UNC vs FSU (GoogleSearch)

Let’s get back to checking up on what is going on with the Diamond Heels. Last weekend 17th ranked North Carolina (15-6 & 2-4 in the ACC) hosted 4th ranked Florida State (15-4 & 3-3 in the ACC) for a three game series at Boshamer. Carolina lost the series 2 to 1, dropping the first and third game by the finals of 4 to 3 and 5 to 3 and winning the middle one 10 to 4. And once again what has to worry head coach Mike Fox is that his club left 27 men on the base paths in these three games (10 in the first and second game and 7 in the last one). This to me is becoming a repeating pattern that has to stop if the Heels want to get back to the College World Series in 2010. The other thing that might be worrysome is that in both losses the Heels lost their lead late in the game. Maybe the only bright side of last weekend’s game is the fact that Sunday match up was played in front of a crowd of 2,651. (While I am just going to give you some tid bits you can get the complete run down at TarHeelBlue).

In game one UNC was winning 3-0 going into the top of the eight and then FSU scored two runs in both the eighth and ninth to win the game. In all the batters just had seven hits, with junior 1B/C Jesse Wierzbicki being the only one with multiple hits (2) and RBIs (2). On the mound Junior righty Matt Harvey went seven innings, allowing no runs on 2 hits and four walks while striking out 11. Unfortunately the pitchers behind him didn’t do the rest and down went Carolina. The 3-5 batters went 4 for 13 in this one, driving in 2 and scoring 2.

In the second game of the series UNC won 10-4 but only had nine hits, with again Wierzbicki being the only one with multiple hits (2) and one of three Heels with multiple RBIs (3), the others being RS senior outfielder Mike Cavasini (2) and sophomore utility player Jacob Stallings (2). The Heels did manage seven walks in this one and only struck out five times. However the meat of the order, 3 to 5, that had been hitting hard in the past only went 3 for 10 (3 RBIs by Wierzbicki).

The last game it was more of the same, with the Diamond Heels going 4 for 29 as a squad, 0 for 9 in the meat of the order. Only bright point as far as batting was concerned was Junior infielder Dillon Hazlett (a JUCO transfer) who had two hits and three RBIs in this one. In this game as well the starting pitcher didn’t give the game up, as junior righty Patrick Johnson went five innings, giving up a run (earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out six. But just like in the first game it was the closers that could just not finish the game up.

Today North Carolina will take on UNC-Greensboro on the road in a one game series with the first pitch set for 6:00 p.m. EST. The Heels will then return to ACC action this weekend with a three game set at Boshamer Stadium against Georgia Tech. Game times are: Fri at 7:00 p.m., Sat at 6:00 p.m. and Sun at 1:00 p.m..

Patrick Johnson (TarHeelBlue.com

Due to way too many things going on I been a bit lazy following the Diamond Heels, for that I apologize and promise to keep a much tighter reign on this part of UNC sports. The last time I had talked about head coach Mike Fox’ squad they were 7 and 1, having beaten Gardner-Webb. Now, as I pick up the pieces of this, the Diamond Heels are 12 and 3. How did they get here, meaning winning 5 more and losing twice in the last seven games? Well, Carolina hosted Michigan, beating them all three games by the final of 4 to 2, 7 to 6 and a third game rout of 9 to 1. That brought North Carolina to a 10-1 record, having having outscored the opposition 78-34. Then came the one game against William & Mary at Boshamer Stadium where something that hadn’t happen all year did, the Heels were shut out and lost a game where the other team scored just three runs against them. This is pretty telling since the team had averaged up to that game about seven runs scored while giving up, you guessed it, three. Meaning that the bats didn’t show up in a game where with just a couple of key hits would have won the game.

After that game came another one game series where North Carolina took on St. John’s. Here things came back to normal as the Heels outscored its opponent 8-2. This brings coach Fox’ club to a record of 11-2, with a three game series against Duke waiting for them. This is the first time the Tar Heels would play outside the friendly confine of Boshamer Stadium, but it did not see to bother them as the first game was a 21-9 shellacking. The Diamond Heels, ranked 11th in the country, were led by freshman outfielder Brian Goodwin, who had four hits (4 for 4 on the night to go with two walks) and five RBIs in this game. In this game the team had season high in runs (21) and hits (21), as junior righty Matt Harvey stayed perfect on the season with a 3 and 0 record. From what I read on the official site for UNC Athletics this was definitely a team effort with eleven players getting at least a hit (six with multiple hits) and eight bringing in runs (six with multiple RBIs). The 1-5 slots went 13 for 23, scoring 13 runs, driving in 15 to go with six walks and only striking out 3 times. With this performance the Heels go to 12 and 2 on the year (1-0 in the conference).

