GoHeels Exclusive: Driving Motivation
May 30, 2018 | Baseball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
They gathered in the player's lounge at Boshamer Stadium, again on Memorial Day, to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show.
In 2015 and 2016, the North Carolina baseball team didn't see its name appear on the television screen. Last season, the Tar Heels were all but guaranteed a national seed. But after going 5-5 over its last 10 games, among other factors, Monday offered a slight range of potential outcomes for UNC, already named a regional host but uncertain about its seeding.
Yet Carolina quickly learned its fate.
Hundreds of fans also gathered at Boshamer Stadium to hear from Mike Fox and then watch the selection show. And before Fox could even navigate through the crowd and down to the player's lounge, the Tar Heels were announced as the No. 6 national seed.
"I'm excited we're playing, first of all," said Fox to reporters moments later. "Hosting a regional is extremely difficult to do, so that was these kids' first goal. The national seed is certainly good and a credit to what our kids did during the regular season and in the conference."
A national seed, as some fans remarked, seemed unlikely about 11 weeks ago. UNC was 7-7 at the time. But Carolina won 31 of its last 42 games and earned the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament thanks to a 22-8 conference record.
Because of all this, the Tar Heels enter the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season as a national seed. Yet they're still unsatisfied.
"I think last year's regional has gotten these kids to this point," said Fox, referencing the two losses UNC suffered against Davidson in the 2017 Chapel Hill Regional. "I think it's been in the back of their minds, I think it's been their driving motivation, a gnawing kind of feeling that we need to get back there.Â
"The only way you can atone for last year – that might not be the right word – is to try to get yourself back to that point. We're there. Now let's see what happens."
Entering last year's regional, only then-senior outfielder Adam Pate had played in an NCAA Tournament game. He's gone now. But when UNC faces North Carolina A&T at 2 p.m. Friday, 18 Tar Heels will have NCAA Tournament playing experience they can rely on.
Among them is Kyle Datres, who leads Carolina in batting average (.339), hits (78) and doubles (15). He went 4-for-16 at the plate in four NCAA Tournament games last season.
"None of us last year really had a clue of what was going on coming into a regional," Datres said. "Now that we've been there and we have a bunch of older guys who have experienced it, I think that will help us out a lot this year, just knowing what to expect and how it kind of works the whole week leading up to it."
As the No. 6 national seed, UNC will have the opportunity to play at Boshamer Stadium until the College World Series, should it advance that far. But the Tar Heels aren't looking ahead.
"At the end of the day, (being a national seed) doesn't mean much, except home-field advantage if we pass through regionals," Michael Busch said. "First, we've got to take care of this weekend, and then that kind of comes into play.Â
"No one ever remembers if you're a national seed. They just remember if you made it to a super regional and the College World Series."
