University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels To Take On Pair Of In-State Foes
May 10, 2011 | Baseball
May 10, 2011
UNC vs. UNCW & UNCA Game Notes
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Following a three-game sweep of Maryland over the weekend the Tar Heels will hit the road Tuesday for a midweek tilt at UNC Wilmington and then return home to face UNC Asheville on Wednesday. The Tar Heels already claimed a 14-2 win over the Seahawks earlier in the year and will go for the season sweep on Tuesday.
National Rankings
• After a 4-0 week with a midweek win over Gardner-Webb and a sweep of Maryland the Tar Heels either moved up or stayed put in each poll.
• The Tar Heels moved up to No. 9 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll, to No. 11 in NCBWA and No. 17 in Baseball America.
• Carolina remained at No. 15 in the Perfect Game Top 25 and No. 17 in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
• UNC Wilmington and UNC Asheville are unranked.
North Carolina-UNC Wilmington Series
• The Tar Heels and Seahawks have met 62 previous times with Carolina holding a 50-12 advantage in those meetings.
• Carolina claimed the previous meeting in 2011 with a 14-2 win Boshamer Stadium as the Tar Heels took advantage of four Seahawk errors.
• The Tar Heels have won 10 straight over the Seahawks, three of which have come in Wilmington.
Scouting The Seahawks
• UNC Wilmington has won four straight games, including a three-game sweep of Georgia State last weekend.
• Thomas Pope leads the Seahawks at the plate with a .407 average entering the week having scored 41 runs and driven in 38 more.
• Hunter Ridge is the top run-scoring and run-producing weapon for UNCW as he has scored 46 runs and tallied 48 RBI.
• The Seahawks will send right-hander Justin Bradley to the mound on Tuesday who comes in with a 3-3 record and 7.24 ERA in 32.1 innings of work having allowed 26 earned runs on the year.
• Bradley has walked 24 batters, while striking out 22 and opponents are hitting .290 on the year.
• The top option out of the pen for UNCW is the duo of Jack Lane (1-0, 5.14 ERA, 24 appearances) and Kelly Secreest (2-1, 4.67 ERA, 24 appearances).
North Carolina-UNC Asheville Series
• The Tar Heels and Bulldogs have met just three times on the diamond with Carolina coming out in front in all three meetings.
• Carolina has not faced off against UNC Asheville since 2004 when the Tar Heels claimed a 6-0 win and the previous two meetings occurred in 1996 and 1997.
Scouting The Bulldogs
• UNC Asheville is mired in an eight-game losing streak having dropped a midweek game to Wofford, a three-game set against Radford and a three-game series at Liberty before suffering a 9-5 loss at East Tennessee State on Monday.
• Leading the Bulldogs at the plate are Jordan Lurie and Robert McIntosh who are both hitting above .340 entering Wednesday's action.
• McIntosh has scored a team-high 29 runs, while Lurie has racked up a team-leading 65 hits on the season.
• The Bulldogs boast a team ERA of 6.13 having 78 more earned runs than their opponents through 44 games this season.
Carolina Closing Strong After Exam Break
• North Carolina is one of the few teams in the country with a break scheduled in the season due to the UNC exam schedule.
• The Tar Heels have taken full advantage of the small break late in the year and have posted strong results following the break to close out the regular season.
• Since the 2006 season Carolina is 40-12 after the traditional exam break posting at least six wins every season.
Records After Exam Break Since 2006
2006 - 6-3 - NCAA CWS
2007 - 8-1 - NCAA CWS
2008 - 7-2 - NCAA CWS
2009 - 6-3 - NCAA CWS
2010 - 9-3 - NCAA Regional
2011 - 4-0
Tar Heels Holding Serve Over In-State Foes
• The Tar Heels have posted a 56-20 against fellow North Carolina schools over the last four years posting one of the top marks in the Old North State.
• Carolina is 12-6 against in-state foes this season after earning its second win over East Carolina of the year with the 5-4 win last Wednesday and the 8-1 win over Gardner-Webb Tuesday.
• In the last four years Carolina is:
2008: 15-3
2009: 15-7
2010: 14-4
2011: 12-6
Moran The RBI Machine
• Freshman Colin Moran has made quite a first impression for the Tar Heels this year as he has tallied 60 RBI an average of 1.28 per contest.
• Moran tallied six RBI in the weekend sweep of Maryland and became just the fourth freshman in school history to reach the 60-RBI plateau.
Freshmen With 60 RBI In A Season
73 - Dustin Ackley, 2007
63 - Brian Goodwin, 2010
62 - Tim Federowicz, 2006
60 - Colin Moran, 2011
• Moran is leading the ACC in RBI on the year by 10 over Virginia Tech duo Chris Rash and Ronnie Shaban and would become the first freshman since Jamie D'Antona of Wake Forest in 2001 to lead the conference in RBI outright. Dustin Ackley tied Miami's Yonder Alonso for the ACC RBI lead during his freshman campaign in 2007.
