April 28, 2005

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Atlantic Coast Conference leader North Carolina faces a Triangle-area rival for the second straight weekend, as the Tar Heels (35-8-1, 14-4-1 ACC) travel to Raleigh for a three-game series with NC State (30-12, 11-10 ACC) at Doak Field. Game times are 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Sunday's game will be televised by C-SET (TimeWarner Digital Cable Channel 140). An audio broadcast of all three games can be heard in Chapel Hill on AM-1360 WCHL and on TarHeelBlue.com. Jones Angell and Adam Lucas will have the call for the Tar Heel Sports Network.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES
North Carolina (35-8-1, 14-4-1 ACC) at NC State (30-12, 11-10 ACC)
Fri., April 29, 7 p.m.
Sat., April 30, 2 p.m.
Sun., May 1, 1 p.m. (C-SET)

All-Time Series: Carolina leads, 140-114-1
Last Series: NC State took two of three in Chapel Hill in 2004.
Quick Hit: The Tar Heels and Wolfpack have split the six series since 1999.

CAROLINA-STATE SERIES HISTORY
North Carolina and NC State have met 255 times on the diamond since 1895 with the Tar Heels holding a 140-114-1 lead in the series. The 255 meetings are the third-most for Carolina against any single opponent. UNC has played Wake Forest 261 times and Virginia 257. The series has been evenly played over the last three years, with each team winning five games. The Wolfpack has won the last two series, with Carolina's last series win coming in a sweep at Boshamer Stadium in 2002. The Tar Heels last series victory in Raleigh came in 2001. Carolina head coach Mike Fox is 10-9 in his career against State and owns a 4-5 record in Raleigh.

A LOOK AT THE TAR HEELS
Since going winless against Miami, Carolina has won its last seven, including two comeback victories this week. The staff continues to lead the ACC and rank among then nation's best with a 2.66 ERA. Sophomores Andrew Miller (8-1, 2.03 ERA) and Daniel Bard (7-2, 3.34 ERA) will start Friday and Saturday, respectively. Matt Danford (4-1, 8 saves) and Jonathan Hovis (5-1, 4 saves) lead the bullpen. Junior Mike Daniel leads the team with a .381 average and hit his third home run of the season Wednesday. Carolina's 53 home runs lead the ACC, and freshman Seth Williams tops the team with 12. He is third on the team with 31 RBI. Redshirt sophomore Matt Ellington has a team-high 44 RBI and is batting .339, while freshman Chad Flack has drive in 33 runs, while batting .347.

SCOUTING THE WOLFPACK
NC State enters the weekend with a 30-12 record and an 11-10 ACC mark. The Wolfpack has won its last four conference series and has won eight of its last 10 games overall. NCSU is hitting .308 as a team, led by first baseman Aaron Bates, who is batting .404 with team-bests of six home runs and 41 RBI. Four other regulars are batting at least .300, including catcher Jake Muyco, who is hitting .349 with 30 RBI. On the mound, the Wolfpack owns a 4.54 team ERA. State will start freshman righty Andrew Brackman (1-0, 0.69 ERA) Friday and will follow with junior lefty Brandon Knapp (2-3, 5.27 ERA) Saturday and sophomore righty Gib Hobson (5-1, 5.31 ERA) Sunday. Junior closer Joey Devine anchors the bullpen with nine saves and a 3-2 record.

A LOOK AT THE TAR HEEL STARTERS
FRIDAY: Andrew Miller (So., LHP): Sophomore left-hander Andrew Miller brings an 8-1 record into Friday's start at NC State. Last time out, he stuck out nine and allowed just one run over seven innings in a 10-1 win over Duke. On the season, Miller has a 2.03 ERA and 78 strikeouts over a team-high 66.2 innings. He is holding opponents to just a .202 batting average. Miller has allowed one run or less in seven of his 11 starts and has allowed more than three runs just twice this season. Entering this week's action, he was tied for seventh nationally in wins and ranked among the nation's top 40 in ERA and strikeouts per nine innings. He also ranks among the ACC's top five in four pitching categories and has been at his best on the road this season with a 3-0 record and one earned run and 29 strikeouts in 21 innings. Miller has one career start against NC State, a no-decision last season. He went four innings and allowed three runs on two hits. He will face Wolfpack freshman Andrew Brackman Friday.
SATURDAY: Daniel Bard (So., RHP): Sophomore righty Daniel Bard is coming off his second career complete-game, two-hit shutout in his last start versus Duke. He is 7-2 on the season with a 3.34 ERA in 64.2 innings. Bard is limiting opponents to just a .203 batting average and has 51 strikeouts compared to just 47 hits allowed. He has allowed three runs or less in seven of his 11 starts. He ranks among the ACC's top 10 in ERA, wins, innings pitched and opponent batting average. Bard is 0-1 in his career against NC State after allowing four runs on nine hits and four walks over four innings in Chapel Hill last season. He will square off against NC State junior lefty Brandon Knapp Saturday.
SUNDAY: To Be Announced: North Carolina's starter for Sunday has not been named. NC State will start sophomore right-hander Gib Hobson.

