University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Tar Heels Want Fans To Make Postseason Impact
May 30, 2011 | Baseball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
May 30, 2011
By Adam Lucas
Mike Fox spent much of the final regular season weekend locked in on the diamond, watching his Tar Heels sweep top-ranked Virginia. But on the final evening of action, after his club had battled back for a 2-1 victory, he took a moment to acknowledge an off-the-field hero of the victory--the Boshamer Stadium crowd.
"I took my hat off to them," the head coach said. "They helped us win that game.
"We need them to come back and do that again. On the field, you don't understand what an impact they have until you hear them. You hear how it helps you perform and raises everything about your level of focus."
The Tar Heels drew 8,495 fans to Boshamer for the rare Thursday-Friday-Saturday series. They'll likely attract even better numbers during NCAA Tournament regional play, which begins this Friday with a 6 p.m. matchup against Maine. All-session tickets are available during an exclusive presale to supporters of the baseball program. Should tickets remain after the presale, all session regional packages will go on sale to the general public at 8:00 pm Tuesday May 31st. Anyone unsure if they fall into the presale group should call the ticket office at 800-722-4335.
With Florida State, Clemson and Virginia regularly drawing huge crowds, the Diamond Heels frequently have to go on the road and face some of the nation's best home-field advantages. Against the Cavaliers, they experienced how beneficial that type of support can be--not just getting fans into the seats, but having those fans be loud and proactive rather than reactive.
"We have to bow down to our crowd," said left fielder Chaz Frank. "They were great. It was a wonderful atmosphere."
"We had a lot of support this whole series," said closer Michael Morin, who closed out Friday and Saturday's wins behind a surge of Boshamer noise. "It obviously helps, and it really gets your adrenaline going."
Carolina baseball fans have a history of impressive postseason support. In 2007, Carolina and Vanderbilt were the only two regional hosts to sell all available tickets on the first day. One week later, the super regional against South Carolina sold out before any public tickets were available.
With the obvious overwhelming demand, Boshamer Stadium was renovated during the 2008 season to better handle the exploding interest in Tar Heel baseball. Those efforts were rewarded in the 2009 postseason, as fans purchased over 4,000 tickets per game in a private presale to supporters of the program.
After a one-year hosting hiatus in 2010, the Tar Heels have again brought postseason baseball back to Chapel Hill. Those same groups that gobbled up every ticket in 2009, and brought huge crowds to Boshamer this past weekend for Fan Appreciation Weekend, will again have the chance to have an impact on the drive to return to Omaha.
"It's one thing to have them in the seats," Fox said. "That's great. It's another thing to have them into the game and cheering like they were against Virginia. When you get 4,000 people cheering for their pitcher, it puts some pressure on that hitter. Our fans might not realize how much that helps us."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of six books on Carolina basketball, including the official chronicle of the first 100 years of Tar Heel hoops, A Century of Excellence, which is available now. Get real-time UNC sports updates from the THM staff on Twitter.
