University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Baseball Monday Notebook
April 5, 2010 | Baseball
April 5, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina will conclude their road trip Tuesday at Elon with a midweek game set for 7 p.m. at Latham Park. The Tar Heels will then resume league play hosting rival NC State for a three-game set this weekend at Boshamer Stadium.
Carolina will start Garrett Davis (3-2, 4.57 ERA) opposite Elon's Ken Ferrer (4-1, 7.99 ERA). The two right-handers will square off Tuesday night in Elon, N.C. It will be Davis' first start since March 24 against UNC Greensboro.
Elon (19-10, 8-4 Southern Conference) is fresh off a three-game sweep over UNC Greensboro. Carolina posts two wins over the Spartans already this season. The Phoenix are 3-0 against ACC teams in 2010, registering two victories over top-15 Clemson and win over Wake Forest.
The two teams last met May 5, 2009 as Carolina defeated Elon 15-6 at Boshamer Stadium. Levi Michael posted a two-run home run in that game, as veterans Mike Cavasinni and Ben Bunting also registered a combined three hits. Tarron Robinson recorded two RBI in the game, which still stands as a career-best.
Carolina leads the all-time series, that dates to 1909, against the Phoenix 25-8. Elon last defeated the Tar Heels in April of 2008, 2-0 in Chapel Hill. Carolina defeated Elon 5-1 in May of 2007 in their last meeting at Latham Park.
Elon and the Carolina will meet once more in 2010 as the Tar Heels will host the Phoenix May 3 in Chapel Hill.
Before closing the books 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 30-APRIL 4:
• UNC's first league series win of the year at Maryland highlighted the week for Carolina. The Tar Heels posted a 4-1 record on the week with two wins at Maryland, and midweek victories over Winthrop and Richmond.
• Posting two wins over Maryland, Carolina has now won 13 of their last 14 at Shipley Field. The games marked the first for Carolina outside of the Old North State.
• Junior Patrick Johnson returned after being sidelined for a week due to soreness in his shoulder. The junior earned his third victory of the season in a solid outing against Maryland. Johnson allowed just two earned runs on five hits in six innings of work.
• Carolina again had a tough week with the glove, despite their four wins, posting a .956 fielding percentage. The Tar Heels have posted half of their season errors in the last nine games.
• The Carolina bullpen registered a solid week allowing just five earned runs in 27 innings. Cody Penny recorded his first win of the season over Winthrop Tuesday allowing just one run on two hits in three innings. Michael Morin earned his third save and fourth win of the season at Maryland this weekend, throwing 4.2 shutout innings of relief. Morin, who leads the team with 14 appearances out of the pen, posts a 25:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season and has not walked a batter since his first collegiate appearance.
• Two Tar Heels set or matched new career-highs this week. Jacob Stallings, who had his best week as a Tar Heel with a .438 average on the week, posted three hits against Maryland Friday for a new career-high. He also posted a career-best three RBI against Richmond and matched that career-high Sunday at Maryland. Ben Bunting posted four hits Sunday to match a career-best four hits.
• Mike Cavasinni continued to build on his hit streak, stretching it to 12 games which is two shy of his career-high. The senior notched 10 hits on the week, including four multi-hit games and one multi-RBI game. The Huntersville, N.C., native successes could be credited to moving to the leadoff spot in the order for the first time this week.
• Tommy Coyle posted the team's top average of the week at a .471 clip. The freshman is in the midst of a five-game hit streak and registered two huge two-out hits off the bench in the 8-4 win over Maryland Sunday. Coyle, entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning, kept the rally alive with a hit that led to one run in the eighth to tie the score at four. In the ninth again with two outs, Coyle ripped a double off the right center field fence to give the Tar Heels an 8-4 lead.
• Jesse Wierzbicki continues to be the Tar Heels biggest power threat from the plate. In a designated hitter role and starting his first games at first base, the junior posted two home runs this week to now leads the team with seven. Wierzbicki also reached base safely five times in an 11-4 win over Maryland Saturday, en route to being hit by five pitches this week.
• Matt Harvey continued his tough luck as a starter with another no decision this weekend. The junior allowed three runs on five hits in six innings of work Friday night. The Tar Heels suffered another heart-breaking defeat in the game, losing on a walk-off home run in the tenth inning.
• Junior Colin Bates returned to the bullpen and looked like his old self in his first two appearances. Despite suffering the loss Friday, Bates still struck out three straight Maryland batters at one point. Sunday Bates proved how valuable he can be out of the bullpen, throwing four innings of relief and allowing just one run while scattering seven hits.
• Levi Michael, who made the jump for second to third base this season, made a couple of fine defensive plays over the weekend. Michael made a game changing play in the bottom of the eighth Sunday at Maryland, making a diving stop to throw out a Terrapin at first for the final out of the frame saving a run. The sophomore also hit his first home run of the season Friday.
• Brian Goodwin hit his fifth triple of the year this weekend to inch closer toward the single season school record. The freshman is now just three shy of the single season record eight triples set by Rip Ryan that has stood since 1949. Goodwin posted a rookie season-high six RBI Saturday hitting his fourth home run of the season.
• Seth Baldwin made a pair of starts at designated hitter this weekend en route to his second home run of the year Friday. The sophomore is hitting .337 on the year with a .667 slugging percentage.
• Garrett Davis was impressive out of the bullpen this week and could have solidified a new role. Davis, who has started five games this year, threw 4.2 shutout innings of relief this week. The Fremont, N.C., native twice entered games with the bases loaded and only allowed one inherited runner to score. He earned his third win of the season Wednesday against Richmond.
