University of North Carolina Athletics
Tuesday, March 15
Chapel Hill
4 p.m.
North Carolina
vs
VMI
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Diamond Heels Welcome VMI, Richmond For Midweek Games
March 15, 2022 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL – Coming off a series sweep of ACC Coastal Division rival Pittsburgh, No. 15 North Carolina returns to non-conference play this week, hosting VMI at Boshamer Stadium on Tuesday and Richmond on Wednesday.
Tuesday's game against VMI is scheduled for 4 p.m., while Wednesday's game against Richmond has been moved to 3 p.m. due to the threat of inclement weather in the area later in the evening.
This will be the Diamond Heels' first meeting since March 11, 2020 which turned out to be the final day of the season. Carolina is 29-2-1 all-time against the Keydets dating back more than 100 years to when the series first began in 1913. UNC and VMI and only played four times in the early 1940s. Prior to 2020, their most recent meeting was in 2009 when Carolina swept a three-game series at The Bosh.
VMI split a pair of games with Lehigh over the weekend and enters the game with an 8-7 overall record. Freshman Jaxon Lloyd will start on the mound for the Keydets, and he'll be opposed by Carolina junior Connor Ollio.
Ollio is making his first start of the season and sixth appearance overall. This will be his 13th career start and first since toeing the rubber against UCLA in 2021 Lubbock Regional.
Richmond will bring a 10-4 overall record with it on Wednesday. Left-handed pitcher Alden Mathes will take the hill for the Spiders and Will Sandy will get the start for the Diamond Heels. UNC leads the all-time series against Richmond, 18-7.
Pitching Matchups
DIAMOND HEEL STREAKS/TRENDS
Carolina has held its opponents to three of fewer runs eight of the last nine games and has only allowed four or more runs in a game three this season ... The pitching staff has combined for 10 or more strikeouts in five of the last six games.
•Angel Zarate has collected multiple hits in four consecutive games and seven of the last nine games (.500, 18x36); Zarate has reached safely in his initial plate appearance in each of the last five games.
•Johnny Castagnozzi has hit safely in five straight games, collecting multiple hits in each of the last three; he is hitting .421 (8x19) during his current five-game hitting streak ... Castagnozzi has driven in a run in each of the last three games and has homered in each of the last two games ... He has four home runs in 54 at-bats, equaling his 108 at-bat total a year ago.
•Danny Serretti has hit safely in four consecutive games (.333, 5x15) and so has Vance Honeycutt (.278, 5x18).
•Tomas Frick drove in this 13th, 14th and 15th runs of the season on Sunday, matching his 53-game total of 2021 ... Mac Horvath has drawn 13 walks this season, two shy of his 2021 season total of 15 (46 games).
•Kyle Mott made three appearances last week, striking out 10 in 7.2 innings without allowing a run ... Shawn Rapp also made three appearances last week and fanned nine in 4.1 innings pitched without surrendering an earned run.
HOT AT HOME
Carolina has won 18 in a row at The Bosh dating back to the final four home games of 2021 ... It's the programs most consecutive home wins since winning 26 straight between the end of the 2018 season (18) and start of the 2019 campaign (8) ... UNC is 14-0 at home this season and has outscored its opponents by 79 runs (109-30) ... Diamond Heel hurlers have 146 strikeouts in 127.0 innings at home with an ERA of 1.44.
PITCHING STAFF AMONG NATION'S BEST
With an ERA of 1.70, North Carolina has the lowest team ERA in country heading into the fifth week of the regular season ...The Diamond Heels rank 18th in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.61) and have the 17th-best strikeout to walk ratio (3.57) ... The Tar Heels' bullpen has been outstanding in its first 16 games of the season, recording a 1.18 ERA (15 ER in 76.0 IP), .172 opponents' average with 105 strikeouts and only 27 walks ... Shawn Rapp (12) and Kyle Mott (10) rank first and fourth in the NCAA in appearances ... Rapp has 25 strikeouts in 13.0 innings pitched and holding opposing batters to a .128 average ... Kyle Mott owns a 1.08 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 16.2 innings ... Caden O'Brien has made eight appearances and has finished five games, recording three saves ... Gage Gillian has also made seven appearances out of the bullpen, pitching 12.0 innings with 12 strikeouts and two walks.
GETTING ON BASE
Junior outfielder Angel Zarate has reached baseball in 39 consecutive games dating back to last season ... He has hit safely in 36 of those games, including the first 16 of this season ... He earned a walks against UCLA (6/6), Louisville (5/15) and Charlotte (4/27) to keep the streak alive ... The streak began on April 4, 2021 at Florida State ... Zarate is the only Tar Heel in the Super Regional Era (since 1999) to have multiple on base streak of 35 games or more ... His longest streak was 39 games beginning with the final game of the 2019 campaign and ending March 23, 2021 ... Logan Warmoth is the only Diamond Heel since the turn of the century to reach base in 40 consecutive games, topping out at 41 games across the 2016 - 2017 seasons.
