Avg. Chad Flack 204 .316 Seth Williams 162 .291 Tim Federowicz 148 .325 Dustin Ackley 82 .413 Garrett Gore 74 .288 Tim Fedroff 65 .328 Kyle Seager 57 .319 Kyle Shelton 45 .288
PICKING UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF: After back-to-back national runner-up finishes, the Tar Heels ended the 2007 season ranked No. 2 in the national polls for the second year in a row. This season, Carolina opened the year ranked No. 2 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Poll.
HEELS PICKED TO REPEAT: Defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion North Carolina is favored to repeat as the league champion in 2008, as determined by a vote of the league's 12 head coaches. The back-to-back national runner-up Tar Heels were also picked to win the Coastal Division for the third-straight year, while Florida State was predicted to capture its second Atlantic title.
WOOTEN TO CLOSE: Senior Rob Wooten, who led the NCAA and set an ACC record with 47 appearances a year ago, will move to the closer role this season. He will replace All-America Andrew Carignan, who saved a school-record 18 games in 2007. Wooten pitched in only 19 games over his first two seasons but dropped his arm slot with great success a year ago. He went 6-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 2007 and sports a 1.80 ERA and has two saves in 10 innings this season.
ROOKIE HONORS: Freshman pitchers and 2007 MLB Draft Picks Matt Harvey and Nate Striz are expected to play big roles for the Tar Heels this season, and they are rated among the top rookies in college baseball. Harvey has been recognized by CSTV and Rivals.com as one of the nation's top freshmen, and both Harvey and Striz were listed among the ACC's top five newcomers by Baseball America. Harvey is 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings, while Striz owns a 1.35 ERA, a win and a save in four relief appearances.
BUILDING A BETTER BOSH: Carolina will play its 32 home games in 2008 at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex while Boshamer Stadium undergoes an estimated $25.5 million renovation. The Tar Heels will be back on campus in time for the 2009 season. In the meantime, they will make the roughly 25-minute commute to the Cary facility for games and practice.
