University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: A Tremendous Challenge
June 7, 2019 | Baseball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
North Carolina enters its NCAA super-regional opener against Auburn on Saturday looking for two more wins to book its eighth trip to the College World Series in 14 years. It's also looking for the weather to cooperate.
With forecasts calling for a 90 percent chance of rain in Chapel Hill each day between Saturday and Tuesday, the weather figures to have an impact on the three-game series. At least one delay can surely be expected. There might be more.
But for both teams, there's no sense in fretting over something that's beyond their control.
"Just let (the chips) fall where they may," Mike Fox told reporters on Friday. "It's Mother Nature. The good news for me is I don't have to make any of the decisions. That's the difficult part when you have this kind of weekend coming up, weather-wise, and you're trying to make those decisions of when to start the game and that sort of thing. Now it's in the hands of other people, so we'll just do the best we can with it."
That'll especially be the case on the mound.
A pitcher might return to the mound if a weather-induced stoppage of play is brief. But the longer it lasts, the more factors need to be considered. Those also might vary by pitcher.
"It is case by case," Fox said. "It's obviously number of pitches, the number of stressful pitches. Obviously, the length of the delay is a factor. It's a tough one sometimes. At some point, you reach a time limit when it's going to happen no matter what.
"We've had a few situations here where we've sent the pitcher back in the back and let him throw some pitches and simulate some innings. But at some point, it's not in anyone's best interest to bring him back. You just hope you don't get in that situation. There's really no strict rule for it."
Tyler Baum (7-3, 3.95 ERA) and Austin Bergner (6-1, 5.21 ERA) are listed as UNC's starters for Saturday and Sunday, respectively. If either's start is cut short, Fox will likely feel comfortable turning to his bullpen, which has posted a 1.93 ERA across 37 1/3 innings this postseason.
'A dream come true'
Michael Busch, a first-round pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Baum, a second-round pick by the Oakland Athletics, were two of the nine Tar Heels who were selected in the MLB Draft earlier this week. Both players discussed their selections on Friday.
"I think it's a dream come true to hear your name called on draft night," Baum said. "We were all over there at Busch's house watching him get picked. Just an unbelievable night."
"It was a cool moment," Busch said. "I had my family and friends there. It was something I'll definitely remember. It was really cool. It's tough to put it into words, but I tried to enjoy it as much as possible."
One reporter asked if having the draft in the middle of the NCAA Tournament is a distraction. But Baum said "it is what you make of it." Busch agreed.
"Our freshman year we had three of our teammates go in the first round and we weren't together," Baum said. "But this year, we were fortunate enough to be. … You watch these guys, you play with them, you become really close with them for three years. So just being together and watching each other get drafted is a cool experience."
"Growing up as kids, it was our goal to get drafted and play at a university like this," Busch said. "So when something like that happens, I think we just try to enjoy it. But I don't think anybody is going to be distracted by that. Once we get to the field, we're trying to win a super and advance to Omaha."
Over the last two years, 18 Carolina players have been drafted. Vanderbilt is the only Division I program with more (19).
'A tremendous challenge'
Auburn (36-25, 14-16 SEC) is making its second straight super regional appearance and the third in program history after sweeping through the Atlanta Regional. Highlighted by a 6-5 walk-off win over Georgia Tech in their second game, the Tigers outscored their opponents 26-13.
Left-handers Jack Owen (4-2, 2.45) and Bailey Horn (4-0, 6.10) are slated to start Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Ace Tanner Burns (4-3, 2.81 ERA) missed time down the stretch with shoulder soreness. He pitched only three innings in his start against the Yellow Jackets last week.
Offensively, Auburn ranks 165th nationally in batting average (.263), 187th in on-base percentage (.355) and 138th in scoring (5.8 runs per game). Leadoff hitter Judd Ward has been the Tigers' hottest hitter this postseason, batting .400 (10-for-25) with three runs, two doubles, one home run and five RBIs in six games. Right fielder Steven Williams was named the Atlanta Regional MVP after going 6-for-13 with three runs, one double, two homers and 10 RBIs.
"They do have some strikeouts throughout their lineup," Fox said. "That's one of the things you look at before you even start looking at them on film is walks-to-strikeouts, on-base percentage, RBIs, the guys who have power and the guys who can run. They've been termed 'scrappy.' I've heard our team is scrappy. I'm not sure exactly what that means; I think it's teams that play hard, which Auburn does. They're obviously a tremendous challenge for us."
'A different era'
UNC is 1-7-1 in the all-time series against Auburn. The Tar Heels' only win came in the 1978 South Regional in Auburn, Ala., where they went 3-1 en route to making their third College World Series appearance.
Fox, then a senior, was the starting second baseman on that team. He hit .277, tied for the team lead with six home runs and was named to the College World Series all-tournament team. On Friday, he reflected on that last postseason meeting with the Tigers.
"That '78 team, we just had our 40th anniversary last year, our reunion I should say," Fox said. "That sent us to the World Series. (It was) a different format back then. I remember Blaine Smith, one of my teammates, threw a complete game against them. Obviously, a different ballpark, a different era. We had 21 guys on that team, so it was quite different back then.
"We were the cinderella back then certainly, getting to the World Series. That was a long time ago. But I remember it pretty vividly, of course."
