June 22, 2008
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TEAM NOTES
The Tar Heels have hit only two home runs in Omaha, but both have proven to be game-winners in the last two nights. Tim Federowicz belted a grand slam in the top of the ninth Friday against LSU, and Chad Flack followed with a go-ahead two-run shot in the eighth Saturday versus Fresno State.
In the last two games, five Carolina pitchers have held LSU and Fresno State to just six runs on 11 hits over 18 innings. The Tar Heels continue to lead the nation in ERA at 2.89.
Over the last two games, the Tar Heels' bullpen has worked 11 innings, allowing just two runs on five hits. They have posted 15 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .132 batting average.
With Saturday's win over Fresno State, the Tar Heels will face the Bulldogs in a winner-take-all second meeting Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN Classic. The winner will advance to the championship series to face Georgia. With a win, UNC will become the first team to reach three straight CWS finals since the NCAA adopted its current format in 2003.
Carolina is now 6-1 in elimination games over the last two seasons and 5-1 in CWS elimination games.
The Tar Heels' 54 wins match the 2006 team for the second most in school history. The Tar Heels have posted the top three win totals in school history over the last three years and lead the nation with 165 wins in 2006-08. UNC is the only team to win 50-plus games in each of the last three years.
Carolina improved to 11-6 over its last three CWS appearances and 13-14 in seven trips to Omaha.
The Tar Heels are now 73-51 all-time in 23 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Mike Fox is now 38-19 in nine trips to the postseason.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Chad Flack's go-ahead home run in the eighth inning was his first in Omaha and his fifth in NCAA Tournament play. He has 42 career home runs to rank third in school history, and he now has 212 career RBI, which is two off the school record of 214. Flack's home run Saturday was his seventh of the season and first since May 21 against Virginia.
Chad Flack's home run was his third game-clinching homer of his postseason career. He hit a walk-off two-run shot in the ninth to beat Alabama in the 2006 Super Regional and followed with a go-ahead two-run homer against South Carolina in the seventh of the decisive game of the 2007 Super Regional.
Chad Flack doubled in his 69th career College World Series at-bat Saturday surpassing the previous mark of 68 at-bats set by Daryl Arenstein of USC from 1970-73. Flack now has an NCAA-record 70 at-bats in the CWS play.
With two hits Saturday, Chad Flack is tied for fourth in CWS history with 21 base hits. Classmate Seth Williams has 20 career hits in Omaha, which is tied for sixth.
Alex White made his second straight relief appearance, his fourth of the season and fifth of his career Saturday against Fresno State. In 9 2/3 career innings out of the bullpen, White has 12 strikeouts and has allowed no runs on just three hits. He went 2 2/3 perfect innings Saturday and struck out five.
Alex White improved to 13-3 with his second in as many nights and third of the CWS. He has recorded five of Carolina's eight postseason wins and owns a 2.28 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings in the NCAA Tournament. The 13 wins are tied for second with Andrew Miller (2006) on the Tar Heels' single-season list.
Alex White's three wins in a single College World Series tie an NCAA record held by eight other pitchers.
Alex White now has 113 strikeouts on the season, which is tied for the fifth most in program history.
Tim Fedroff extended his career-best hitting streak to 15 games with a third-inning single, while classmate Dustin Ackley has hit in 12 straight games. Both Fedroff and Ackley are batting .500 in nine NCAA Tournament games this season.
Dustin Ackley, who was 2-for-4 Saturday, ranks second nationally with 113 hits and now owns the top two hit totals in school history with 119 in 2007 and 113 this year. Tim Fedroff is third nationally and tied for third in school history with 112 hits.
Kyle Seager extended his single-season school record doubles total to 30 with his two-base hit in the eighth. He also has 44 extra-base hits to rank second on the Tar Heels' single-season list.
Matt Harvey, who struck out five and allowed three runs in five innings, pitched on consecutive days for the second time this season. He started March 11 against Coastal Carolina but went just two-thirds of an inning and pitched March 12 in relief versus VCU.
Right-hander Rob Wooten, who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, made his 10th College World Series appearance in the Tar Heels' last 11 games in Omaha to move into a tie for second on the all-time CWS record list. J. Brent Cox of Texas set the record with 13 appearances between 2003-05.
Rob Wooten pitched in his 43rd game in 2008, which ranks third all-time at Carolina, and his 109 career appearances rank fifth in school history.
Left-hander Brian Moran, who threw just two pitches in the seventh, made his 39th appearance to move into fourth place on UNC's single-season list. He has pitched in all four CWS games for the Tar Heels.
Veterans Tim Federowicz, Chad Flack and Seth Williams each started their 17th career game in Omaha Saturday. This trio has started every CWS game for Carolina over the last three seasons. Garrett Gore, who has made 16 CWS starts, is the only other player to play in each game.
