April 14, 2008

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Fourth-ranked North Carolina looks to carry momentum from its weekend sweep at Clemson into a pair of midweek games with in-state opponents UNC Greensboro and Charlotte this week. The Tar Heels (29-7) will play their fourth straight road game Tuesday when they face the Spartans (22-12) at 6 p.m. at UNCG Baseball Stadium. UNC then hosts the 49ers (27-7) Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.

Carolina posted a 4-1 win over UNC Greensboro April 1 to run its all-time series mark to 12-4, but the Tar Heels suffered a 7-6 loss in their last trip to UNCG in 2006.

The Spartans are coming off a three-game sweep of Wofford over the weekend.

Wednesday marks the first of two meetings between the Tar Heels and 49ers. Carolina owns a 26-5-1 lead in the series, including a 6-3 victory in Chapel Hill last season, and has won 11 straight against the 49ers since 1992.

Charlotte dropped two of three to Xavier over the weekend.

Each Monday, TarHeelBlue.com will take a look back at the previous week's on the diamond before moving on to another week of baseball action.

NORTH CAROLINA WEEKLY RESULTS:
Record: 29-7, 13-4 ACC
April 8: Elon 2, #4 North Carolina 0
April 9: #4 North Carolina 5, North Carolina A&T 0
April 11: #4 North Carolina 8, Clemson 2
April 12: #4 North Carolina 4, Clemson 3
April 13: #4 North Carolina 8, Clemson 4

NOTING THE WEEK OF APRIL 7-13:
• Fourth-ranked North Carolina claimed its first-ever three-game series sweep at Clemson by a 22-9 margin. The Tar Heels, who also claimed their first series win over the Tigers since 2000, became the first team to sweep a weekend set at Doug Kingsmore Stadium since Florida State in 2002. The sweep was also the first for UNC against Clemson since 1990, the first year that the Atlantic Coast Conference went to the three-game weekend series format.

• With the three wins over the weekend, the Tar Heels improved to 11-2 on the road. Carolina has won 13 of its last 15 ACC games and seven of its nine league contests on the road this season. The Tar Heels have not dropped an ACC series in their last nine league weekends.

• Sophomore second baseman Kyle Seager paced the Tar Heels to the series sweep at Clemson with a team-best .538 average (7-13), three home runs and eight RBI against the Tigers, who combined for just eight RBI as a team on the weekend. After going 2-for-4 with an RBI in Friday's win, Seager accounted for all four UNC runs in the game two victory with a three-run home run in the first and a solo shot in the fifth for his second career multi-homer game. The Kannapolis native followed that up with three hits Sunday, including the go-ahead, two-run home run in the fifth inning. Seager, who finished with a .350 average for the week, leads the ACC with 48 RBI and 20 doubles and tops the Tar Heels with a .397 average. His 20 doubles are already tied for ninth on the Tar Heels' single-season list. Seager saw a 27-game hitting streak snapped earlier in the week but has still hit safely in 30 of the last 32 games.

• Sophomore first baseman Dustin Ackley broke out of a recent slump with a .455 (10-22) week at the plate for the Tar Heels. He hit the go-ahead home run in game one of the Clemson series and finished with five RBI on the week. Ackley hit .462 (6-13) against the Tigers to raise his season average to .377 to go along with six home runs and 33 RBI.

• Senior left fielder Kyle Shelton had a big weekend with two hits in all three games at Clemson to raise his average to a career-best .337 with 14 RBI.

• The Tar Heels continued to post strong pitching numbers with a 2.00 earned run average and 52 strikeouts in 45 innings last week. Carolina continues to lead the ACC and is likely to hold to its national ERA lead with a 2.22 mark for the season.

• The UNC bullpen continued its dominance with just three runs allowed in 16 1/3 innings at Clemson for a 1.65 ERA. On the season, the Tar Heel relievers are 9-2 with seven saves - by four individuals - and a 1.61 ERA in 157 innings.

• Sophomore left-hander Rob Catapano picked up a pair of wins in the Clemson series sweep and combined to allow just one run and four hits over 5 1/3 innings against the Tigers. He went 1 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the game two win and followed with four solid innings in Sunday's victory after he relieved starter Matt Harvey in the second inning. Catapano, who struck out five over the weekend, is 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA and a 31-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 appearances.

• Sophomore right-hander Alex White tossed his second straight shutout performance with 5 2/3 shutout innings against Clemson Friday. He held Clemson hitless for 4 2/3 and finished with just one hit allowed on the night, six strikeouts and five walks. White, who has not allowed a run in his last 16 2/3 innings, is 6-2 with a 1.67 ERA and 49 strikeouts in a team-high 43 innings.

• Relievers Brian Moran and Tyler Trice each picked up their first career saves in the Clemson series. Moran, who pitched in all three games against the Tigers, induced a game-ending groundout in game two, while Trice worked out a bases-loaded jam with a pair of strikeouts in the eighth and then set the Tigers down in order in the ninth in the finale. Moran owns a 1.52 ERA and 38 strikeouts to just five walks in 23 2/3 innings, while Trice sports a 0.84 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings.

• UNC got a pair of strong midweek starts from right-handers Patrick Johnson and Mike Facchinei. Both pitchers matched career-high strikeout totals, as Johnson fanned seven over five innings in a tough-luck loss to Elon Tuesday, and Facchinei punched out eight in 6 1/3 scoreless innings against North Carolina A&T Wednesday.

• UNC's all-time leader in base hits, Chad Flack tallied four hits in the Clemson series and now has 297 in his career to rank 18th in ACC history. With three more, he will become just the 18th player in ACC history to reach the 300-hit mark. Flack, who also needs just six at-bats to set a school record, was 3-for-5 with two RBI in Sunday's series finale.