During head baseball coach Mike Fox’s 17 year tenure at UNC, there’s been one letter many have come to associate with the program: the W.
That’s why five losses over the past seven games by Fox’s 22nd ranked Tar Heels, paired with a sub-standard 12-8 overall record (3-3 in conference), have raised some eyebrows as they head to Atlanta this weekend to face the ACC Coastal Division leaders, the 15-5 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-2 in the ACC).
For comparison’s sake, Carolina’s 2013 team, which placed third at the College World Series, lost only 12 games the entire regular season (out of 71 total).
Logan Warmoth has been the bright spot on defense ever since taking over at shortstop. (UNC Athletics)
“We’ve had our struggles, but we’ve gotta regroup. We’ve gotta play better defense, that’s the bottom line,” Coach Fox says, “They got a short ballpark down there, you gotta do your best to keep the ball in the ballpark, fly balls down there have a tendency to go out.”
Defensive issues have severely hurt the Tar Heels in the early going, with the proof being found not only in the statistics, but also in the win-loss column.
Last year’s 2014 team finished 35-27 and was bounced in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and was considered an anomaly by the Carolina faithful. That team allowed 27 unearned runs (usually the result of defensive errors) and committed 75 errors throughout their 62 game campaign.
Believe it or not, in just 20 games this year, the Tar Heels have already given up 30 unearned runs and recorded 33 errors. Those numbers have to mean something, right?
Georgia Tech freshman Kel Johnson will present a significant challenge. (Georgia Tech Athletics)
Whatever it means, they’ll surely have to figure out a way to deal with Georgia Tech’s freshman slugger, Kel Johnson. In his 85 at-bats, Johnson has lit up scoreboards everywhere he’s played, racking up a .365 average with six homers and 23 RBI.
In their previous game, a heartbreaking loss on Tuesday to Davidson, they came just inches shy of overcoming a ten-run deficit to win the game. Despite picking up another loss, freshman Brian Miller, leading the team with a .450 batting average, says they plan to use the rally as motivation moving forward.
“We’re gonna have to put those first four or five innings behind us, but a takeaway from this game is obviously that last inning, where we battled and got a lot of guys some good at-bats, and got in there and hit the ball hard,” Miller says, “so hopefully it’ll carry over and we’ll win the series this weekend.”
Another hugely important factor heading into Atlanta will be the status of veteran outfielders Skye Bolt and Landon Lassiter, both of whom were mysteriously removed from the lineup on Tuesday. Coach Fox did not hold back when explaining why he made the moves.
“That’s not rest, that’s them not doing what they’re supposed to do,” says Coach, “We have tutors here for a reason, and we pay for those, the athletic department pays for those tutors, and when you’re required to go to them you’re required to go. And if you don’t you’re short-changing yourself, somebody else, and you’re being selfish.”
“I don’t tolerate that here, and that’s why they didn’t play,” Fox added.
Veteran leadership from players like Bolt and Lassiter will be necessary, as well as the young freshman on the team have produced, if this team expects the ship to turn around over the last two thirds of the season.
We’ll find out how they respond with their backs against the wall starting on Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7 P.M.
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