Tuesday's game against VMI is scheduled for 4 p.m., while Wednesday's game against Richmond has been moved to 3 p.m. due to the threat of inclement weather in the area later in the evening.
This will be the Diamond Heels' first meeting since March 11, 2020 which turned out to be the final day of the season. Carolina is 29-2-1 all-time against the Keydets dating back more than 100 years to when the series first began in 1913. UNC and VMI and only played four times in the early 1940s. Prior to 2020, their most recent meeting was in 2009 when Carolina swept a three-game series at The Bosh.
VMI split a pair of games with Lehigh over the weekend and enters the game with an 8-7 overall record. Freshman Jaxon Lloyd will start on the mound for the Keydets, and he'll be opposed by Carolina junior Connor Ollio.
Ollio is making his first start of the season and sixth appearance overall. This will be his 13th career start and first since toeing the rubber against UCLA in 2021 Lubbock Regional.
Richmond will bring a 10-4 overall record with it on Wednesday. Left-handed pitcher Alden Mathes will take the hill for the Spiders and Will Sandy will get the start for the Diamond Heels. UNC leads the all-time series against Richmond, 18-7.
Pitching Matchups
| VMI | Tuesday | 4 p.m. (ACCNX) | Richmond | Wednesday | 3 p.m. (ACCNX) | |
| Opponent | LHP Jaxon Lloyd (1-1, 3.09 ERA) | LHP Alden Mathes (2-0, 1.27 ERA) |
| North Carolina | RHP Connor Ollio (1-0, 2.45 ERA) | LHP Will Sandy (0-0, 1.50 ERA) |
| Links | WATCH | LISTEN | STATS | WATCH | LISTEN STATS |
DIAMOND HEEL STREAKS/TRENDS
Carolina has held its opponents to three of fewer runs eight of the last nine games and has only allowed four or more runs in a game three this season ... The pitching staff has combined for 10 or more strikeouts in five of the last six games.
•Angel Zarate has collected multiple hits in four consecutive games and seven of the last nine games (.500, 18x36); Zarate has reached safely in his initial plate appearance in each of the last five games.
•Johnny Castagnozzi has hit safely in five straight games, collecting multiple hits in each of the last three; he is hitting .421 (8x19) during his current five-game hitting streak ... Castagnozzi has driven in a run in each of the last three games and has homered in each of the last two games ... He has four home runs in 54 at-bats, equaling his 108 at-bat total a year ago.
•Danny Serretti has hit safely in four consecutive games (.333, 5x15) and so has Vance Honeycutt (.278, 5x18).
•Tomas Frick drove in this 13th, 14th and 15th runs of the season on Sunday, matching his 53-game total of 2021 ... Mac Horvath has drawn 13 walks this season, two shy of his 2021 season total of 15 (46 games).
•Kyle Mott made three appearances last week, striking out 10 in 7.2 innings without allowing a run ... Shawn Rapp also made three appearances last week and fanned nine in 4.1 innings pitched without surrendering an earned run.
HOT AT HOME
Carolina has won 18 in a row at The Bosh dating back to the final four home games of 2021 ... It's the programs most consecutive home wins since winning 26 straight between the end of the 2018 season (18) and start of the 2019 campaign (8) ... UNC is 14-0 at home this season and has outscored its opponents by 79 runs (109-30) ... Diamond Heel hurlers have 146 strikeouts in 127.0 innings at home with an ERA of 1.44.
PITCHING STAFF AMONG NATION'S BEST
With an ERA of 1.70, North Carolina has the lowest team ERA in country heading into the fifth week of the regular season ...The Diamond Heels rank 18th in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.61) and have the 17th-best strikeout to walk ratio (3.57) ... The Tar Heels' bullpen has been outstanding in its first 16 games of the season, recording a 1.18 ERA (15 ER in 76.0 IP), .172 opponents' average with 105 strikeouts and only 27 walks ... Shawn Rapp (12) and Kyle Mott (10) rank first and fourth in the NCAA in appearances ... Rapp has 25 strikeouts in 13.0 innings pitched and holding opposing batters to a .128 average ... Kyle Mott owns a 1.08 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 16.2 innings ... Caden O'Brien has made eight appearances and has finished five games, recording three saves ... Gage Gillian has also made seven appearances out of the bullpen, pitching 12.0 innings with 12 strikeouts and two walks.
GETTING ON BASE
Junior outfielder Angel Zarate has reached baseball in 39 consecutive games dating back to last season ... He has hit safely in 36 of those games, including the first 16 of this season ... He earned a walks against UCLA (6/6), Louisville (5/15) and Charlotte (4/27) to keep the streak alive ... The streak began on April 4, 2021 at Florida State ... Zarate is the only Tar Heel in the Super Regional Era (since 1999) to have multiple on base streak of 35 games or more ... His longest streak was 39 games beginning with the final game of the 2019 campaign and ending March 23, 2021 ... Logan Warmoth is the only Diamond Heel since the turn of the century to reach base in 40 consecutive games, topping out at 41 games across the 2016 - 2017 seasons.
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