University of North Carolina Athletics
Matt Harvey throws in the 2010 Oklahoma Regional
Photo by: Joe Bray
This Day In Tar Heel Baseball History: June 4
June 4, 2020 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina looks at "On This Day in Tar Heel History", as Tom Jensen shares his memories as an avid Tar Heel fan and regular at Boshamer Stadium.
June 4
For today's version of 'This Day in Recent Carolina Baseball History' we go back to 2006 and 2007 for a pair of regional clinching games, one of which was an offensive explosion and the other of which required a late comeback off a future star big league reliever and a heroic outing from Rob Wooten, pitching with less than his full complement of teeth. Plus quick hits from 2010, 2011, and 2017.
On June 4, 2006 the Heels took on Winthrop in the championship game of the Chapel Hill Regional, hoping to win their first time hosting in the Mike Fox era. Daniel Bard was on the mound for the Heels and threw a 1-2-3 1st. The Eagles got runners on the corners with 1 out in the 2nd but Daniel got a strikeout and a groundout to strand the runners and send the game on to the 3rd (the Heels were the 'road' team at the Bosh.)
In the top of the 3rd Reid Fronk hit a 1 out single, Josh Horton doubled to left center to bring him in, and Chad Flack made it three hits in a row with a single to score Josh and give the Heels an early 2-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the 3rd Daniel hit a Winthrop batter with one out but got a double play from the next hitter to end the threat. In the 4th the Heels really blew it open. Benji Johnson hit a lead off solo shot. 3-0. Garrett Gore walked. Mike Cavasinni bunted him over to 2nd. Reid Fronk got hit by a pitch. Josh Horton singled.
That brought up Chad Flack with 1 out and the bases loaded. He doubled to right center to score Garrett and Reid. 5-0. Jay Cox hit a grounder that brought Josh in. 6-0. And with 2 out Tim Federowicz punctuated the big inning with a 2 run blast to center field. 8-0.
In the bottom of the inning Daniel allowed a leadoff single...and then proceeded to strike out the side. In the 5th the Heels got another run when Garrett Gore doubled, Mike Cavasinni again bunted him forward, and Josh Horton hit a sac fly to bring him home and push the Heels lead to 9-0.
Winthrop finally got a couple runs in the bottom of the 5th. But then Jay Cox hit one out leading off the top of the 6th to put the lead right back at 10-2. Daniel struck out a couple Eagles in a scoreless 6th.
In the 7th the Heels had one last breakout on offense. Reid Fronk reached on an error to lead off the inning and Josh Horton was up next and knocked one out of the park to make it 12-2.
Jay Cox walked and with a couple outs the Heels rallied again. Seth Williams drew a walk and Benji Johnson singled to score Jay. 13-2. A Garrett Gore single loaded the bases and on the first pitch he saw Mike Cavasinni absorbed some pain, with his HBP bringing Seth in to score and make it 14-2.
Daniel got the first couple outs in the 7th, getting a strikeout on his final pitch ever at the Bosh. He finished his outing going 6.2 innings, striking out 8, and allowing only 2 runs. The win made him 8-3 on the season.
Daniel turned the ball over to the team's only senior, Jonathan Hovis, giving him one last chance to pitch at home. He got the final out of the 7th and the first 2 outs of the 8th on a total of 8 pitches, exemplifying the way he had just plowed through opposing hitters with a minimal amount of stress during his last year as a Tar Heel.
Matt Cox got the last out of the 8th and Andrew Carignan came on for the 9th. He struck out the first guy he faced. He struck out the second guy he faced too, but the ball got away and he reached. Andrew got a fly ball for the second out and closed the regional with his third strike out of the inning, officially making the Heels Chapel Hill Regional Champions in their first time hosting postseason play under Coach Fox and sending them off to a Super Regional date in Tuscaloosa. The win improved the Heels record to 48-13 on the season.