Today the scoring was once again pretty high, with the final score being 15 to 11, unfortunately it is the Blue Devils that had the high score. Once again it was a team effort with 10 different Heels having at least one hit (four having multiple hits), while seven at least one RBI (three with multiple RBIs) for Carolina. In all the team scored the eleven runs on a total of 16 hits and five walks, while striking out eight times. Infielders Tommy Coyle (freshman) and Levi Michael (sophomore) each posted three hits and two RBI to lead the Tar Heels. Once again the 1-5 slot did well going 11 for 23 with seven runs scored, seven RBIs, three walks and four K’s. What killed UNC in this one, as I have been saying could happen, was the number of players left on bases. The Heels left 13, while the Blue Devils only left 7. The 5th through 8th batter left nine players on the bases, and that’s just too many to win games in the long run. Freshman outfielder has now hit in 10 consecutive games, while senior infielder Ryan Graepel is one behind with a hit in nine straight game. Junior right hander Patrick Johnson took the loss and is now 2 and 2, giving up 6 runs (all earned) in 3.2 IP with six hits and two walks while striking out three.

Tomorrow is the rubber game between these two squads with the first pitch set for 1:00 p.m. EST at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Expect a recap of the game by tomorrow night.

While most of the fan base around North Carolina are either following the basketball season, checking on the recruiting for the football team, or most likely, both, there is news about another sport in Chapel Hill that has provided many great times of late. The Diamond Heels, whose season is about three weeks away from beginning, are ranked in both the Baseball America (20th) and in College Baseball (13th). But just like basketball, rankings do not mean much when you win it on the field, and for head coach Mike Fox said the following of the high rankings for his squad: “Rankings do not matter to him or his team”. I like that attitude because it makes the team work on what they are and not what the media thinks they are.

The Heels open up the 2010 campaign February 19th in Chapel Hill, facing George Washington University. I will put up the full schedule for the team in the following days, so make sure to check back soon!

Head Coach Mike Fox

Before I talk about the game between UNC and ASU, which would be the second meeting between the two teams in this College World Series, let me just say the following about this game. Just like the commentators repeated over and over during the broadcast, I too do not believe that head coach Mike Fox needs to win the national title to show how good of a program is at Chapel Hill. Would it be nice? Sure, but let’s be realistic, this team was probably the less talented of the four that went to Omaha in back to back to back to back seasons. So, when last night North Carolina fell to Arizona State 12 to 5 in front of the largest crowd of this CWS (25,001, which included Men’s Basketball head coach Roy Williams) it was hard to swallow, but in my mind it was not a complete surprise.

What was a surprise was the fact that such a great pitching staff gave up a lot of runs on things they do not usually do. Five wild pitches, ten walks (second time in all this season that the Heels had 10 or more walks), giving up 12 runs (a season high) and Brian Moran, who in the first 62+ innings this season he gave up 2 home runs, giving up two homers in the CWS. All of that made it so that the 4-0 lead that Carolina had brought into the fifth inning disappeared and then some in the last four innings of the game, which included 18 ASU players getting on base between the fifth and eight inning. It was not what coach Fox or any of the Diamond Heels wanted to finish the season on. On the other hand, this one loss should not take away from the fact that in the last four years no team has won as many games as North Carolina has. And while the title eludes the Tar Heels once again, I do not believe it will do so forever. Head coach Mike Fox is a very knowledgeable person and a hard recruiter, the talent will be there next year at Chapel Hill and he will be able to mold it once again.

Without a doubt UNC is the cream of the crop when it comes to the ACC, as they have been the last team standing for the last four years (this season tieing with UVa as the last team from the conference to be still playing). To be noted, for Arizona State, their head coach, Pat Murphy, won his 1,000th game by defeating the Heels. Lastly, as we close the chapter on this season for the baseball team, all the best to the seniors, that for four years went to Omaha without coming home with the hardware. In my eyes that did not put any sort of blemish on your careers. To the players that will be moving on to the pro’s, all the best to you in your next step. And to the ones coming back, best of luck reloading/rebulding and on having another great season.

And to end all of this, from the official site of UNC Athletics here is what head coach Mike Fox began his press conference after the defeat to ASU:

“I’m not going to apologize for how long it took us to get up here because it was the last time for me to be in the locker room with the guys I love. Getting to Omaha four years in a row is unbelievable. Congratulations to Arizona State, they deserve to win. I’ve had the most fun this year, it’s been a great year.”