HEELS DIG THE LONG BALL
With three home runs already this week, the Tar Heels have taken over the Atlantic Coast Conference lead with 53 round-trippers this season. With the losses of All-Americas Marshall Hubbard and Chris Iannetta, Carolina was not expected to have much power in the lineup this year. But the addition of key freshmen and a pair of career years have turned that into a strength. Freshman Seth Williams leads the way with a Carolina rookie record 12 home runs, but classmate Chad Flack is tied for second on the team with nine. In all, freshmen have accounted for 30 of the Tar Heels 53 homers or 56.7 percent. Veterans Matt Ellington and Justin Webb each entered the season with just two career home runs each, but Webb has nine and Ellington eight. Redshirt sophomore Matt Ellington has eight home runs on the season. Williams (2nd), Flack (7th) and Webb (8th) each rank among the ACC's top 10 in homers per game this season. Carolina is the only team with three players ranked among the league leaders.

WILLIAMS GRABS ROOKIE HOMER MARK
With his 12th home run of the season Wednesday, freshman outfielder Seth Williams set a Carolina record for homers by a rookie, eclipsing the 11 hit by Drex Roberts in 1981. Williams leads all ACC freshmen and ranks second overall with the 12 round-trippers, which have come in just 113 at-bats. Currently on a season-best 11-game hitting streak, Williams is batting .341 with five homers and 13 RBI over this stretch. On the year, he is hitting .310 and ranks third on the team with 31 RBI.

TAKING STOCK OF THE ACC RACE
With its 14-4-1 record, North Carolina leads the Atlantic Coast Conference with a .763 winning percentage. Georgia Tech (16-5) is second at .762, followed by Miami (15-5-1) at .738 and Clemson (12-6) at .667. The Yellow Jackets play at Clemson this weekend, while the Hurricanes host Maryland. Florida State hosts Virginia in another key conference series. Carolina has a challenging road if it hopes to claim its first regular season title since 1990, as it travels to NC State and Florida State before hosting Georgia Tech in the final series before the conference tournament. The 2005 ACC Baseball Championship is set for May 24-29 at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

AT IT AGAIN
After combining for 22 of Carolina's 43 wins as freshmen a year ago, the sophomore trio of Daniel Bard, Andrew Miller and Robert Woodard has been victorious in 19 of Carolina' 35 wins in 2005. Miller is 8-1, Bard is 7-2 and Woodard is 4-0 thus far this season. For their careers, Bard, Miller and Woodard have combined to earn the win in 41 of Carolina's 78 victories (52.3 percent) over the last two seasons. The 15 combined wins for Bard and Miller are tied for the most among any starting duo in the ACC this season. Miami's Cesar Carrillo (9-0) and Ricky Orta (6-3) also have 15 wins.

CAROLINA CONTINUES ACC ROLL
With a sweep of Duke last weekend, Carolina improved to 14-4-1 in the ACC. Following losses by Georgia Tech and Miami April 24, the Tar Heels are now in first place in the conference standings with a .763 winning percentage. The three-game sweep of Duke was the fourth ACC sweep of the season for Carolina. The Tar Heels have only had four conference sweeps twice since the league went to three-game sets in 1990. UNC last swept four league foes in 2002. The Tar Heels' 14 ACC wins equal the total they had a year ago when they went 14-10 in the regular season. Carolina has only had more than 14 conference wins twice since the formation of the league in 1954. The Tar Heels went 17-4 in 1990 and 18-9 in 2002. This season marked the first year league teams have played a 30-game schedule. Carolina's first-place regular season finish came in 1990.

TAR HEELS TROUBLED BY ERRORS
UNC entered the year with an outstanding pitching staff and the bats have come around as the season has progressed, but defensively the Tar Heels still have room for improvement. Carolina ranks eighth in the ACC with a .955 fielding percentage and has committed 80 errors in 44 games. Over the last 10 games, The Tar Heels have made 29 errors - nearly three per game. UNC has already made nine miscues this week but has rallied to win both games against UNC Wilmington and High Point.

DANIEL CONTINUES TO GET IT DONE
Carolina's leader in batting average at .381, junior outfielder Mike Daniel is batting .500 (10-20) over a current seven-game hitting streak. He has also scored six runs and driven in five over this stretch. After batting just .263 in February, Daniel his hit .404 (40-99) over March and April and currently ranks eighth in the ACC in average. He has 12 multi-hit games this season and his three home runs are a new single-season high.