The Heels had 19 hits for the day. Josh Horton led the way with 4, including a home run and a double, 4 RBI, and 3 runs. Tim Federowicz (including a home run and a double, 2 RBI, and a run) and Garrett Gore (including a double and 2 runs) each had 3 hits. Jay Cox (including a home run, 2 RBI and 2 runs), Benji Johnson (including a home run, 2 RBI, and a run), Chad Flack (including a double, 3 RBI, and a run), and Seth Williams (including a double and a run) each had a pair of hits. Reid Fronk also singled and scored 3 runs.
On June 4, 2007 the Heels played a much different kind of regional championship game against Western Carolina. The Heels had won a wild winners bracket game against ECU on Saturday and everyone just assumed the teams would end up facing off against each other again in the regional championship game the next night.
Things didn't go as planned on several fronts. It rained all day Sunday in Chapel Hill, so ECU and WCU didn't end up playing for the right to go to the championship until Sunday night, with the Heels not playing again until Monday. And then the Catamounts upset ECU to set up a date for them with the Heels instead of a much anticipated rematch with the Pirates.
The game was at 1 PM Monday. I must admit that I called in sick from work, 5 months after that I switched to the job I've had ever since which better accommodates my baseball habit!
The Heels were the 'road' team. In the 1st the Catamounts got runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 down but Luke Putkonen, starting for the Heels, ended the threat with a flyball to center.
In the 2nd Josh Horton drew a one out walk and Chad Flack singled to put runners on the corners. That brought up Kyle Seager and be singled as well to bring in Josh and give the Heels an early 1-0 lead.
Luke set the Catamounts down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 2nd and in the 3rd the Heels got right back to it. Garrett Gore singled on the first pitch of the inning and Reid Fronk followed that up with a single of his own to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Tim Fedroff hit a flyball to deep center to bring Garrett home and give the Heels a 2-0 lead.
WCU hit a leadoff single in the 3rd but he was immediately erased on a double play and Luke got a strikeout to end the inning. But in the 4th the Catamounts put 4 runs on the board and all the sudden the Heels found themselves trailing 4-2.
In the 5th they immediately struck back. Reid Fronk worked a full count to lead off the inning and then hit a double. On the next pitch Tim Fedroff hit a grounder to move him over to 3rd and Dustin Ackley followed up with a sac fly to left to bring the Heels back to within 4-3.
The Catamounts hit a solo shot in the bottom of the inning though to get it back to 5-3 and Luke exited to make way for Rob Wooten. Rob had lost a tooth in the dogpile after the insane comeback against ECU on Saturday and was wearing a very distinctive mouth guard but he was ready to pitch. With runners on 1st and 3rd and 2 down he got a line out to center to end the threat and keep the Heels within 2. He followed that up with a 1-2-3 6th as well.
In the 7th the Heels clawed back. Reid Fronk hit a 2 out single to keep the inning alive, Tim Fedroff singled on the next pitch, and Dustin Ackley earned a four pitch walk to load the bases. Tim Federowicz singled to bring in Reid to cut the deficit to 5-4 but the next hitter made an out to strand the bases loaded.
Rob struck out 2 in a scoreless 7th. The Heels got a runner to 3rd in the 8th but couldn't get him home. Rob threw a scoreless 8th to finish his day with 3.1 scoreless innings where he struck out 3 and allowed only 3 singles with no walks. It was one of the biggest outings of his Tar Heel career, having all your teeth is clearly overrated.
The Heels went to the 9th trailing 5-4 and needing to put something together If they were going to avoid having to play a winner take all game 7 later that night. Greg Holland, a future three time major league all star and World Series winner for the Royals, was on the bump for the Catamounts to close it out.
The first Heel hitter of the inning made an out but then Tim Fedroff drew a 4 pitch walk. Dustin Ackley worked a full count and then he walked too. Tim Federowicz hit a fly ball to deep enough right that it moved both the runners into scoring position, but of course it was also the second out of the inning.
Then the Catamounts made an interesting decision- they took out Greg Holland. I don't know anything about the guy they put in his place but I do know he did not become a future big league star.