That is why I love you UNC and I am so proud to be a Tar Heel. It’s about being a family, and caring as though you are a family. As I said before, it might have been tough to swallow, but UNC won’t go away, it’s always going to be here, and always going to try to make the best teams with players that want to part of the “Carolina Family”.

After ending the season in a way that head coach Mike Fox might not have liked too much, losing a game for the first time ever to Boston College and then losing two out of the three games in the Atlantic Coast Conference post season tournament, it’s time for the Diamond Heels to get back to their winning ways. They can do that starting this Friday as they host one of the regional sites and are the number four national seed. The games of course will be at the brand new Boshamer Stadium (schedule of the game for the Chapel Hill Regional are below), and the other three teams participating in it are: #4 Dartmouth (27-16), #3 Kansas (37-22) and #2 Coastal Carolina (46-14). North Carolina, the number one seed for this part of the tournament, comes into this with a 42 and 16 record.

2009 NCAA CHAPEL HILL REGIONAL SCHEDULE

Friday, May 29

Game 1: #2 Coastal Carolina (46-14) vs. #3 Kansas (37-22), 2 p.m.
Game 2: #1 North Carolina (42-16) vs. #4 Dartmouth (27-16), 6 p.m.

Saturday, May 30

Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1 p.m.
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5 p.m.

Sunday, May 31

Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 1 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 5 p.m.

Monday, June 1

Game 7: 6 p.m. - (if necessary) (If Game 5 winner also wins Game 6)

Coastal Carolina

This could set up an eventual rematch between North Carolina and Coastal Carolina. The two teams met in late February at the same stadium they might be again this weekend, with the Tar Heels being number one in the nation and the Chanticleers, 18th in the country at the time, gave UNC their first lose of the young season. The final in that game was 7-3. Over, overall the Heels are 36-14 over the Chanticleers, who is also the same team they defeated in last year’s Super Regional on their way to the College World Series.

It will definitely be interesting to see if this team, who has played above expectations in my opinion, can reach Omaha for the fourth straight season. I would say that as a fan I would be disappointed if they didn’t, but as one that follows the sport as close as I can, I could see the possibility of this happening. For all I have seen this team is lacking that one player that can spark it up when needed and when you have a team that has talent, but maybe not enough to make it to the CWS, you need one of those types of players for when the team is down and needs a boost.

I am looking forward to these games and seeing if North Carolina can rally itself around and make it to the College World Series. I have found that for the last three seasons having the Tar Heels in Omaha makes the summer so much shorter and the wait until college football starts a lot more bearable. One thing that can be said about Mike Fox’ team: if they make it to another College World Series they will have done so by defeating a lot of “other” Carolina teams. Since it’s most likely that UNC will have to beat first Coastal and then face either South Carolina or East Carolina in order to make it to Omaha. Then it can be said that whether the Heels win or not the CWS they were the best Carolina team in this tournament. But then again, we all knew that before, didn’t we?

GMTH 05/17/09

Welcome back to the next edition of “Good Morning Tar Heels”, the animated post where shout outs and links are given on a daily basis. Along with those we also give out birthday wishes to Heels and today there is not one, not two, but three of them. Then plenty of links with a touch of carolina blue in them and also some articles/posts about the NBA. All of this and more on this edition of “Good Morning Tar Heels” for 05/17/09 {And once again I am late because of the web host and how slow it is running in the last couple of day}…

Three birthdays today. First is Hubbert Davis, who after a great career at UNC went on to play in the NBA for several teams and now is one of ESPN’s best analysts. Happy 39th Hubbert. The next is Buzz Peterson, who after playing for Dean Smith (and winning a national title) as moved around the world of coaching and is once again HC in the state of North Carolina at Appalachian State, the team he first began his coaching career as an assistant. Happy 46th to you Buzz. Last one is Dave Popson, another basketball player, team mate of Peterson at UNC and played a few years in the NBA. Happy 45th Dave.

First link goes out to Sports2Debate who has a mock for the upcoming MLB Draft. In it they have two Diamond Heels going in the Top 15.

Still over at S2D it’s the ultimate battle of archrivals, with the All time UNC team versus the All time Duke team. Check it out, there might be a player or two they might have missed, but over all good line ups on both sides.

Game three of the BC/UNC baseball series was played yesterday (and if not for my web host being down I would have had some recap of it), but here is the one from The College Baseball Blog. Enjoy it as it is a very good read.

