Win or go home: UNC baseball’s biggest question heading into the Chapel Hill regional
When North Carolina’s baseball team defeated Georgia Tech and won the ACC title on Sunday, the players and coaches were elated.
They met at first base where first baseman Michael Busch stood, both hands in the air, and jumped up and down to celebrate. UNC coach Mike Fox smiled from ear to ear, and hugged any player who got within his reach.
It was the Tar Heels’ first ACC baseball title since 2013.
By Thursday, though, as the Tar Heels practiced for the NCAA tournament’s regional round this weekend, their focus had shifted to their next goal:
Getting back to Omaha.
“I think they want to be known for more than ACC champions, so we’ve got to be ready for the next round,” Fox said on Thursday.
To start, the Tar Heels have to get through the Chapel Hill Regional, which includes UNC-Wilmington (32-29), Tennessee (38-19) and Liberty (42-19). The Tar Heels open play with UNCW on Friday at 2 p.m.
Last season, the Tar Heels advanced to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska after sweeping their regional and super regional rounds in Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels, the 14th overall seed, enter the 2019 Chapel Hill Regional as hot as any team in the country. They went undefeated in the ACC Baseball Championship and won their seventh ACC title program history.
The last two times the Tar Heels won the ACC title, they made it to the College World Series.
But both times – in 2007 and 2013 – the Tar Heels entered the NCAA tournament as one of the top three overall seeds.
This team has not been nearly as consistent as those teams. The Tar Heels finished the regular season having lost five of their last eight games before its run in the ACC tournament.
Busch, who won the ACC tournament’s most valuable player after batting .421 with 3 home runs and 5 RBI’s, said practicing at a high level will be the key to keeping the momentum from the ACC tournament going.
“The way that we practiced last week was a big reason I think we won four straight games,” Busch said.
Biggest question: UNC starters
Fox named junior pitcher Tyler Baum (7-3, 3.76 ERA) as his starter for Friday against UNCW. But he was not ready to announce his Saturday starter.
“We have an idea of who will start if Friday goes to plan,” Fox said of Saturday’s game. “But right now we feel like we need everybody available for Friday.”
The Tar Heels had to use their bullpen early and often throughout the ACC tournament. But their relievers came through, with a 2.16 ERA from the bullpen. They pitched 25 innings in the four tournament games and were responsible for all four wins.
A big reason for UNC’s success last season was the quality of its starting pitching. The Tar Heels had four starters who could pitch six innings or more per game.
Without starting pitcher junior Luca Dalatri, who went down with a season-ending hip injury in April, the Tar Heels are down to two pitchers with at least 10 starts this season -- Baum and junior Austin Bergner. Baum has been consistent. He has pitched at least five innings in 13 of his 14 starts.
But Bergner (5-1, 5.48 ERA) has struggled throughout the season. He gave up four runs and lasted only 1 1/3 innings on May 24 against Miami.
“Do we need our second guy to go out there and our third guy to go out there and give us a chance to win for 4-5 innings? Absolutely,” Fox said. “You can’t win a championship without it. That’s going to be the key.”
Along with Bergner, Fox has multiple options he could start on Saturday.
On May 25, freshman lefty Will Sandy started against Boston College in the ACC tournament. He pitched three innings and gave up one run. Redshirt freshman Austin Love did not start, but he pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up only one run in relief against Miami.
Freshman pitcher Connor Ollio got the start against Georgia Tech in the May 26 title game. He pitched 2 1/3 innings and gave up two hits and one run.
“I think every coach probably would tell you they don’t want to get deep into their bullpen in Game 1, so that puts a lot of pressure on those starters for all four teams to try to give you six or seven innings,” Fox said.
Familiarity with opponents
UNC played UNCW twice this season, and won both games. It has also played Liberty twice, splitting the series.
The Tar Heels beat the Seahawks 4-3 in Chapel Hill on Feb. 26 and then won 11-4 on March 13. UNC lost 2-0 at Liberty on March 19. The Tar Heels beat the Flames on April 30, winning at home 11-5.
“Familiarity can help or hurt it at some point,” Fox said. “But I think it’s pretty much a new season in that regard.”
UNC has not played Tennessee this season. However, the Volunteers have wins over Vanderbilt (No. 2 national seed), two over Georgia (No. 4 national seed) and Mississippi State (No. 6 national seed) this year.
X-factor: UNC’s defense
One of the Tar Heels’ biggest issues this season has been their defense. The Tar Heels committed seven errors in their final series with N.C. State to end the regular season.
They were outscored 25-7 in those three games and lost the series 2 games to 1.
UNC showed improvement in the ACC tournament. In three of those four games, it committed one error or less, and won all four games.
The Tar Heels are at their best when their defense is on point. They are 11-6 when they commit two or more errors in a game, 18-8 when they commit one error, and 13-3 when they don’t commit an error.
“Personally I think we’ve got one of the best offenses in the country,” UNC junior outfielder Dallas Tessar said. “If we pitch and play defense, we put ourselves in a good spot to win.”
UNCW at UNC
Chapel Hill Regional, NCAA baseball tournament
When: 2 p.m., Friday
Where: Boshamer Stadium, Chapel Hill
Watch: ESPN3
This story was originally published May 30, 2019 at 4:26 PM.
