CHAPEL HILL - It was the most emotional moment of his career, North Carolina baseball coach Mike Fox said, to watch 6-foot-6 pitcher Andrew Miller put his arm around 5-8 teammate Bryan Steed in the closing moments of last June's College World Series.

Perhaps because the embrace of sympathy was so close to being a hug of celebration.

"There's no such thing,'' Fox said almost a year later, "as a routine ground ball."

As the third-seeded Tar Heels prepare for their second consecutive trip to Omaha (they open play 7 p.m. Friday against Mississippi State) they are not only looking to avenge their loss to Oregon State in the championship series -- but also to erase the memories of how it happened.

"We get a second chance,'' said catcher Tim Federowicz, who is well aware that the Beavers have returned to the eight-team field.

Last year's winner-take-all finale was tied 2-2 with two outs in the eighth when Steed, a back-up second baseman, fielded an ordinary-looking grounder. But he threw wide to first, and Federowicz, who had started only three games that season at first base, couldn't come up with it. That allowed Beaver Bill Rowe to score the go-ahead run from second, shattering the ACC's chance to win its first College World Series title since 1955.

"I think it was just a combination of rush, and Timmy just getting his feet crossed and the ball being thrown to his non-glove side," said Fox, who started usual first baseman Chad Flack at third, moved Federowicz to first, and started Benji Johnson at catcher for offensive reasons. "And it's as simple as that. It's an example of how important the fundamentals are, and that it's not as easy as people think."

The Tar Heels never blamed that error for the loss, pointing out that they had three other miscues, stranded multiple runners throughout the game, and had a chance to come back in the ninth.

Likewise, Fox said he has no regrets about his surprise lineup changes because "I don't think any coach would make it this far if he did that; it would eat you up inside.

"I just felt bad for our players, and if I put kids in a situation that's not good for them, then I take the responsibility."

Steed, who was charged with the error, said he has watched the replay only once because he refuses to harp or mope about the mistake. He prefers to look forward, and Fox said the senior is one of the most respected players on the team because of his leadership and attitude.

"Of course I would like to have made the play, but there are bigger things in life,'' said Steed, a walk-on from Atlanta who has played in 20 games this season. "That's the way I think about it, so I don't let it affect me. ... You've made errors before, so you've got to think about it like that. It's just unfortunate that it happened when it did."

Federowicz, fourth in the ACC with 64 RBIs this season, has avoided the replays, too -- trying to laugh them off by remembering that only one team, at the end, can hug in celebration. And that this year, it could be the Tar Heels.

Fox, meanwhile, said that the Tar Heels have practiced the fundamentals of that play many times this season -- knowing better than most that nothing is routine.

"Because if you think that,'' he said, "bad things could happen."

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