May 30, 2005

By Adam Lucas

Coaches never get the luxury of looking ahead in NCAA Tournament situations. Which is why, as Carolina head baseball coach Mike Fox met the media on Monday afternoon, he was taken aback by one particular question.

"Coach, how will the return home to Gainesville impact Andrew?"

The "Andrew" in question was Tar Heel lefthander Andrew Miller, a second-team All-ACC selection who happens to hail from Gainesville, where the Heels will open play on Friday in a regional that includes Notre Dame (UNC's game one opponent), Florida, and Stetson.

In the days to come, Fox will be asked that question frequently, and he probably will develop an insightful response. On Monday, however, he hadn't given it much thought. Or any thought, actually.

"I just now thought about it," he said. "Now that you mention it, that might factor into what we do (with the pitching rotation)."

Prior to that moment, Fox had been concerned primarily with flight schedules, bus arrangements, and hotel accommodations. It will be Carolina's third trip to northern Florida in the past four weekends, and the last two haven't gone pleasantly--Florida State swept the Heels in Tallahassee, but after a good weekend at home against Georgia Tech went two-and-out in the ACC Tournament. Beginning with Monday afternoon's workout at Boshamer Stadium, the head coach's attention will turn away from logistics and toward baseball.

Near the top of that list is Carolina's perplexing habit of playing one run games. The Heels have played 21 of them this season, including six of their last eight games. Both their defeats at the ACC Tournament were of the one-run variety, including a head-scratching 2-1 loss to Wake Forest on Thursday.

"We usually play the first seven innings as strong as can be," freshman infielder Chad Flack said. "But then in the later innings some guys can get tight. When you have a one run lead or you're fighting to get that one run, it gets a lot harder than if you're up by 8 runs. We've got to go out there and be able to finish it."

Tar Heel pitchers had gone through a rough stretch through the first few weeks of May, but the control problems that had plagued them were largely corrected in Jacksonville. Instead, it was defense (four errors in two postseason games) and hitting (including a troubling 2-for-26 for the 3rd-5th slots in the batting order) that did in the Heels.

Carolina relies on a handful of freshmen--including Flack, shortstop Josh Horton, outfielder Seth Williams, third baseman Reid Fronk, and first baseman Matt Spencer--to play significant innings. It's the rookies' first exposure to postseason play, and they're going onto the home turf of Florida, the seventh national seed. But Fox says nerves shouldn't play a role.

"Anybody that comes out of our league is prepared for the NCAA Tournament because they've been playing against some of the best teams in the country," he said. "They've been in hostile environments. This shouldn't be anything new for them."

Notes: Miller entered the ACC Tournament with a 6.94 ERA in his last five starts but held Wake Forest to just 2 runs over 8 innings. "I made some adjustments," said the Gainesville native, who sounded nonplussed about the prospect of pitching in front of his home school (his final college decision came down to Florida and Carolina). "I altered my mechanics to try and fix a few things. My problem is always control, and other than the two wild pitches my control was better in that game."...Fox said he hadn't yet determined his pitching rotation for the weekend but indicated that Robert Woodard maintained his number-one starter role by turning in a strong outing against Florida State in the ACC Tournament...The Carolina coaching staff began the research process on Notre Dame, Stetson, and Florida almost immediately. Notre Dame's series with St. John's was televised this year, which means the Heels already have tape of the Irish, and Florida's game with Mississippi this weekend in the SEC Tournament was also televised. In baseball, teams within a conference generally help league members with out-of-conference scouting, so potential super-regional opponent Florida State could be of assistance with Florida.

Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.