That brought up Josh Horton, one of the best- and perhaps most underrated because he didn't make it to the majors- hitters in program history. He'd already won ACC Tournament MVP the week before. He got ahead 3–1 in the count and then delivered a 2 out single to right center that brought both the runners in and gave the Heels a 6-5 lead. Josh got a Chapel Hill Regional MVP award to go with the trophy he'd won in Jacksonville the week before.
Of course since the Heels were the road team at the Bosh the game wasn't over yet. But since they brought in Andrew Carignan for the 9th inning, then again, maybe it was. Andrew struck out the first Catamount. He allowed a double to toy with them a little and give them false hope. He got the second out on a pop out. And he retired the last WCU hitter of the game on a strike out looking to earn his 14th save of the season, make the Heels the Chapel Hill Regional champions, and set up a super regional date with South Carolina at the Bosh the next week.
Rob Wooten and his stylish mouth guard got the win to go to 5-1 on the season. Greg Holland took the loss. The Heels moved to 51-12 on the season.
Reid Fronk, playing with a bunch of stitches in his head from Rob Wooten's broken tooth, led the way for the Heels with 3 hits, including a double, scoring 2 runs. Chad Flack and Seth Williams each had a pair of hits as well. Josh Horton had the game winning hit, 2 RBI, and a run, Tim Fedroff, Tim Federowicz, and Kyle Seager each singled and drove in a run, Garrett Gore singled and scored a run, and Dustin Ackley singled and scored a run (and also walked three times) to round out the hitting for the Heels
And quick hits from 2010, 2011, and 2017:
-In 2010 the Heels kicked off the Norman regional with a 12-3 win over California. Matt Harvey started for the Heels and struck out 9 in 6 innings while allowing only 4 hits. He earned the win and went to 8-3 on the season. Michael Morin replaced him and threw 2.1 strong innings with 4 strikeouts and Greg Holt came on with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out in the 9th and got a groundout and a strikeout to finish the game.
Ben Bunting (including a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs), Jacob Stallings (including a double, 2 RBI, and a run), Ryan Graepel (including 2 runs and an RBI), Mike Cavasinni (including an RBI and a run), and Brian Goodwin (including a run) each had a pair of hits for the Heels. Dillon Hazlett had a 3 run blast and Coach Jesse Wierzbicki had a single to round out the hitting for the Heels. The win set them up for a winners bracket faceoff with host Oklahoma.
-In 2011 the Heels won their winners bracket game against James Madison in the Chapel Hill Regional, 14-0. Patrick Johnson had yet another incredible performance, striking out 11 in 8 innings while allowing only 3 hits and a walk. That gave him a 23 inning stretch over his 3 previous starts where he allowed 7 hits, no runs, and struck out 28. He really is one of the under rated pitching greats in the history of our program. The win made him 12-1 for the season. RC Orlan got the first out of the 9th on a K and Andrew Smith came on to get the last two outs and send the Heels to the regional championship game.
Greg Holt led the way for the Heels on offense with 4 hits, including a home run, driving in 4 runs and scoring 3. Jacob Stallings had 3 hits, including a double, scoring 3 runs. Ben Bunting (including a triple, 3 RBI, and 2 runs), Colin Moran (including an RBI and a run), and Tommy Coyle (including an RBI and a run) each had a pair of hits for the Heels. Chaz Frank doubled, drove in 2 runs, and scored twice and Coach Jesse Wierzbicki also doubled and scored a pair of runs. The win made the Heels 47–14 for the season.
-In 2017 the Heels advanced to the Chapel Hill Regional championship game with a 10-1 win over Florida Gulf Coast University. Tyler Baum went to 7-0 for the season with 5.1 innings where he allowed just 3 hits. The bullpen was even better. Austin Bergner retired all 5 guys he faced, Jason Morgan struck out the side in the 8th, and Trevor Gay threw a scoreless 9th with a strikeout to close it out.
Brandon Riley (including a triple and a double, 2 RBI, and a run) and Cody Roberts (including a triple and 2 runs) led the way for the Heels with 3 hits each. Kyle Datres (including a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs), Brian Miller (including 2 runs and an RBI) and Ashton McGee (including a run) each had a pair of hits. Tyler Lynn singled, drove in 2 runs, and scored one, Zack Gahagan singled and drove in a run, and Michael Busch singled and scored a run to round out the hitting for the Heels. The win made them 49-13 for the season.