DANFORD, HOVIS HEADED FOR BIG WEEK
Ace relievers Matt Danford and Jonathan Hovis have already put together an impressive week heading into the NC State series. Hovis tossed 2.2 scoreless innings in the comeback win at UNC Wilmington Tuesday to earn his fifth win of the season, and Danford came on to earn his eighth save with a scoreless ninth. He loaded the bases but then fanned two of the last three batters he faced to earn the win. Danford also came on on the ninth Wednesday but allowed an unearned run to score and tie the game. He stuck out two and picked up his fourth win after Carolina scored in the bottom of the inning to claim a 10-9 victory over High Point.

HEELS OFF TO BEST START SINCE 2000
With a record of 35-8-1 through 44 games, the Tar Heels are off to their best start since the 2000 team opened 35-9 through this point of the season. The 1990 team, which established a school record with 51 victories, also opened 35-9 and went 16-5 down the stretch for the 51-14 final mark. Carolina's 1999 squad was also 35-9 through 44 games. Percentage wise, this year's group owns the best winning percentage through 44 games in school history at .807.

CAROLINA'S BEST STARTS THROUGH 44 GAMES:
YEAR	RECORD	FINAL RECORD
2005	35-8-1	???
2000	35-9	46-17
1999	35-9	41-18
1990	35-9	51-14

FROM MURPHY TO MANTEO
After this weekend, Carolina will have played 17 games against its in-state opponents, and it owns an 13-1 mark through the first 14 contests. Their only defeat was an April 6 loss to Elon. Carolina owns three-game sweeps over Wake Forest and Duke and has defeated UNC Wilmington twice. The Tar Heels also own wins over Appalachian State, Gardner-Webb, Davidson and East Carolina. The Tar Heels will face the Pirates once more on May 17 in Chapel Hill.

HORTON'S HEATING UP
Freshman shortstop Josh Horton has been one of the hottest Tar Heels of late, batting .400 (14-35) over the last 10 games. He has 13 RBI over this stretch, including a career-high of six in the 18-6 win at East Carolina April 19. Horton drove in four runs in one inning versus the Pirates with a triple and a double. The Hillsborough native is tied for second on the team with a .347 average and has two homers and 26 RBI on the season. He was named a midseason freshman All-America by Baseball America.

MILLER NAMED TO GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD WATCH LIST
North Carolina sophomore left-hander Andrew Miller was one of 40 players named to the initial watch list for the 2005 Golden Spikes Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top collegiate player. USA Baseball - in partnership with the Major League Baseball Players Association - announced the candidates for the award April 26 and will present the award in July. The Tar Heels' Friday starter, Miller is 8-1 this season with a 2.03 earned run average. He has 78 strikeouts in 66.2 innings and is limiting opponents to just a .203 batting average. Miller has allowed just one home run in 11 starts this year. The Gainesville, Fla., native is a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week and was named a midseason second-team All-America by Baseball America.

DESIGNATED HITTER
Redshirt sophomore Matt Ellington has delivered as the Tar Heels' top run producer this season with 44 RBI through 44 games. Over the last 10 games, Ellington has driven in 13 runs and is batting .409 with three home runs. He has hit safely in 14 of the last 16 contests and played left field for the first time this season in the win over High Point Wednesday. Ellington entered the season as Carolina's top returning RBI man with 26 in 2004 and now has 70 RBI for his career. He is currently hitting .338 with eight homers to go along with his 44 RBI.

FLACK ATTACK IN APRIL
Freshman infielder Chad Flack leads the team with a .403 average in April and has hit safely in 15 of the 17 games this month, including a stretch of 11 straight. He has homered six times this month and has also driven in 20 of his 33 runs since April Fool's Day. On the year, Flack is second on the team with a .347 average, nine home runs and 33 RBI. In ACC play, he is sixth in home runs and slugging percentage.

HOVIS HOLDS OPPONENTS AT BAY
Junior reliever Jonathan Hovis has been outstanding in middle relief and as a set-up man for closer Matt Danford. He sports a team-best 1.62 ERA and is 5-1 with four saves in 19 appearances. Hovis is also holding opponents to a .206 batting average and has 47 strikeouts against just 11 walks strikeouts in 44.1 innings. He pitched well in a career-long 4.2 innings versus Miami on April 16 but was saddled with his first loss mainly because of poor fielding behind him. The Tar Heels are 16-3 in games in which Hovis has pitched. Hovis is third in the ACC in ERA, third in strikeouts per nine innings (9.54) and sixth in saves.

