University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: Not Done Yet
June 4, 2018 | Baseball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
As the clock above the Boshamer Stadium scoreboard neared midnight, approaching the one-year anniversary of one of the most disappointing defeats in program history, the North Carolina baseball team started celebrating.
The Tar Heels had often discussed over the past year how last season ended, with two losses against NCAA regional No. 4 seed Davidson. Mike Fox had often called the locker room after that second defeat the saddest he's ever been in. And that feeling fueled UNC this entire season.
But as sudden as that loss was, so, too, was the joy that swept over Fox and his players late Sunday night.
Severe weather delayed that moment for 53 minutes. Yet when Rodney Hutchison Jr. struck out Houston's Jared Triolo, clinching the Chapel Hill Regional with a 19-11 win, every player on the field raised their arms above their heads triumphantly. The rest of the Tar Heels subsequently poured out of the bullpen and third-base dugout, their excitement building with every stride.
Together, they celebrated Carolina's first Super Regional berth since 2013. And nearly 365 days later, they effectively moved on from last season's abrupt ending.
"Quite honestly, I think everybody is just sick and tired of hearing about last year," Fox said. "I don't want to hear it anymore, so I'll ask you not to say anything about last year. 2017 is over. It's officially over now. The kids knew the only way we could get past that was to win a regional, and maybe that would be flushed forever. I wanted this team to be known for that."
It certainly will be. But it will also be remembered for much more, with at least two more games still left to be played.
From 2006-13, UNC reached the Super Regionals six times. Doing so seemingly became routine. Yet over the last four years, the Tar Heels learned it's anything but.
A No. 3 seed in the 2014 Gainesville Regional, Carolina eliminated No. 2 national seed Florida, but that victory was sandwiched between a pair of losses against Long Beach State. UNC missed the NCAA Tournament the next two years. Then came last year's frustrations against Davidson.
Entering Friday's regional opener against North Carolina A&T, the Tar Heels had won three NCAA Tournament games over the last four years. They matched that total this weekend, marking a return to normalcy for the program.
"I talked to the guys the night before the regional started," Kyle Datres said, "and I was like, 'None of us have been in this spot before.' So we just wanted to take it one game at a time and do something we haven't been able to do around here for a while.Â
"The guys responded well, and we played a great regional. But we're not done yet."
Stetson, the national No. 11 seed, comes to Chapel Hill next weekend. With two victories over the Hatters, Carolina can earn its seventh trip to the College World Series in the last 13 years.Â
A Super Regional matchup against an Atlantic Sun Conference team might not seem like the most difficult draw. But UNC knows, perhaps better than any other team in the country, that nothing is guaranteed at this point in the season.Â
Stetson also boasts arguably the best pitching staff in the nation. Through Friday's games, the Hatters paced the country with a 2.56 ERA. They're led by Logan Gilbert and two-way player Brooks Wilson, both Baseball America first-team All-America selections.
This Tar Heel team might not possess the star power of some past ones; many teams still left in the NCAA Tournament also have more. But this UNC squad relies on contributions throughout the batting order and the pitching staff. And it's been hardened by its past experiences.
"We've got a good mixture of kids with different personalities, but they all care about each other," Fox said. "And I think they really care about Carolina and respect being here. They have all the traits I like to see in players who we recruit and get here."
Zack Gahagan embodies those attributes as much as anyone.
He and Brett Daniels, the Tar Heels' only seniors, experienced the heartbreak of missing the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and 2016. Then before last season, Gahagan underwent surgery to treat a blood clot. He lost weight and strength. And he ultimately turned in a junior season that he said didn't meet his individual expectations.
Amid all that, he moved to second base after spending a majority of his first two seasons at the corner infield positions. But he's always displayed the high character that endears him to Fox.
Thus, it seemed appropriate that in helping UNC return to the Super Regionals, Gahagan became the first Carolina player to hit two home runs in a regional since Garrett Gore finished the 2009 Chapel Hill Regional with two. And as Gahagan walked off the field Sunday, he embraced Fox, as opposed to giving him a high-five like the rest of his teammates.
"Coach Fox has given me an opportunity to come here to this University, and I can't thank him enough," Gahagan said. "With the ups and downs I've been through, he's been right there with me. And I can't thank him enough for giving me the opportunity to be here."
A few players behind Gahagan in the high-five line was Brandon Martorano.Â
Martorano has presented Fox the last-out ball after some of the Tar Heels' biggest wins this season. And moments after catching Hutchison's final strike Sunday, he did the same, flipping the ball to Fox before joining his teammates in a raucous Carolina clubhouse, the noises from which carried throughout the bowels of the stadium.
"I hope he holds on to it, which I'm sure he will," Martorano said later. "It's just a little token to remember this team 20 or 30 years down the road. But I'm sure there will be a lot more to remember us by."
