University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: Being Remembered for June
May 4, 2018 | Baseball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Mike Fox couldn't have realized it then.
But looking back now, almost two months later, it's easy for him to recognize the North Carolina baseball team's 10-3 win at Louisville on March 11 as the season's turning point.
UNC was 7-7 at the time. And in their first two games against the Cardinals, their first Atlantic Coast Conference opponent, the Tar Heels had led 2-0 before losing both games by three total runs. Carolina surrendered another early lead in the series finale. But the team stayed composed, scoring eight runs across the seventh and eighth innings to secure its first ACC win.
"You just kind of look back at it, and think, 'Man, it would've been hard leaving there 0-3 (in the ACC),'" Fox said. "I just thought it was important we get an ACC road win out of the gate and sort of just go from there."
The victory provided some added confidence. And entering the season's stretch run, the Tar Heels (32-13, 18-6 ACC) currently find themselves where they thought they'd be, sitting atop the conference standings.
Since its 7-7 start, UNC has gone 25-6. That includes an 18-3 mark over the last 21 games. The month of April was especially kind to Carolina, which won series at Miami and Virginia for the first time since 2008 and 2012, respectively. The Tar Heels then swept Georgia Tech for the first time since 1996 before ending the month with their first-ever sweep of N.C. State in Raleigh.
Players can reflect on those accomplishments years from now. But before entering the exam break with an 11-5 win over UNC Asheville on Tuesday, Fox told his team that now isn't the time to be satisfied.
"Nobody is going to remember February, March and April," said Fox after Tuesday's game. "You're only going to remember May, the end of May and into June."
Perhaps no team knows that better than UNC.
Two years ago, Carolina entered May with a 28-15 record. The Tar Heels were projected to be in, or even to host, an NCAA Tournament Regional, thanks largely to an 18-2 start. But they went 6-6 in May and missed the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
UNC then returned to the NCAA Tournament last season. After winning all 10 of its ACC series  for the first time in program history, Carolina was awarded the No. 2 national seed and hosted the Chapel Hill Regional. Yet the season still ended in disappointment. Davidson won the regional after beating the Tar Heels twice.
"Nobody can tell you our record last year, nobody can tell you our seed, nobody can tell you who was in our regional expect for one team," Fox said. "The only thing anybody can tell you is how our season ended. That's what 2017 is going to be known for.Â
"We had three first-round picks, we had some of the best players, we had some of the best wins and we won 10 straight ACC series. All that's great, but we're known for one thing in 2017. And I think that's in the back of their minds, like, 'We don't want to be known for that.'"
Brandon Riley said the way last season ended doesn't haunt the remaining players from that team. But he added it's something that "I don't think we've forgotten."Â
The upperclassmen also know what transpired in 2016. And the seniors certainly remember what occurred in 2015, when UNC missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001. Those experiences, Riley said, have kept things in perspective throughout this season.
"Freshman year, we started hot and finished cold," Riley said. "Last year, we were hot all year, but obviously we didn't finish where we wanted to. So this year, I think it's a mixture of experiences that we've been through that were all kind of unexpected that's made us able to, I guess if we're up, know we can go back down. If we're down, we know we can go back up."
Perhaps no player has embodied that mindset more than Riley.
After batting .317 with seven home runs and a team-high 52 RBIs last season, Riley hit .148 (9-for-61) through the first 17 games of this season. Still, he never pressed. Finally, after spending some time over spring break working with assistant coach Jesse Wierzbicki, the results came.
Riley went 5-for-10 with two doubles and a home run in a three-game series against Pittsburgh from March 16-18. Since Game 1 of that series, he's batting .336 (39-for-116) over 28 games.
"Coach Fox put me in the lineup every day, even though I was really struggling," Riley said. "That did a lot for my confidence, knowing that he believed I was going to break out of it. I knew I was going to break out of it. It wasn't a lack of confidence. It was just, 'I'm tried of waiting. When am I going to break out of it?'"
With Riley's help, Carolina boasts one of the best offenses in the ACC. The Tar Heels pace the conference in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs, hits, doubles, triples and RBIs through 24 league games. Their pitchers are also settling into their roles.
Because of all this, UNC finds itself in a familiar position with nine games left in the regular season.
In Baseball America's latest NCAA Tournament field projection, released Wednesday, Carolina is listed as the No. 3 national seed and hosting a regional. The Tar Heels also rank No. 4 in RPI, according to warrennolan.com.Â
A challenging midweek game at Coast Carolina awaits UNC on Wednesday, a day after hosting Richmond. Carolina also plays ACC series against Duke and Virginia Tech. Between those series, the Tar Heels visit UNCW, which beat UNC 5-4 on Feb. 20.
This year's Carolina team proved weeks ago, beginning in Louisville, that it won't be known for that loss to the Seahawks or its slow start. But it hopes to be remembered for more than just April.
