Carolina Baseball Monday Notebook

March 8, 2010 | Baseball

By: UNC Athletic Communications

March 8, 2010

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Nationally ranked North Carolina closes a 13-game home stand this week hosting William & Mary Tuesday and St. John's Wednesday. Both games are slated for a 3 p.m. start and will be at Boshamer Stadium.

Carolina is slated to start sophomore right-hander Garrett Davis (1-0, 7.04 ERA) Tuesday against William & Mary. Sophomore right-hander Jimmy Messer (0-0, 5.79 ERA) will get the nod for the Tar Heels Wednesday against St. John's. The Tribe and Red Storm have yet to determine a starter.

The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 13-1 against the Tribe. The Diamond Heels defeated William & Mary 10-2 in 2008 in Cary, N.C. in the teams last meeting.

The all-time series against St. John's is knotted at five games apiece. Carolina played a two-game set Red Storm in 2008, with the Tar Heels evening the all-time series with 6-2 and 4-2 wins.

Carolina features a balanced attack with a .316 batting average, 2.97 staff ERA and a .977 fielding percentage. Six starters post at least a .282 average or better, with juniors Dillon Hazlett (.441) and Ben Bunting (.409) leading the way.

William & Mary is 5-4 on the young season and split a two-game with Seton Hall last weekend. The Tribe travels to ACC foe Virginia Wednesday for their second midweek tilt.

William & Mary is led outfielder Stephen Arcure's .378 batting average and .514 slugging percentage. The Tribe posts a .317 team batting average, 4.27 staff ERA and .961 team fielding percentage.

St. John's posts a 7-2 record after dropping two out of three to East Tennessee State this past weekend. The two teams have a common opponent in Michigan as Red Storm defeated the Wolverines 2-1. St. John's defeated three Big Ten teams in the Big Ten/Big East challenge - Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois by a combined four runs.

The Red Storm posts a .334 team batting average, 4.39 staff ERA and .983 fielding percentage. Five St. John's starters post a .333 batting average or better, led by outfielder Jimmy Parque's .463 average.

After the two midweek tilts, Carolina will open conference play on the road traveling to Durham, N.C. for a three-game series beginning Friday against Duke at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Before closing the book's on last week's action, TarHeelBlue.com takes a look back at the week that was for the Diamond Heels:

NOTING THE WEEK OF MARCH 4-7:

• North Carolina won four games on four consecutive days this past week. The Tar Heels earned a walk-off 6-5 victory over Gardner-Webb Thursday and then swept Michigan this weekend. The Tar Heels inched closer to evening the all-time series with the Wolverines, as Michigan still holds a 7-6 advantage after three Carolina wins.

• Junior right-hander Matt Harvey was masterful Friday earning a 4-2 win over Michigan. Harvey (2-0) struck out 11 Wolverine batters in eight shutout innings, allowing only three hits. The Mystic, Conn., product fanned double-digit batters for the third time in his career. Harvey now posts a 1.80 ERA and 23 strikeouts in just 20 innings in 2010.

• Senior shortstop Ryan Graepel posts a five-game hit streak and has registered at least one RBI in his last five games. Graepel propelled Carolina to victory Thursday with a walk-off RBI single to defeat Gardner-Webb 6-5. The Greenville, N.C., native matched his career-best three RBI in that game. The senior went 6-for-13 with five RBI in three wins over Michigan this weekend, posting a team-best six doubles on the season.

• Freshman Chaz Frank hit an impressive .667 over the weekend, posting six hits in nine at-bats. The freshman was outstanding going 5-for-7 with four runs scored and a RBI in two wins over Michigan. In Carolina's narrow 7-6 win over the Wolverines Saturday, Frank went 3-for-4 and executed a key sacrifice bunt to plate what proved to be the game's winning run in the bottom of the eighth.

• Three Tar Heels posted slugging percentage of .700 or better over the course of the week. Frank's .778 slugging percentage led the way, followed by Brian Goodwin's .750 percentage and Jesse Wierzbicki's .714 clip. Both Goodwin and Wierzbicki belted their second home runs on the season over the weekend. Goodwin also flashed his powerful arm earning Carolina's first outfield assist Friday.

• Third baseman Levi Michael and second baseman Tommy Coyle each lead the speedy Tar Heels with five stolen base attempts. Both players recorded two stolen bases over the weekend, as Carolina is now 22-27 on stolen base attempts this season. Michael's .559 on-base percentage offers many opportunities to swipe bags.

• Carolina's weekend starters Matt Harvey, Patrick Johnson and Colin Bates combined to allow only two earned runs in 19.2 innings pitched this weekend, good for a 0.94 ERA. All three earned wins over the weekend as Colin Bates improved to a team-best 3-0. Bates, a closer the past two seasons, is perfect in three career starts on the mound.

• The Tar Heel bullpen was stellar over the weekend as nine pitchers out of the pen all logged innings. Veterans Bryant Gaines and Nate Striz each made their first appearances Sunday after recovering from off-season surgery. Gaines fanned three batters in one inning of work and Striz retired the Wolverines in order to cap off a 9-1 win Sunday. Greg Holt earned his first save of the season Saturday striking out two batters ending Michigan's rally in the ninth. Freshman Michael Morin picked up his second win in relief Thursday against Gardner-Webb.

• Carolina will open conference play this weekend at Duke. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series, but dropped two of three to the Blue Devils a year ago.