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From the man named George that everyone called Babe:
Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.
After a tough stretch, the North Carolina Tar Heels are back on a roll, sweeping their first home conference series against Pitt and defeating former ACC foe Maryland on Tuesday.
In that four game stretch, Carolina won by a combined margin of 45-6. However, the bats must stay alive in the upcoming series against Florida State.
Here is a breakdown of UNC rankings in the major polls:
- D1Baseball.com Top 25: NR
- NCBWA: 27
- Baseball America: NR
- USA Today Coaches Poll: NR (27th in voting)
- RPI: 6
Take a look at the latest results and updated record:
UNC Baseball Results - Week 5
| Date | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Result | Record |
| 3/16/2018 | vs. Pitt | W 15-3 | 10-8 |
| 3/17/2018 | vs. Pitt | W 4-0 | 11-8 |
| 3/18/2018 | vs. Pitt | W 13-2 | 12-8 |
| 3/20/2018 | vs. Maryland | W 13-1 | 13-8 |
For a closer look at the sweep against Pitt, check out Carolina Baseball Weekend Recap: Heels Get Big ACC Sweep by Chad Floyd.
Against Maryland, the Heels scored early and often. Second baseman Zack Gahagan started the scoring in the first with a sac fly. In the second, UNC scored enough runs to seal the victory on a Brandon Martorano single that scored two.
Ben Casparius had RBIs in the third and fourth innings, with Cody Roberts and Ike Freeman adding run scoring hits.
A Kyle Datres homer in the fifth pushed the Carolina lead to 9-0.
Maryland’s lone tally came in the sixth. Starter Rodney Hutchison allowed just six hits while striking out six in seven innings of work.
In the seventh, Michael Busch tattooed a ball to over the right-center wall for a grand slam, the first of Busch’s career.
A season-best 18 hits for the Heels today, but none bigger than this GRAND SLAM by @michael_busch22 pic.twitter.com/5f5IiJuuMB
— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) March 20, 2018
Carolina had 18 hits against Maryland, the most of the season.
Below are the team leaders for UNC.
Batting:
- Batting average: .357 - Kyle Datres
- Slugging percentage: .574 - Brandon Martorano
- Home runs: 5 - Brandon Martorano and Michael Busch (T-8th in ACC)
- RBIs: 31 - Michael Busch (2nd in ACC)
- Hits: 30 - Kyle Datres (7th in ACC)
- Runs: 20 - Kyle Datres (T-5th in ACC)
- On-base percentage: .438 - Ike Freeman
Pitching:
- ERA: 0.00 - Josh Hiatt (T-1st in ACC)
- Strikeouts: 34 - Tyler Baum
- Innings pitched: 29.0 - Tyler Baum
- Wins: 3 - Tyler Baum (3-0) and Austin Bergner (3-1) (T-5th in ACC)
- Saves: 2 - Josh Hiatt
Carolina is tied for the lead in the Coastal Division:
Current ACC Standings
| SCHOOL | ACC | PCT. | OVERALL | PCT. | HOME | AWAY | NEUTRAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCHOOL | ACC | PCT. | OVERALL | PCT. | HOME | AWAY | NEUTRAL |
| COASTAL | |||||||
| Duke | 4-2 | 0.667 | 18-4 | 0.818 | 15-2 | 3-2 | 0-0 |
| North Carolina | 4-2 | 0.667 | 13-8 | 0.619 | 9-4 | 3-4 | 1-0 |
| Virginia | 3-3 | 0.500 | 13-7 | 0.650 | 10-4 | 1-3 | 2-0 |
| Virginia Tech | 3-3 | 0.500 | 9-10 | 0.474 | 3-1 | 1-5 | 5-4 |
| Miami | 3-3 | 0.500 | 9-11 | 0.450 | 7-7 | 2-4 | 0-0 |
| Georgia Tech | 2-4 | 0.333 | 12-9 | 0.571 | 10-5 | 2-4 | 0-0 |
| Pittsburgh | 1-5 | 0.167 | 11-7 | 0.611 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 9-2 |
| ATLANTIC | |||||||
| NC State | 5-1 | 0.833 | 18-3 | 0.857 | 14-3 | 4-0 | 0-0 |
| Wake Forest | 4-2 | 0.667 | 10-11 | 0.476 | 9-6 | 1-5 | 0-0 |
| Florida State | 3-3 | 0.500 | 18-4 | 0.818 | 16-1 | 2-3 | 0-0 |
| Louisville | 3-3 | 0.500 | 17-4 | 0.810 | 12-2 | 3-2 | 2-0 |
| Clemson | 3-3 | 0.500 | 16-5 | 0.762 | 14-3 | 0-2 | 2-0 |
| Notre Dame | 2-4 | 0.333 | 8-11 | 0.421 | 0-1 | 4-5 | 4-5 |
| Boston College | 2-4 | 0.333 | 7-11 | 0.389 | 0-1 | 5-5 | 2-5 |
This weekend, the Tar Heels host Florida State (18-4). FSU is ranked in the top ten in all the polls, including no. 2 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. They are coming off a two-game sweep of UCF and a 2-1 series win over Notre Dame.
The Seminoles are a great offensive team, ranking in the top five in the conference in most of the major team batting statistics.
Third baseman Drew Mendoza, a sophomore, is leading the ACC in batting average (.450). He is also in the top ten in slugging percentage (.700), on-base percentage (.515), hits (36), and RBI (22).
On the mound, junior righty Andrew Karp (4-1) has 39 strikeouts on the year. Starter Drew Parrish leads FSU with a 2.03 ERA, and is not far behind Karp with 36 Ks.
Friday night’s game will be chilly with the temperature dipping into the 40s. The weather forecast for Saturday was so bad that the game was preemptively moved to Friday for a double-header. Sunday will be in the 40s with a chance for rain early in the morning.
Take a look at the upcoming schedule for the Diamond Heels:
UNC Baseball Upcoming Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Time | Opponent |
| 3/23/2018 | 6:00 PM | vs. Florida State |
| 3/24/2018 | 4:00 PM | vs. Florida State |
| 3/25/2018 | 1:00 PM | vs. Florida State |
| 3/27/2018 | 7:00 PM | at UNCC (BB&T Ballpark) |