Chapelboro.com’s coverage of Carolina baseball in the Men’s College World Series is proudly presented by Town Hall Grill in Southern Village and High & Rubish Insurance Agency.
Carolina will take on No. 1 overall seed Tennessee in its second game of the Men’s College World Series on Sunday in Omaha. Both the Tar Heels and Volunteers won their opening matchups via a walk-off hit.
Here’s what members of the Diamond Heels had to say about the game:
SP Shea Sprague
Image via UNC Baseball on Twitter
On the matchup with Tennessee: They’re pretty good. They can swing it. We were at the game last night. Christian Moore is a good player.
Every hit from Christian Moore's historic cycle in Omaha 🍿@Vol_Baseball | #MCWS pic.twitter.com/6eISXsyRdW
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) June 15, 2024
They’ve got dudes all up and down their lineup. It’s definitely exciting to go test yourself and see what you can do against these guys. And if I’m making pitches, we’ll be alright.
On his evolution as a player this season: I think it was good for me to get hit around in the preseason. Then, obviously, as the year went on, I kept getting better and better and better. I think the biggest thing is staying confident no matter what happens, and not “riding the rollercoaster” like me and Jason [DeCaro] like to say to one another. The preseason definitely helped, definitely highlighted some of the flaws that I need to work on in my game. I think it was all for the better.
On working with freshman catcher Luke Stevenson: He’s a stud. It’s so rare for a kid, one, to get on campus and be that good, and, two, just handle it the way he’s handled it. He’s been so hands-on. I think he’s got a sense of confidence that it’s really hard to instill in someone. I think it’s gotta come from within… I don’t think he’s needed much help. I think going into the season, he probably helped me out a little bit. He’s really good at instilling confidence in you.
On his relationship with catcher Parker Haskin, who – like Sprague – transferred to UNC from Elon: He’s the man. Parker was the captain last year at Elon. He definitely has a huge leadership role. Parker, when I was a freshman at Elon, was almost like Luke. He was just incredible at instilling confidence in you. I think he saw a quiet confidence in me, so we came together a little bit better than most would. It means the world to go through this with him. He’s such an incredible guy and leader and mentor.
On taking in the big stage in Omaha: I embrace the moment, 100 percent. I’ll look around, take it all in. I think the biggest thing in handling a crowd is realizing that it’s there. Once you’re pitching to a guy and he’s in the box, you don’t even notice it at all. Before the game, I think you have to embrace it. It can give you a different level of focus to tap in to.
Head coach Scott Forbes
Image via UNC Baseball on Twitter
On Tennessee: They’ve had a heck of a season. Leading the country in wins, balanced top to bottom. Their offense, the numbers speak for themselves. Again, though, I feel like the ACC prepares you for these games. We did play LSU in a three-game series as well, so I’m excited. I’m excited for our guys to play Tennessee. I think we have a really, really good club. Two really good clubs are gonna be going at it tomorrow night.
On Shea Sprague: Shea matches up good with anybody. He’s competitive. He can throw his fastball to both sides of the plate. The changeup makes the fastball play up. [Pitching] Coach [Bryant] Gaines and [Director of Pitching Performance and Development Jason] Howell have done a really good job with him with his slider. More consistent. He’s not making as many mistakes with it. He can show it to lefties and righties if he needs it, so he has those three pitches. He’s been really good for us all year.
On Alberto Osuna’s mentality amid a recent slump: You never have to worry about Alberto Osuna’s attitude. And that’s just the way it works when you have depth like we have. If somebody is struggling, it can help your team, having somebody that’s talented enough to come in – like Jackson Van De Brake or Johnny Castagnozzi – and do something big for us. And both of those guys have done something really big for us.
On the availability of Dalton Pence and Matt Poston out of the bullpen: They feel great… if you look at the workload throughout the year, I feel like, as a staff, we’ve done a good job of managing those guys. We had enough depth where nobody really was overworked going into the postseason. Knowing that, then you can allow a guy to go longer. We also had the guys build up to around that 50-60 [pitch] range in the preseason. You add [Aidan] Haugh back into that mix, he’ll be available in the bullpen tomorrow. We can match up a little bit if we need to as the game goes along. If Shea gets us into the fifth [inning], we’re gonna feel really good about that.
On the Volunteers’ reputation as “bad boys”: Everybody in this day and age has something to say. I’ve always respected [Tennessee head coach] Tony [Vitello]. I think he’s done a heck of a job. They wouldn’t be saying anything about Tennessee if they weren’t winning. And he’s gone there and he’s won. If somebody calls them “the bad boys,” I want our guys to strap it on and see what we can do against “the bad boys,” if that’s the case. They’re talented. They do a really good job of recruiting. We feel like we do the same. We feel like our program matches up against anybody. Our guys, they’ll be ready, I’ll tell you that.
Click to find more Carolina baseball coverage from Chapelboro.com, onsite in Omaha! Proudly presented by Town Hall Grill and High & Rubish Insurance Agency.
Featured image via UNC Baseball on Twitter
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines