Chansky’s Notebook: Major Masher

Thanks to Aaron Sabato, the Diamond Heels stayed alive.

The sky looked ominous all afternoon Friday, as reports of a storm down east was heading this way. Carolina was opening the NCAA regional at home – again – but had lost a lead to UNC-Wilmington in the ninth and trailed 6-5. A first-game defeat would have sent the Tar Heels directly to the loser’ bracket.

But sensational freshman Aaron Sabato must have known a lightning strike was coming, because he preceded it with a home run to the tie the game on the first pitch in the bottom of the ninth. Then came a three-hour weather delay before Carolina won, 7-6, on a Seahawks’ error. From there, the Diamond Heels rolled to their ninth consecutive regional title and trip to the super regional.

Playing at home doesn’t guarantee anything, but it is a distinct advantage unless you lose that first game of double elimination. No travel, sleep in your own bed, play on a familiar field before a raucous supporting crowd. That has been Mike Fox’s formula since he began his run of College World Series.

And now the Diamond Heels are two wins from Fox’s eighth trip to Omaha as head coach – and thanks to Georgia Tech’s loss to Auburn, they get to stay home for the best-of-three series.

Would it have been different, or more difficult, without Sabato’s clout to beat the lightening delay? Maybe, but once play resumed with the score tied, the pressure was all on UNC-W. Sabato, the 6-2 slugger from Rye Brook, New York, had already been named ACC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-American. He had already clocked 14 homers in his first collegiate season, and his 15th tied Chad Flack’s freshman record from 2005.

And thanks to it, Carolina survived and went on to beat Liberty Saturday and Tennessee Sunday night to await the winner of the Georgia Tech-Auburn game in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets lost, giving Fox another Super Regional at the Bosh. Win two games this weekend, and Fox’s ballclub goes back to the CWS.

Questions: Do the Diamond Heels have the pitching to get there and maybe return to the championship series? Is their defense shored up enough after several mid-season position moves? Will Sabato keep mashing? Well, No. 3, for sure.

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