University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: Tar Heels Off To Flying Start
June 2, 2018 | Baseball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Mike Fox sat at the podium inside the player's lounge at Boshamer Stadium, reveling in North Carolina's 11-0 win over North Carolina A&T in its NCAA Regional opener.
The shutout was UNC's first in a regional game since a 14-0 win against James Madison on June 4, 2011. It also marked the Tar Heels' first win in a regional opener since 2013. Those accomplishments alone were impressive enough. But perhaps even more notable was the way in which they occurred Friday, behind a dominating all-around performance.
Fox praised Cooper Criswell and Michael Busch, the two players who sat on each side of him and played key roles in the win. He also commended the team's solid defensive play. In fact, Fox expressed so many positives about the victory that a reporter asked if anything went wrong at all.
"I've never had that question before," Fox said, smiling. "The bacon this morning was too crispy?"
But on the field, the Tar Heels left little to complain about.
That began with Criswell. The junior college transfer received the starting nod in his first NCAA tournament game. And he allowed just three hits, all singles, in six shutout innings, lowering his season ERA to 2.89.
In typical fashion, Criswell found success by throwing 52 of his 73 pitches for strikes. He finished with six strikeouts and no walks. Across 65 1/3 innings this season, he's posted a 77-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He last issued a walk on April 22 against Georgia Tech.
"I just go out there and try to pound the zone and try to give my team a chance to win and let my defense work behind me," Criswell said.
Cody Roberts, playing in his first game since suffering a groin injury against Duke on May 13, set the tone defensively. With one out in the first inning, he snagged a line drive and turned it into an inning-ending double play by picking off the runner at first base.
Three innings later, Kyle Datres made another stellar defensive play when he barehanded a hard-hit ball after initially bobbling it and recorded the out at first base.
By that point, Carolina was already ahead, thanks to a two-run double by Busch in the third inning. But he blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth with a towering three-run home run to right-center. The blast pushed UNC's lead to 7-0.
Busch's home run marked his 12th of the season and his first since April 28 at N.C. State. It also proved to be the highlight of his 5-RBI performance. Before Friday, no Tar Heel had record five or more RBIs in an NCAA tournament game since Garrett Gore had five against Kansas in 2009.
"I just try to hit the ball and get to second on something like that," said Busch of his home run. "If it happens to go over the wall, it happens to go over the wall."
It did Friday. And after Criswell exited the game, Caden O'Brien, Rodney Hutchison and Tyler Baum each pitched a scoreless inning of relief to complete the shutout.Â
The win improved UNC to 15-2 in regional openers under Fox. A year after they lost their regional opener against No. 4 seed Davidson, the players understand how important Friday's win could be going forward.
"It's always nice to have a game like this to start the tournament," Busch said. "It kind of gets that confidence up a little bit and kind of relaxes everybody. Everybody contributed today. It definitely helps the confidence, which going into the box definitely helps.Â
"As a team, we played well, pitched well, hit well today. When we put those three things together, we're pretty tough to beat."
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Mike Fox sat at the podium inside the player's lounge at Boshamer Stadium, reveling in North Carolina's 11-0 win over North Carolina A&T in its NCAA Regional opener.
The shutout was UNC's first in a regional game since a 14-0 win against James Madison on June 4, 2011. It also marked the Tar Heels' first win in a regional opener since 2013. Those accomplishments alone were impressive enough. But perhaps even more notable was the way in which they occurred Friday, behind a dominating all-around performance.
Fox praised Cooper Criswell and Michael Busch, the two players who sat on each side of him and played key roles in the win. He also commended the team's solid defensive play. In fact, Fox expressed so many positives about the victory that a reporter asked if anything went wrong at all.
"I've never had that question before," Fox said, smiling. "The bacon this morning was too crispy?"
But on the field, the Tar Heels left little to complain about.
That began with Criswell. The junior college transfer received the starting nod in his first NCAA tournament game. And he allowed just three hits, all singles, in six shutout innings, lowering his season ERA to 2.89.
In typical fashion, Criswell found success by throwing 52 of his 73 pitches for strikes. He finished with six strikeouts and no walks. Across 65 1/3 innings this season, he's posted a 77-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He last issued a walk on April 22 against Georgia Tech.
"I just go out there and try to pound the zone and try to give my team a chance to win and let my defense work behind me," Criswell said.
Cody Roberts, playing in his first game since suffering a groin injury against Duke on May 13, set the tone defensively. With one out in the first inning, he snagged a line drive and turned it into an inning-ending double play by picking off the runner at first base.
Three innings later, Kyle Datres made another stellar defensive play when he barehanded a hard-hit ball after initially bobbling it and recorded the out at first base.
By that point, Carolina was already ahead, thanks to a two-run double by Busch in the third inning. But he blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth with a towering three-run home run to right-center. The blast pushed UNC's lead to 7-0.
Busch's home run marked his 12th of the season and his first since April 28 at N.C. State. It also proved to be the highlight of his 5-RBI performance. Before Friday, no Tar Heel had record five or more RBIs in an NCAA tournament game since Garrett Gore had five against Kansas in 2009.
"I just try to hit the ball and get to second on something like that," said Busch of his home run. "If it happens to go over the wall, it happens to go over the wall."
It did Friday. And after Criswell exited the game, Caden O'Brien, Rodney Hutchison and Tyler Baum each pitched a scoreless inning of relief to complete the shutout.Â
The win improved UNC to 15-2 in regional openers under Fox. A year after they lost their regional opener against No. 4 seed Davidson, the players understand how important Friday's win could be going forward.
"It's always nice to have a game like this to start the tournament," Busch said. "It kind of gets that confidence up a little bit and kind of relaxes everybody. Everybody contributed today. It definitely helps the confidence, which going into the box definitely helps.Â
"As a team, we played well, pitched well, hit well today. When we put those three things together, we're pretty tough to beat."
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