University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 11 Tar Heels Open 2014 At Charleston
February 14, 2014 | Baseball
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. --- No. 11 North Carolina opens the 2014 season in unusual fashion Saturday as the Tar Heels visit the College of Charleston for a three-game set at Patriots Point. Extreme winter weather in Chapel Hill left Boshamer Stadium covered in snow and ice, prompting the relocation of the series to the South Carolina Low Country. Carolina will open the season on the road for the second time in four seasons. The Tar Heels kicked off the 2011 campaign with three wins in southern California.
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 0-0, College of Charleston 0-0
Rankings: North Carolina is ranked No. 11 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 12 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll, No. 13 by the NCBWA and Perfect Game and No. 17 by Baseball America. Charleston is unranked.
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North Carolina-College of Charleston Series History
• North Carolina is 2-0 all-time against the College of Charleston. This will be the first three-game series between the two programs, who first met in 2005.
• Both previous meetings have been in Chapel Hill. Carolina won 12-7 on March 9, 2005, and 10-0 on May 12, 2010.
Openers Under Fox
• Since Mike Fox took over as the head coach in 1999, North Carolina is a perfect 15-0 in season openers.
• Carolina last opened on the road in 2011 when the Tar Heels traveled to southern California for a tournament hosted by USC. UNC defeated Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton and Missouri in the event.
• The Tar Heels last opened with a road series in 2008 when the Tar Heels swept Florida Atlantic in a three-game set in Boca Raton.
• Mike Fox's first game as the head coach at Carolina came in Charleston, S.C. The Tar Heels defeated East Carolina, 8-3, in 1999 before adding wins over VCU and The Citadel in an early season tournament.
Avoiding A Losing Streak
• Carolina has not suffered back-to-back losses since April 21 and 24, 2012, a span of 91 games.
• In 2013, the Tar Heels became the ninth UNC team since 1910 to avoid a losing streak.
• The last time a Carolina team did not suffer a losing streak in a season was 1953.
• The 2013 Tar Heels were the only team in the country to not have back-to-back losses.
UNC Duo Named To Golden Spikes Award Watch List
• North Carolina sophomores Skye Bolt and Trent Thornton were named to the initial Golden Spikes Award Watch List Friday, as announced by USA Baseball.
• The watch list features 50 of the nation's top amateur players, and it will be a rolling list to ensure that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the award.
• First-round MLB Draft selection Colin Moran was one of three finalists for the 2013 Golden Spikes Award, which was won by San Diego's Kris Bryant.
• A consensus freshman All-America selection (Baseball America, Perfect Game, NCBWA and Louisville Slugger) in 2013, Bolt hit .321 with six homers and 51 RBIs in 54 games. In addition to his success at the plate and on the bases (10 steals), Bolt played exception defense in right field, committing just two errors in 136 chances as a freshman. The Woodstock, Ga., product also earned second-team All-ACC honors in his first season in Chapel Hill.
• Thornton was also a consensus freshman All-America pick after establishing himself as one of the nation's most versatile arms. After starting the year as a midweek starter, Thornton made the transition to bullpen ace in the second half of the season to great effect. The Charlotte, N.C., product finished with a team-best 12-1 record, a sparkling 1.37 ERA, eight saves, 81 strikeouts and just 19 walks in 91.2 innings. He returned to a starting role in the College World Series, throwing 7.0 innings of 2-run ball to beat LSU in an elimination game.
Pair Of Familiar Faces Back In Carolina Dugout
• Former North Carolina standout players Mark Fleury and Josh Horton have returned to Chapel Hill as undergraduate assistants.
• Fleury was a three-year letterman from 2007-09 and a fourth-round pick (No. 119 overall) by Cincinnati. He had his finest season at Carolina as a junior in 2009, batting .309 with 12 home runs and 60 RBIs while handling a pitching staff that included future Major Leaguers Matt Harvey, Adam Warren and Alex White. The 2009 Tar Heels finished 48-18 and advanced to a fourth consecutive College World Series. As a professional, Fleury advanced to Double-A, with his most recent stop coming with the AA Arkansas Travelers in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim system.