CAROLINA COMPETES WITH NATION'S BEST
Off to a 35-8-1 start, Carolina appears to be in good shape to secure a fourth straight trip to the postseason. The Tar Heels are currently ranked 11th in the Boyd's World Pseudo-RPI (BoydsWorld.com) and own a 17-7-1 record against teams rated among the nation's top 100. With the April 19 win at East Carolina, UNC improved to 2-3-1 against teams in the top 20 of the Pseudo-RPI.

DANFORD NAMED TO MIDSEASON STOPPER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Carolina closer Matt Danford was one of 35 relief pitchers named to the midseason watch list for the inaugural National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, which will be given annually to the top relief pitcher in Division I. After missing all of 2004, Danford has been brilliant in the closer role for the Tar Heels this season, posting a 4-1 record and eight saves, which ranks fourth in the ACC and 25th nationally. Danford also has a microscopic 1.07 ERA, having allowed just four earned runs 33.2 innings. He has already picked up a win and a save this week. With none of Carolina's starters making it out of the fourth inning in the Miami series, Danford was called upon to work a season-long 6.1 innings in relief in last Sunday's tie. He scattered six hits and allowed two earned runs and struck out four and walked one. The outing was the longest for Danford since he went 7.2 innings in a start against Michigan State as a freshman on February 28, 2003. Danford, who missed all of last season following surgery on his right shoulder, struck out the side in the ninth versus Appalachian State February 16 in his first appearance since the 2003 Columbia Super Regional. He has never looked back, and the Tar Heels are 17-2-1 in games in which Danford has pitched.

TAR HEELS HEADED FOR TOP PITCHING SEASON
After getting back on track on the mound against Duke, Carolina appears headed for one of the top pitching seasons in program history. The Tar Heels, who have an ACC-best 2.66 ERA, have not had a team ERA below 3.00 since a 2.89 mark in 1983. Carolina's lowest team mark since 1970 is a 2.23 ERA in 1972, the first year the Tar Heels played in Boshamer Stadium. This year, Carolina has allowed 119 earned runs in 402.2 innings and is holding opponents to a .223 batting average. Carolina recorded its seventh shutout of the season against Duke April 24. Detailed pitching stats are only available since the early 1950s, and the top Tar Heel ERA since that time was a 1.66 staff mark in 1967. Garry Hill went 8-0 and led the team with a school-record 0.70 mark in 89 innings.

BEST-EVER START AT THE BOSH
Carolina's sweep of Virginia on April 1-3 gave the Tar Heels a school-record home start at Boshamer Stadium. After Wednesday's win over High Point, UNC is now 28-3-1 at home. Elon handed the Tar Heels their first loss at home on April 6. This year's team surpassed a 21-0 start by the 1990 squad, which won a school-record 51 games. Carolina has five games remaining at home and needs just two wins to tie the school record for home victories of 30 set in 2000 and 1993.

BEST STARTS AT BOSHAMER STADIUM
YEAR	START	FINISH
2005 	22-0	???
1990 	21-0	29-3
1987 	17-0	22-8
2000 	15-0	30-5

WEBB ON FIRE IN CONFERENCE ACTION
Senior Justin Webb has been outstanding in ACC action this season owning a .312 batting average, six home runs and 22 RBI in 19 games. Webb has had monster games of seven RBI versus Virginia Tech and five against Virginia. In conference games, he ranks second in home runs and eighth in RBI. He has set a career high twice this season with four hits in ACC play. Webb ranks third in home runs per game and eighth in RBI per game in conference action.

GREAT RUN FOR WOODARD
Sophomore right-hander Robert Woodard has resumed his role as the Tar Heels' jack-of-all-trades on the mound. He has picked up a win in two of his last three appearances, including a start against Duke. He went seven innings and allowed just two runs, while striking out a career-best seven against the Blue Devils. Woodard also picked up a win at East Carolina after allowing just one run over 3.1 innings in relief. Over the April 1-3 weekend, the Charlotte native made two outstanding relief appearances in Carolina's pair of extra-inning victories over Virginia. In the April 1 14-inning affair, he went 5.2 innings and allowed just two hits and two unearned runs while striking out five. Woodard entered with runners on the corners and no outs in the sixth but worked out of that jam and also retired Virginia in order in the eight, ninth and 10th innings. On April 3, Woodard entered with runners on the corners in a tied game in the seventh, got out of that jam and then retired the side in the order in the eighth and ninth, helping to set up Carolina's 11th inning win. Woodard, who has made six starts, owns a 2.67 ERA on the year and is holding opponents to a .223 batting average. He has 53 strikeouts against just 10 walks in 60.2 innings. He ranks among the ACC leaders in ERA (sixth) and opponent batting average (seventh).