April 11, 2008

By Chris Gallo
UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Entering the week of April 7, the 2008 Diamond Heels led the Atlantic Coast Conference and the nation with a 2.25 earned run average and 10.57 strikeouts per nine innings.

"Wow, this is one of the most pleasing parts of our team," said head coach Mike Fox. "We just pitched so well, really throwing a lot of strikes and not walking people. That is the first key for having a good staff."

A big part of the pitching staff's success has been the consistent and sure handed bullpen - not just throwing strikes, but recording strikeouts.

In five games over the course of April 1-6, Carolina pitchers struck out 67 batters and had at least 11 strikeouts in every game. Out of 135 outs in five games, 67 came by three strikes, meaning half of the outs recorded were via the strikeout.

A healthy addition of young arms to the bullpen combined with veterans Rob Wooten, Tyler Trice and Rob Catapano packs a big punch early in 2008. Young arms such as Colin Bates, Brian Moran and Nate Striz have bolstered the bullpen to one of the best in the country. In all 13 of the 16 pitchers that have taken the mound for UNC, have an ERA of 2.08 or lower.

Bates missed all of the 2007 season and nearly the rest of his career after two complicated surgeries resulting from blood clot from his pitching shoulder. Thoracic Outlet Decompression surgery involves removal of the first rib, cleaning out of scar tissue, and taking a vein graft from a thigh to repair the vein in the shoulder.

"The surgery was 12 hours long and when I woke up I didn't remember anything from the next few days after," Bates explains. "I couldn't even stand up for about three or four days and moving my arm seemed impossible."

The Naperville, Ill., native's incredible comeback story only gets better with his performance on the mound. Bates is a huge part of the staff's success sporting a 3-0 record with a 1.67 ERA over 27 innings and a 32-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

"We are going to have to use more of our bullpen this year than last year, and this is a good thing because our opponents are playing the same schedule," Bates said when describing the rigorous five-game schedule per week. "And I will take our bullpen over any other team's bullpen."

And why not? Moran has already appeared in more games this season that all of 2007 and with good reason. The left-hander from Rye, N.Y., has a 0.86 ERA over 15 appearances and a 36-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The nephew of former Tar Heel Great and major leaguer B.J. Surhoff has struck out 18 of the last 28 batters he has faced. In the first game of the series against rival NC State, Moran faced four batters and struck out every single one.

"He just goes out there and pitches and repeats his delivery exceptionally well, that is why he throws so many strikes," Fox praised. "You look at his numbers - it is pretty amazing, we have a great deal of confidence bringing him out of the bullpen."

Confidence is the key according to Wooten, who posts a 35-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio over the course of 25 2/3 innings with a 0.70 ERA and three saves.

"Throw strikes, gets outs and always be confident. It is amazing what confidence does for you," the senior believes. "Just going out there and knowing that you can get anybody out at any time and not worrying about the next outing."

The Fremont, N.C., native returns in 2008 after leading the nation in 2007 with 47 appearances, including six outings in the College World Series. Wooten now is the Tar Heels' closer and credits the staff's success to pitching coach Scott Forbes.

"Coach Forbes is never satisfied and neither are we. We feed off him, and what he preaches everyday - a very simple saying - `stay with the process,'" Wooten praised. "If we are satisfied, then we are not going improve. If we stay with the process and take it one day at time than we can be a very dominating pitching staff. We are doing a very good job right now but we know we can get better and expect to get better."

Another strong point for the Heels' bullpen this season has been an influx of freshmen pitchers like Striz mixed with veterans such as Trice and Facchinei.

Striz ranks second in appearances at 15 only to Moran and Wooten, posting a 1.08 ERA over 16.2 innings pitched and a 21-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Trice from Cherryville, N.C., has fanned 14 batters to only five walks in just nine innings pitched.

"You look at our pitching numbers over all, they are pretty exciting to look at," Fox expressed.

Over the course of the last two seasons North Carolina has featured dominant pitching from the likes of Andrew Miller, Andrew Carignan and Robert Woodard, leading the Tar Heels to two second-place finishes in the College World Series.

"Last year you had three guys with set roles with the best closer in the country," the veteran Wooten said. "This year you have multiple guys that can pitch in any role at any time. I guess we will have see how we finish because it's not how you start, its how you finish. If we keep doing what we are doing we should finish very strong."

If the Tar Heels stay with the process, they could themselves finishing back home in Omaha for a third season in a row.