June 4
For today's version of 'This Day in Recent Carolina Baseball History' we go back to 2006 and 2007 for a pair of regional clinching games, one of which was an offensive explosion and the other of which required a late comeback off a future star big league reliever and a heroic outing from Rob Wooten, pitching with less than his full complement of teeth. Plus quick hits from 2010, 2011, and 2017.
On June 4, 2006 the Heels took on Winthrop in the championship game of the Chapel Hill Regional, hoping to win their first time hosting in the Mike Fox era. Daniel Bard was on the mound for the Heels and threw a 1-2-3 1st. The Eagles got runners on the corners with 1 out in the 2nd but Daniel got a strikeout and a groundout to strand the runners and send the game on to the 3rd (the Heels were the 'road' team at the Bosh.)
In the top of the 3rd Reid Fronk hit a 1 out single, Josh Horton doubled to left center to bring him in, and Chad Flack made it three hits in a row with a single to score Josh and give the Heels an early 2-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the 3rd Daniel hit a Winthrop batter with one out but got a double play from the next hitter to end the threat. In the 4th the Heels really blew it open. Benji Johnson hit a lead off solo shot. 3-0. Garrett Gore walked. Mike Cavasinni bunted him over to 2nd. Reid Fronk got hit by a pitch. Josh Horton singled.
That brought up Chad Flack with 1 out and the bases loaded. He doubled to right center to score Garrett and Reid. 5-0. Jay Cox hit a grounder that brought Josh in. 6-0. And with 2 out Tim Federowicz punctuated the big inning with a 2 run blast to center field. 8-0.
In the bottom of the inning Daniel allowed a leadoff single...and then proceeded to strike out the side. In the 5th the Heels got another run when Garrett Gore doubled, Mike Cavasinni again bunted him forward, and Josh Horton hit a sac fly to bring him home and push the Heels lead to 9-0.
Winthrop finally got a couple runs in the bottom of the 5th. But then Jay Cox hit one out leading off the top of the 6th to put the lead right back at 10-2. Daniel struck out a couple Eagles in a scoreless 6th.
In the 7th the Heels had one last breakout on offense. Reid Fronk reached on an error to lead off the inning and Josh Horton was up next and knocked one out of the park to make it 12-2.
Jay Cox walked and with a couple outs the Heels rallied again. Seth Williams drew a walk and Benji Johnson singled to score Jay. 13-2. A Garrett Gore single loaded the bases and on the first pitch he saw Mike Cavasinni absorbed some pain, with his HBP bringing Seth in to score and make it 14-2.
Daniel got the first couple outs in the 7th, getting a strikeout on his final pitch ever at the Bosh. He finished his outing going 6.2 innings, striking out 8, and allowing only 2 runs. The win made him 8-3 on the season.
Daniel turned the ball over to the team's only senior, Jonathan Hovis, giving him one last chance to pitch at home. He got the final out of the 7th and the first 2 outs of the 8th on a total of 8 pitches, exemplifying the way he had just plowed through opposing hitters with a minimal amount of stress during his last year as a Tar Heel.
Matt Cox got the last out of the 8th and Andrew Carignan came on for the 9th. He struck out the first guy he faced. He struck out the second guy he faced too, but the ball got away and he reached. Andrew got a fly ball for the second out and closed the regional with his third strike out of the inning, officially making the Heels Chapel Hill Regional Champions in their first time hosting postseason play under Coach Fox and sending them off to a Super Regional date in Tuscaloosa. The win improved the Heels record to 48-13 on the season.
The Heels had 19 hits for the day. Josh Horton led the way with 4, including a home run and a double, 4 RBI, and 3 runs. Tim Federowicz (including a home run and a double, 2 RBI, and a run) and Garrett Gore (including a double and 2 runs) each had 3 hits. Jay Cox (including a home run, 2 RBI and 2 runs), Benji Johnson (including a home run, 2 RBI, and a run), Chad Flack (including a double, 3 RBI, and a run), and Seth Williams (including a double and a run) each had a pair of hits. Reid Fronk also singled and scored 3 runs.
