University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 2 Tar Heels, No. 18 Tigers Meet In ACC Opener
March 5, 2009 | Baseball
March 5, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 2 North Carolina will face a stiff test this weekend when it opens Atlantic Coast Conference play against No. 18 Clemson beginning Friday at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels (8-1) and Tigers (5-2) will square off at 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. A webcast of the first two games of the series will be available live and on-demand via ACC Select.
Carolina enters the weekend featuring a balanced attack with a .331 team batting average, a 2.22 staff ERA and a .970 fielding percentage.
Six Tar Heel starters are batting better than .375 on the season with four checking in with averages above .400, including junior catcher Mark Fleury, who is off to a remarkable start with a .444 average, three home runs and an ACC-best 17 RBI.
Led by the 6-0 starting rotation of Alex White, Adam Warren and Matt Harvey, the UNC pitching staff has totaled 117 strikeouts for an average of 13 per nine innings. Over the first nine games, UNC's bullpen has allowed just five earned runs over 36 2/3 innings for a 1.23 ERA.
The Tar Heels have won four straight over the Tigers after posting their first-ever sweep and first-ever series victory at Clemson last season. UNC started its current four-game winning streak against the Tigers with a 2-0 victory in the 2006 College World Series behind a Robert Woodard three-hitter.
The Tigers lead the all-time series by a 93-74-1 margin, but the Tar Heels have posted a 7-5 margin over the last five years. Mike Fox is 14-15 versus the Tigers since 1999.
Clemson is 5-2 on the season after splitting midweek games with Furman and UNC Asheville. The Tigers have struggled at the plate to the tune of a .248 team average but have been strong on the mound with a 2.35 staff ERA and with the glove with a .982 fielding percentage.
First baseman Ben Paulsen pilots the Clemson offense with a .464 average, and Clemson's weekend rotation will feature right-hander Trey Delk (1-0, 1.93) Friday, right-hander Graham Stoneburner (0-1, 6.00) Saturday and lefty Chris Dwyer (1-0, 0.00) Sunday. Dwyer has allowed just two hits and one walk over 11 2/3 scoreless innings.
In last season's sweep at Clemson, Kyle Seager batted .538 (7-13) with three home runs and eight RBI, and Dustin Ackley went 6-for-13 (.462) with three runs, a home run and three RBI in 2008. Fleury hit .375 (3-8) in the series and lefty reliever Brian Moran pitched in all three games and earned a save. White pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings in a win at Clemson in the series opener in 2008.
Following this weekend's action, the Tar Heels will close their season opening homestand with two games against Appalachian State next week before heading to Virginia Tech.
