University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: Baseball Notebook
April 19, 2019 | Baseball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Although only 17 games remain in the regular season and classes end in exactly a week, the North Carolina baseball team still has plenty of work to do.
UNC still hopes to capture a coveted top eight national seed in the NCAA Tournament. At the very least, it would like to guarantee itself a spot in the 64-team field with a few more wins. All the while, the Tar Heels will have to navigate the challenges of final exams.
But one thing they won't have to worry about is travel.
Beginning with this weekend's three-game series against Boston College, Carolina plays 10 straight games at home. It then visits Pittsburgh for three games before returning to Boshamer Stadium for the last four of the regular season.
"It does make it a little easier," Michael Busch told reporters during Thursday's media availability. "I don't mind the traveling; I actually enjoy traveling with the guys. It's a fun time. But it's also nice as finals start to come in, as the school load takes a big pressure onto us.Â
"I think being home and being able to do that stuff makes it a lot easier for us on the school side of things and then also on the baseball side of things."
In regard to the latter, UNC (27-11, 10-8 ACC) is 21-2 at home this season. It's 39-2 since March 30, 2018. In that span, the Tar Heels outscored their opponents 343-150.
Those could be seen as promising numbers for a team that Baseball America currently projects as the No. 16 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament – and has the chance to secure resume-building wins against Coastal Carolina, ECU and NC State, all of which visit Boshamer Stadium over the final month of the regular season.
But Carolina knows nothing is guaranteed.
"You can go from this position now and you can play your way into a national seed, into a host, or you can play your way out of the tournament …" Mike Fox said. "If we learned anything from '16, '17, '18, it would be that. These last four conference series and these last 20-something games we have, they are going to make or break our season."
Here are five more notes from Thursday's media availability:
Infield Shake-Up
Thirty-eight games into the season, Fox continues tinkering with the lineup. Perhaps the most notable change came during UNC's win over UNCG on April 9, when the coaching staff moved shortstop Ike Freeman to third base and second baseman Danny Serretti to shortstop.
"We'd been talking about it for a couple of days so we just decided to do it one game," Fox said. "As you can imagine, the very first ball that was hit when we made the change was a ball up the middle, behind second, that Danny got to and made a terrific play on – not that Ike couldn't have, but we kind of looked at each other like, 'Let's just stick with this for a while.'"
The Tar Heels have done just that the last six games. In that span, Dylan Enwiller – who's hitting a team-best .343 over the last 15 games – and Ashton McGee have each started at second base.
Before the UNCG game, Freeman had started 95 of Carolina's last 96 games at shortstop. But as a freshman, Serretti has proved more than capable of manning the position. And his move there has allowed Freeman to solidify third base, where four different players had previously started.
"Danny showed us at second base that he could go behind the bag, he could go in the hole," Fox said. "We've seen him at short make plays. We've been a little uncertain at third throughout the year, and Ike Freeman is our best infielder – there's no question – in terms of the ball going in his glove. He can make plays from every position on the field, every throw angle, every angle."
Baum Bouncing BackÂ
Tyler Baum opened last season in UNC's weekend rotation, then became the Friday starter after Gianluca Dalatri sustained an injury. Baum experienced some success in that role. But command issues prevented him from finding consistency, and he ultimately moved to the bullpen when Dalatri returned.
Over the offseason, Baum said he focused on improving his command. And the strides the junior made in that area are a significant reason why he's 7-2 with a 3.33 ERA and has gone at least five innings in eight of his nine starts.
Baum said he's also benefitted from his previous experience as the Friday starter, the role he's been in since the Virginia Tech series in late March.
"Last year, I was thrown into it and I think I made too much of it, like, 'Friday is the big day,'" he said. "This year, I wasn't doing that. Each day is the same. You have to go out there and perform. So not making too much a big deal out of it and going out there and doing the best I can."
That's exactly what he's done over his last three outings, going 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA. Opposing hitters are batting .141 against Baum in that span.
Busch Stays Disciplined
After Busch emerged as one of college baseball's best hitters last season, opposing pitchers have attempted to pitch around the junior first baseman/left fielder even more frequently this season.
Few hitters are as patient as Busch, who has drawn 91 walks, compared to just 53 strikeouts, over the last two seasons. But even then, he said it's sometimes hard to lay off pitches outside the zone when that's all he's getting. He referenced his 10 walks over the last 17 games as evidence of that; he drew 26 walks in the first 21 games of the season.
"(I'm) trying to stay within my approach and trying to hit the pitch that I want to hit," he said. "Over time, these past couple of weeks, after I went in a little slump, I think I kind of realized that a little more. And I think it's been helping me quite a bit lately."
Busch has driven in a run in 11 straight games and 14 of the last 15 games overall. Over those last 15 games, he has 23 of his 40 RBIs and six of his 10 home runs.
Sweet-Swinging Sabato
No Tar Heel hitter has been hotter than Aaron Sabato since the start of ACC play. In fact, few players in the conference boast similar numbers.Â
In 17 ACC games, the freshman has posted a .344/.414/.803 slash line and 1.217 OPS. He's hit eight home runs, the most by any player in the conference and the most by a Tar Heel during league play since Brian Holberton and Colin Moran each tallied eight in 2013. Holberton and Moran reached that total in 27 and 28 games, respectively.
"It's one of the more impressive things I've seen here …" said Busch of Sabato's surge. "The pitches he takes, the pitches he swings at, it's very consistent in every single at-bat, which you don't find a lot in freshmen. It's really nice that we have that in our lineup, especially after we lost a few key pieces last year."
Sabato's success is even more impressive when you consider he entered ACC play slashing .175/.327/.300 across his first 13 games, a sign of his ability to make adjustments.
"He's had his ups and downs, but he knows a ball from a strike and he has unbelievable power," Fox said. "And those are two combinations that are really, really hard to find. Really hard to find. Most of those guys who have power, they're kind of free-swingers. And Aaron is not, in fact, almost to a fault. He's only going to get better, but I'm glad he's on our team, that's for sure."
Dotson Carving Out AÂ Niche
On the mound, Josh Dotson is another freshman who has shown promise.
Dotson started midweek games against North Carolina A&T and VCU early in the season and allowed six total earned runs – including five against the Rams – across seven innings. His 12 other appearances have been in relief. In those, he's posted a 2.16 ERA over 16 2/3 innings.
Opposing hitters are batting .200 against the right-hander this season. Joey Lancellotti is the only Carolina pitcher who teams are hitting worse against (.193).
"He's got two really good pitches; he's got a good, live fastball and his curveball is one of the best on our team," said Fox of Dotson. "And his changeup is good at times. I think he's good in short stints, and that's how we're going to use him. I think he's pretty unflappable out there."