On June 4, 2007 the Heels played a much different kind of regional championship game against Western Carolina. The Heels had won a wild winners bracket game against ECU on Saturday and everyone just assumed the teams would end up facing off against each other again in the regional championship game the next night.
Things didn't go as planned on several fronts. It rained all day Sunday in Chapel Hill, so ECU and WCU didn't end up playing for the right to go to the championship until Sunday night, with the Heels not playing again until Monday. And then the Catamounts upset ECU to set up a date for them with the Heels instead of a much anticipated rematch with the Pirates.
The game was at 1 PM Monday. I must admit that I called in sick from work, 5 months after that I switched to the job I've had ever since which better accommodates my baseball habit!
The Heels were the 'road' team. In the 1st the Catamounts got runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 down but Luke Putkonen, starting for the Heels, ended the threat with a flyball to center.
In the 2nd Josh Horton drew a one out walk and Chad Flack singled to put runners on the corners. That brought up Kyle Seager and be singled as well to bring in Josh and give the Heels an early 1-0 lead.
Luke set the Catamounts down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 2nd and in the 3rd the Heels got right back to it. Garrett Gore singled on the first pitch of the inning and Reid Fronk followed that up with a single of his own to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Tim Fedroff hit a flyball to deep center to bring Garrett home and give the Heels a 2-0 lead.
WCU hit a leadoff single in the 3rd but he was immediately erased on a double play and Luke got a strikeout to end the inning. But in the 4th the Catamounts put 4 runs on the board and all the sudden the Heels found themselves trailing 4-2.
In the 5th they immediately struck back. Reid Fronk worked a full count to lead off the inning and then hit a double. On the next pitch Tim Fedroff hit a grounder to move him over to 3rd and Dustin Ackley followed up with a sac fly to left to bring the Heels back to within 4-3.
The Catamounts hit a solo shot in the bottom of the inning though to get it back to 5-3 and Luke exited to make way for Rob Wooten. Rob had lost a tooth in the dogpile after the insane comeback against ECU on Saturday and was wearing a very distinctive mouth guard but he was ready to pitch. With runners on 1st and 3rd and 2 down he got a line out to center to end the threat and keep the Heels within 2. He followed that up with a 1-2-3 6th as well.
In the 7th the Heels clawed back. Reid Fronk hit a 2 out single to keep the inning alive, Tim Fedroff singled on the next pitch, and Dustin Ackley earned a four pitch walk to load the bases. Tim Federowicz singled to bring in Reid to cut the deficit to 5-4 but the next hitter made an out to strand the bases loaded.
Rob struck out 2 in a scoreless 7th. The Heels got a runner to 3rd in the 8th but couldn't get him home. Rob threw a scoreless 8th to finish his day with 3.1 scoreless innings where he struck out 3 and allowed only 3 singles with no walks. It was one of the biggest outings of his Tar Heel career, having all your teeth is clearly overrated.
The Heels went to the 9th trailing 5-4 and needing to put something together If they were going to avoid having to play a winner take all game 7 later that night. Greg Holland, a future three time major league all star and World Series winner for the Royals, was on the bump for the Catamounts to close it out.
The first Heel hitter of the inning made an out but then Tim Fedroff drew a 4 pitch walk. Dustin Ackley worked a full count and then he walked too. Tim Federowicz hit a fly ball to deep enough right that it moved both the runners into scoring position, but of course it was also the second out of the inning.
Then the Catamounts made an interesting decision- they took out Greg Holland. I don't know anything about the guy they put in his place but I do know he did not become a future big league star.
That brought up Josh Horton, one of the best- and perhaps most underrated because he didn't make it to the majors- hitters in program history. He'd already won ACC Tournament MVP the week before. He got ahead 3–1 in the count and then delivered a 2 out single to right center that brought both the runners in and gave the Heels a 6-5 lead. Josh got a Chapel Hill Regional MVP award to go with the trophy he'd won in Jacksonville the week before.
