University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Go Back To Work On Off Day
June 19, 2011 | Baseball
June 19, 2011
OMAHA, Neb. - Following a tough 7-3 loss to Vanderbilt in the opening game of the College World Series Carolina returned to the practice field on Sunday as the Tar Heels went through a workout at Boys Town just west of Omaha. UNC will return to action on Monday at 2 p.m. ET when it takes on No. 7 seed Texas.
The Tar Heels went through batting practice along with the Boys Town group in preparation for Monday afternoon's elimination showdown against Texas which can be seen on ESPN.
Despite the history of the two storied programs the Longhorns and Tar Heels have never met on the diamond. Texas enters Monday's game with a 49-18 record on the season having won the Austin Regional by going 4-1 with a win against Princeton and three against Kent State.
The Longhorns advanced to their 33rd CWS by winning two out of three games against Arizona State in the Austin Super Regional. Texas dropped its opening game of the CWS, 8-4, Saturday night against No. 2 seed Florida.
Despite never playing against each other the Tar Heels and Longhorns have four common opponents in 2011. Both teams played against Maryland, Missouri, Princeton and Stanford this season. Texas posted a 10-4 record against the four squads losing to Maryland, Missouri and Stanford. Carolina posted a perfect 7-0 record against the four teams, including sweeps against Maryland and Stanford.
Carolina will send freshman southpaw Kent Emanuel to the mound on Monday and he will be the first freshman to start a CWS game since 2010 MLB First Round Draft Pick Matt Harvey who started the third game of the 2008 CWS.
Texas will counter with right-hander Cole Green who owns an 8-3 record with a 3.03 ERA in 104 innings of work this season. The senior was taken in ninth round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds.
The Longhorns own one of the top pitching staffs in the country as they rank among the top 10 in the country in hits allowed per nine innings (1st, 6.3), ERA (2nd, 2.27) and strikeouts per nine innings (9th, 8.3).
The offense has struggled to get going this year as Texas is averaging just 5.2 runs per game this season. The Longhorns have used the bunt throughout head coach Augie Garrido's time at Texas and rank first in the country with 110 sacrifice bunts.
Monday afternoon's game can be seen on ESPN with first pitch set for 2:10 p.m. ET.
