College Sports
Email
Print
Tar Heels set sights on return to Omaha
UNC to begin its quest for NCAA baseball title this weekend in Cary
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: May 29, 2008
North Carolina has given Coach Mike Fox almost everything it has this baseball season, but there's something that he hasn't seen.
He will start to find out on Friday if a certain team quality is present when the Tar Heels will begin play in the NCAA tournament in the Cary Regional.
North Carolina has finished as the national runner-up in each of the past two seasons in the College World Series. This season's team will try to take the bitter disappointment of finishing second and turn it into motivation to win the program's first national title.
"I think there is (resolve); I don't know that I've really seen it yet but I kind of sense it a little bit," Fox said. "I think I'll see it obviously a lot more on Friday.
"I know it's there. I know how badly these kids would like to get back to the College World Series. They know what it takes. And we've got a group of seniors that have been so close."
North Carolina will play Mount St. Mary's at 6 p.m. in the opening round at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary. North Carolina is 46-12 and is the overall No. 2 seed in the NCAA field.
Elon and UNC Wilmington will play Friday's opening game at 2 p.m. The tournament is double elimination and could run through the weekend into Monday.
"It's not so much about redemption and getting back to the national-championship game. It's just the experience out there that was so cool," Fox said.
"These kids are treated so well (in Omaha, Neb., the site of the College World Series) and it's something they're not used to as college baseball players. I think they're excited about that part of it. I think I'll see probably a different level from them Friday and hopefully not over the top."
The Tar Heels will take a powerful team into the regional. Their win total is the fourth highest in the country. The program's 157 wins in the past three seasons are the most in the nation.
Dustin Ackley, a sophomore first baseman and former North Forsyth player, is batting .399, the top average in the starting lineup. He has seven home runs 44 RBIs. Only two players in the starting lineup are batting less than .300 and one, third baseman Chad Flack, is at .291.
The pitching staff, led by Adam Warren, has an earned-run average of 2.73, the best in the nation. The staff has 599 strikeouts, which lead the nation and are a school record. North Carolina's eight shutouts are tied for tops in the country.
Warren, a right-hander, is 8-1 this season despite a 4.59 ERA. He has a 21-1 record in three North Carolina seasons.
"It's surprised me how we've pitched," Fox said. "I never thought in this day and time you'd ever have a team at any level and certainly in our league have a team ERA under 3.
"To me that's just unheard of. I don't think in our wildest dreams we would ever set that goal realistically with all the good offensive players that we have in our league and who we play."
The Tar Heels have also received major contributions from Kyle Shelton, a senior from Charlotte who has finally won a full-time spot in the starting lineup. Shelton is batting .337 as the No. 2 batter behind Ackley, the leadoff hitter. Shelton has five triples and 34 RBIs.
Shelton is playing left field. As a junior he played first base, third base and in the outfield, starting only 10 games. As a sophomore he was a utility player who made 26 starts, playing five positions.
Fox said that if the Tar Heels get into a bind in the NCAA Tournament, Shelton could move from the outfield and play shortstop, second or first.
"He's been extremely patient," Fox said. "When you have a senior who saves his best season for his last one, I think it just speaks to the young man and how he just stayed with it and didn't get discouraged.
"We really needed Kyle Shelton to step up and have a big year for us. Probably what changed us more offensively was him getting hot for us and allowing us to move him into that two (batting) hole so we could spread out our left-handed hitters and make it a little more difficult for our opposition to pitch to us. He's versatile and he's been a big part of our success this season."
■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.
Email
Print