Of course since the Heels were the road team at the Bosh the game wasn't over yet. But since they brought in Andrew Carignan for the 9th inning, then again, maybe it was. Andrew struck out the first Catamount. He allowed a double to toy with them a little and give them false hope. He got the second out on a pop out. And he retired the last WCU hitter of the game on a strike out looking to earn his 14th save of the season, make the Heels the Chapel Hill Regional champions, and set up a super regional date with South Carolina at the Bosh the next week.
Rob Wooten and his stylish mouth guard got the win to go to 5-1 on the season. Greg Holland took the loss. The Heels moved to 51-12 on the season.
Reid Fronk, playing with a bunch of stitches in his head from Rob Wooten's broken tooth, led the way for the Heels with 3 hits, including a double, scoring 2 runs. Chad Flack and Seth Williams each had a pair of hits as well. Josh Horton had the game winning hit, 2 RBI, and a run, Tim Fedroff, Tim Federowicz, and Kyle Seager each singled and drove in a run, Garrett Gore singled and scored a run, and Dustin Ackley singled and scored a run (and also walked three times) to round out the hitting for the Heels
And quick hits from 2010, 2011, and 2017:
-In 2010 the Heels kicked off the Norman regional with a 12-3 win over California. Matt Harvey started for the Heels and struck out 9 in 6 innings while allowing only 4 hits. He earned the win and went to 8-3 on the season. Michael Morin replaced him and threw 2.1 strong innings with 4 strikeouts and Greg Holt came on with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out in the 9th and got a groundout and a strikeout to finish the game.
Ben Bunting (including a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs), Jacob Stallings (including a double, 2 RBI, and a run), Ryan Graepel (including 2 runs and an RBI), Mike Cavasinni (including an RBI and a run), and Brian Goodwin (including a run) each had a pair of hits for the Heels. Dillon Hazlett had a 3 run blast and Coach Jesse Wierzbicki had a single to round out the hitting for the Heels. The win set them up for a winners bracket faceoff with host Oklahoma.
-In 2011 the Heels won their winners bracket game against James Madison in the Chapel Hill Regional, 14-0. Patrick Johnson had yet another incredible performance, striking out 11 in 8 innings while allowing only 3 hits and a walk. That gave him a 23 inning stretch over his 3 previous starts where he allowed 7 hits, no runs, and struck out 28. He really is one of the under rated pitching greats in the history of our program. The win made him 12-1 for the season. RC Orlan got the first out of the 9th on a K and Andrew Smith came on to get the last two outs and send the Heels to the regional championship game.
Greg Holt led the way for the Heels on offense with 4 hits, including a home run, driving in 4 runs and scoring 3. Jacob Stallings had 3 hits, including a double, scoring 3 runs. Ben Bunting (including a triple, 3 RBI, and 2 runs), Colin Moran (including an RBI and a run), and Tommy Coyle (including an RBI and a run) each had a pair of hits for the Heels. Chaz Frank doubled, drove in 2 runs, and scored twice and Coach Jesse Wierzbicki also doubled and scored a pair of runs. The win made the Heels 47–14 for the season.
-In 2017 the Heels advanced to the Chapel Hill Regional championship game with a 10-1 win over Florida Gulf Coast University. Tyler Baum went to 7-0 for the season with 5.1 innings where he allowed just 3 hits. The bullpen was even better. Austin Bergner retired all 5 guys he faced, Jason Morgan struck out the side in the 8th, and Trevor Gay threw a scoreless 9th with a strikeout to close it out.
Brandon Riley (including a triple and a double, 2 RBI, and a run) and Cody Roberts (including a triple and 2 runs) led the way for the Heels with 3 hits each. Kyle Datres (including a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs), Brian Miller (including 2 runs and an RBI) and Ashton McGee (including a run) each had a pair of hits. Tyler Lynn singled, drove in 2 runs, and scored one, Zack Gahagan singled and drove in a run, and Michael Busch singled and scored a run to round out the hitting for the Heels. The win made them 49-13 for the season.
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