University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels set to face ECU over the weekend
February 22, 2018 | Baseball
ECU SERIES HISTORY
• North Carolina and ECU have met 81 times throughout the series with the Tar Heels holding a 55-27 series lead.
• The series dates back to 1958 when the Tar Heels won the inaugural meeting 12-3 in Greenville, N.C.
• Carolina swept the two meetings last year as part of a home-and-home. The Heels won the first meeting in Greenville 6-2 on March 22 and the second in Chapel Hill 3-2 on April 4.
• Carolina won the most recent meeting in walk-off fashion on a RBI single by Ashton McGee in the bottom of the 11th scoring Adam Pate. Austin Bergner was the winning pitcher.
Michael Busch'S HOT START
• Michael Busch stayed hot with his second three-run homerun on the season during Carolina's 4-3 loss to UNCW on Tuesday.
• Busch leads the team with 10 RBI through 5 games on the season and a .409 average.
• Busch is tied for the team leader in homeruns with 2. Brandon Martorano also has a pair.
O'BRIEN SHINES IN DEBUT
• Caden O'Brien shined in his debut as the first freshman to start a home opener since Matt Harvey in 2008.
• O'Brien's seven strikeouts are the most by a Carolina pitcher in a debut since A.J. Bogucki had 10 in his debut against NC A&T in 2014.
TAR HEELS PICKED TO WIN ACC COASTAL
• North Carolina is picked to win the ACC Coastal with Florida State picked to win the Atlantic and the league for the second consecutive year in a poll of the league's 14 coaches.
• The Seminoles received 10 first place votes, followed by Carolina with three and Wake Forest receiving one vote as ACC champion.
• In the Atlantic, Florida State led the way with 95 points, followed by Louisville (78), Clemson (70), NC State (53), Wake Forest (52), Boston College (23) and Notre Dame (19). FSU received 13 first place votes and Wake Forest received one.
• Twelve coaches selected the Tar Heels to win the Coastal, with Virginia receiving the other two first place votes. North Carolina collected 96 points, followed by Virginia (83), Duke (62), Miami (60), Georgia Tech (46), Virginia Tech (27) and Pitt (18).
• Carolina has been picked to win the Coastal seven times since the poll went to the divisional system in 2007. On five of the previous six occasions (2007, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2017), the Tar Heels did in fact win the division crown.
CRISWELL OUT OF THE PEN
• Cooper Criswell has been the go-to guy out the bullpen early this year, appearing in a team high four of the Tar Heels' first five games.
• He currently boasts a 2.08 ERA through 4.1 innings pitched.