• Horton was one of the of the best shortstops in college baseball during his three seasons in Chapel Hill from 2005-07. A second-team All-America selection by Baseball America in 2006, Horton led Carolina to back-to-back College World Series appearances, the program's first trips to Omaha since 1989. He hit .395 with 17 doubles and seven homers as a sophomore and was a two-time first-team All-ACC pick in 2006 and 2007. Horton was drafted in the second round of the 2007 MLB Draft by Oakland and played seven seasons of professional baseball, rising as high as AAA Sacramento in the A's organization.
Three Tar Heels Earn Preseason All-America Honors
Sophomores Skye Bolt, Landon Lassiter and Trent Thornton were honored by various organizations as preseason All-America performers. Bolt was a second-team selection by Baseball America, Louisville Slugger and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America. Thornton was named to the second team by Louisville Slugger and the NCBWA, while Lassiter was a first-team choice by The Sporting News.
McCue Named To NCBWA Stopper List
Junior right-hander Chris McCue was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List. Primarily used as a set-up man in 2013, McCue posted a 2.13 ERA in 32 appearances while finishing with a 7-1 record and two saves. The Charlotte, N.C., product struck out 54 batters as a sophomore and will take over the closer role in 2014.
Carolina Picked Second In Coastal Divison
Virginia was selected as the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball preseason favorite in a vote of the league's 14 head coaches, the league office announced Jan. 24. The Cavaliers were named by 10 coaches as this year's team to beat, while Florida State received four first-place votes.
Virginia was also named by 12 coaches as the likely Coastal Division winner. Defending ACC champion North Carolina received two first-place votes. The Cavaliers totaled 96 points in the voting (seven points for a first-place vote, six for a second-place vote, etc.), and are followed by North Carolina (84), Miami (66), Georgia Tech (57), Duke (36), Virginia Tech (35), and Pitt (18).
Florida State was picked to repeat as the Atlantic Division champion, receiving nine of the possible 14 first-place votes while totaling 93 total points. NC State (88 points) received the other five first-place votes. Rounding out divisional polling were Clemson (70), Maryland (48), Notre Dame (40), Wake Forest (36), and Boston College (17).
Carolina Baseball Set For Fifteen TV Games This Season
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the broadcast coverage in February for its Olympic sports for the upcoming spring season, and North Carolina baseball will be featured 15 times across ESPNU, ESPN3 and RSN. In addition to Carolina's 15 appearances on the ACC package, another 20 home games will be streamed live on GoHeelsTV.
ESPN3 will broadcast the Pittsburgh (March 7-9), Georgia Tech (March 21-23), and Virginia Tech (April 25-27) series, as well as the Florida State game on May 9 and a pair of games at Miami on May 15 and 16. Carolina's game at Virginia will be shown on the ACC Regional Sports Network as will the May 10 game against FSU. The regular season finale at Miami on May 17 will be carried by ESPNU.
In addition to the regular season, the entire ACC Championship will be shown on RSN May 20-24 before ESPN2 takes over for the title game at 1 p.m. on May 25.
A total of 191 ACC spring contests will appear on ESPN networks including two on ESPN2, 28 on ESPNU and 161 on ESPN3. An additional 34 games will appear on the league's regional sports networks, which include FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Carolina, FOX Sports Florida, Sun Sports, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, NESN, ROOT Sports Pittsburgh, YES Network, and MSG Network. Eleven baseball games will be carried by CSS, and six additional events will be broadcast by the ACC Digital Network.
All games carried on an ESPN network or a regional sport network will also be available on WatchESPN.
Tar Heel Freshmen Ranked Fourth Nationally
North Carolina's current freshman class was ranked No. 4 nationally by Perfect Game, the website in November. The Tar Heels are one of three ACC programs in the top 10, with Miami coming in at No. 2 and Georgia Tech at No. 9. First baseman Joe Dudek was named the No. 67 freshman in the country by the website in February.
