University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels, Wahoos Meet In Top-10 Clash
March 26, 2009 | Baseball
March 26, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 5 North Carolina hosts No. 8 Virginia in an important ACC Coastal Division showdown beginning Friday at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels (18-5, 5-3 ACC) and Cavaliers (21-2, 5-2 ACC) will square off at 7 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Saturday's game will be aired on AM-1360 WCHL, and a webcast will be available via ACCSelect.com.
The Tar Heels will look to bounce back after losing three of four for the first time since April 2007. Over the last four games, Carolina is batting just .241, and the Tar Heels had a season-low three hits against Charlotte Tuesday and have only four hits and three runs scored in their last 15 innings.
Despite the recent struggles, five Tar Heel starters are batting better than .329 on the season, with Dustin Ackley (.416) and Kyle Seager (.407) ranked among the top six hitters in the ACC. Mark Fleury (6 HR, 27 RBI) and Levi Michael (9 HR, 28 RBI) rank among the league's top five in both home runs and RBI.
The UNC pitching staff has totalled an ACC-best 241 strikeouts and is holding the opposition to a .217 average. The weekend rotation of Alex White, Adam Warren and Matt Harvey has combined for 58 career wins, while lefty relief ace Brian Moran leads the league with a .159 opponent batting average, is tied for seventh with 32 strikeouts, is tied for second with 14 appearances and stands eighth with a 2.31 ERA.
Ackley has owned Virginia in eight career games with a .613 average (19-31) with eight RBI, six runs and four doubles. Garrett Gore owns a .345 career average (10-29) and seven RBI in 10 career meetings with the Wahoos. He went 6-for-14 over last year's four games.
On the mound, White is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA in four career starts versus UVA. He has struck out 28 over 25 1/3 innings and allowed just eight earned runs. White beat Virginia in the 2007 ACC Tournament and in Charlottesville in 2008.
Carolina and Virginia have played very competitive series of late with the teams splitting their last 10 meetings, including four contests a year ago. The Wahoos have won the last two games after the Tar Heels took the first two in Charlottesville a year ago to secure the regular season series. Virginia won two of three in its last trip to Chapel Hill in 2007, but UNC has won six of the 10 regular season series under Mike Fox. Carolina holds a 169-95-4 advantage in the all-time series, which dates to 1891.
This weekend marks the ninth regular season series against a top-10 opponent for the Tar Heels since the start of the 2006 season. Carolina is 4-4 in these series and went 2-0 last year with series victories over No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Florida State. Carolina enters this weekend with a 31-20 record versus top-10 opponents since the start of the 2006 season.
Virginia enters the weekend with a 21-2 record and a 5-2 mark in the ACC. The Cavaliers dropped two of three at home to Miami last weekend for their first losses on the season. The Wahoos lead the ACC in both batting (.373) and pitching (2.49). Three regulars are batting .400 or better - Dan Grovatt (.414-3-22), Jarrett Parker (.402-4-28) and Tyler Cannon (.400-1-21). UVA has six players with 20-plus RBI.
On the mound, lefty Danny Hultzen (5-0, 1.69) and right-hander Andrew Carraway (3-0, 1.93) anchor the weekend rotation and will start Friday and Saturday. RHP Will Roberts (2-0, 3.15) is slated to start Sunday.