Great piece by Jeff Sack on Slam Dunk Central talking about Dwight Howard is Superman.

At a Stern Warning instead we find a piece by mookie about Darius Miles going high as well, but not because he can fly, because he smokes marijuana.

GMTH 05/16/09

Since there was no “Good Morning Tar Heels” yesterday (due to RL committments), this one is pretty packed. From college baseball for the Tar Heels to NBA lottery picks and everywhere in the middle we give shout outs and links from across the blogosphere. And of course birthday wishes and, sadly, a way too early good by to one of the classy players to have ever touch the hardwoods. All of this and much more on this edition of “Good Morning Tar Heels” for 05/16/09… {Please note: This post was done this morning but I could not upload it due to downtime on my web host, sorry about that, now enjoy the video and the links}…

The first link is a Tar Heel birthday one, as Will Graves turned 21 yesterday. Happy birthday to the young man, who was on the team this year until some problems forced head coach Roy Williams to suspend him for the remainder of the season. However this post is about birthdays and here is wishing all the best to Graves. Happy birthday Will!

Staying with the Heels, here is an article from The College Baseball Blog that gives us a recap of the second game between UNC and BC. Check it out, and if you want a recap of game one from CBB it is here, and the one from The Fifth Corner is here. I will have a recap of game two by this afternoon.

At Binary Basketball there is a good article that talks about what each team in the Lottery could do if they had the first pick of this year’s draft. Very interesting I have to say.

At Sportige there is a good video of a great dunk. If you like the FANtastic plays the NBA can give you this video is for you.

Staying with the NBA it’s time to check out an article from Empty The Bench where they talk about “Blowing up the Mavs“. Tell us how you truly feel now!

Moving to baseball, at NESW there is a video that has two fans looking like fake umps in the stands behind home plate. I found it pretty funny.

And being a North Carolina blog how can I not give a shout out to someone that has a blog called “Heels on Hardwoods“. Too bad that Natasha’s high heels don’t have any tar on them.

And with the horses running this weekend I could not give you a link about the race. Paneech has it, and he even has predictions.

From the world of horse to the one of fantasy, Sharapova’s thigh gives us the team to save the world. I have to say it’s a good one, but I am not sure that even that squad could save the NHL regular season!

And I finish on a sad note, the passing of Wayman Tisdale, in a piece well done by Talk Hoops Net.

Alex White (TarHeelBlue.com)

It was definitely not the way that head coach Mike Fox had envisioned the last series for the season would begin. After being 9-0 against the Eagles 4th ranked North Carolina (39-14, 17-10 in the ACC) went to Chestnut Hill and lost to Boston College (31-21, 13-13 in the ACC) for the first time since they moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference. And this is the type of game that no coach would want to see, as the Tar Heels commit three errors and left a dozen players on the base path. In the end all of that made it be that BC took the game 3-1 from UNC, and now we wait until today to see if Carolina can right the ship or not. For a very good recap by someone who knows the game and was at the game, check out the The College Baseball Blog.

One person that can not take the blame in this game, but has to take the loss for Carolina is All-American pitcher Alex White (7-3), who threw seven good innings, giving up three runs (1 earned) on six hits and a walk, while striking out six. In all the junior right hander threw 121 pitches (83 strikes), while having one wild pitch in the game and hitting a batter as well. And while you might think that those numbers aren’t all that good, the reality is that when you leave 12 base runners stranded losing 3-1 gives the pitcher a pass in my opinion.

On the offensive side the Heels had 10 hits in all, six coming from Ben Bunting (lf), Levi Michael (2B) and Garrett Gore (rf), while All American Dustin Ackley (1B) did get a hit (1 for 5) but left five men on bases, and that just can’t happen when you are an A-A caliber player going towards the post season, Ackley also had an error in the game. The third/fourth/fifth batter for UNC went 3 for 14, with no walks and four strike outs, again numbers that you can not have if you want to have a fruitful ACC and NCAA Tournament.

From what I read on TarHeelBlue nothing much happened during the first four innings of the game, but UNC loaded up the bases with just one out in the fifth, but could not get any runs across as the BC pitcher got the next two Heels batters to fly out. In the bottom of the same frame Boston College scored its first run, thanks in part to two errors by the Tar Heels. This seemed to have awoken Carolina as Mike Fox’ club scored in the next inning, when a Heel got on base with a single, moved over to second on a balk and came home thanks to another single. This puts the game at one a piece.

But the game would not stay tied for long as the Eagles scored in the bottom of the sixth, as a single by a BC batter, who then move to second thanks to a wild pitch, was then brought home by a sacrifice fly. The Heels seemed ready to get that run back (or more) when in the next inning they had runners on first and third and just one out, but a strike out and a great defensive play by a BC infielder killed this rally. The third, and finally, run by Boston College came with a single that then moved to second on a ground out and then to the corner thanks to another wild pitch, and finally across home plate on a sacrifice fly ball.

The team will try to even the series at one a piece when they play again this afternoon. The series will end tomorrow as the Heels and the Eagles will once again face off with the first pitch being at 1:00 p.m. EST.

Heels taking the field (TarHeelBlue.com)

Well, in a year that has had me move to three different sites with my blog, The Fifth Corner, I knew I was going to lose out on following some of the sports I love at North Carolina. One of them is Mike Fox’ baseball team, who right now is ranked fourth in the nation and heading to the last weekend of play against Boston College. North Carolina is 39 and 13 on the season (17-9 in the ACC), while Boston College is 30 and 21 (12-13 in the ACC). The two clubs will play three games, starting today at 1:30 p.m., then tomorrow and Saturday with the first pitch being at 1:00 p.m.

Just to tell you how tight the conference has been, depending on these three games go for the Heels they will be seeded anywhere between #1 and #6 in the upcoming post season tournament, which will be held in Durham next week. Things look good, since if history is any sort of measuring stick, the Heels have beaten the Eagles every single time since they have joined the ACC. Getting a win on Thursday Carolina will once again reach 40 wins (8th year in a row).

The team is lead by Dustin Ackley, who has been put as a <a href=”http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/draft2009/insider/news/story?id=4161981&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fmlb%2fdraft2009%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d4161981″ target=”_blank”>Top 10 prospect in this year’s MLB Draft</a>, who has a .391 (9 for 23) batting average against Boston College. Alex White (7-2 – 3.45 ERA), the other Tar Heel being a Top 10 prospect, alsong with Adam Warren and Matt Harvey are 4-0 (in 4 starts) against BC. For more stats regardng the Eagles Eagles check out Previewing BC by Inside Carolina.

While on USA Today there is a piece talking how the Heels are ready to make the next step at the CWS.

UNC lost to Oregon State in the 2006 and 2007 championship finals and finished third last season. Five Tar Heels went in the June draft, but returning junior All-Americans Alex White, Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager have provided a solid foundation.

And that they have, but can it be enough? Head coach Mike Fox gives this statement that makes you think about it all, really think.

“I don’t think we’re really, really good at any particular phase of the game,” he said. “But we’re not bad at anything. We’ve somehow found a way to get it done at the end of games.”

Adding this as well:

“We’ve had some wrinkles and hiccups, but everyone has,” Fox said. “I try not to look in the crystal ball too much in terms of figuring out the season, but I’m very pleased with our record (38-13 overall, 17-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference).”

This to me sounds a lot like someone saying to you “someone has to win it, why not us?” And I think that is how this team is thinking in terms of the regular season, the post season tournament and the NCAA tournament. The coach ends by saying this about his team, which makes you think even more:

“We’re not nearly as talented as the last three years.” Fox said. “But I think this team is feeding off those years in terms of expecting to win and knowing how to win.”

There is nothing, but nothing like experience. I say this because being a Tar Heel I saw what the year after year experience that the Men’s Basketball team was able to get is one of the main reasons why they won it all. Why can’t this be the same for the Baseball team? They have the pieces on the team to make it to Omaha and get another chance to win it all. Once there the title is there for the taking, and why can’t it be North Carolina that takes it? As I said before, I have not been able to follow the team enough to do recaps, but I been reading enough to see that the talent is there to play with anyone in the country.

And while even their own coach believes they are not as strong as a year ago, the facts are still there, they are ranked fourth in the country and have a great chance to go to this year’s College World Series. Yes, five starters from last year are gone from Chapel Hill and playing at the next level. Yes, a lot of the players that should have come to UNC opted for the minor league life. Yes, yes, yes, to all of that and much more, but the facts are still the same. The Tar Heels are a Top 5 team and are a lot better than people expected and will be heading to Omaha when the time comes. And that, with a team that had to turn bench players into starters that need to contribute on a daily basis, is something that people should truly be content with.

I will make sure to get a recap about the games from this weekend, as well as the developments to the post season tournaments. Lastly, make sure to vote for Adam Warren at Lowe’s Senior Class Award. All I can say for now is best of luck to the Diamond Heels as they take on BC.