June 22, 2007

OMAHA, Neb. - No. 3 national seed and second-ranked North Carolina opens its second consecutive trip to the College World Series Finals against Oregon State Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Winners of a school-record 57 games, the Tar Heels won three consecutive eliminations games, including two against No. 1 Rice, to earn the right to play for the national championship.

LOOKING AHEAD:
• North Carolina and Oregon State are meeting for the second straight season in the CWS Finals. The Beavers hold a 2-1 edge in the all-time series thanks to last year's results.

• This year's finals will mark just the second time that the same two teams have met for the national title in back-to-back-years. USC and Arizona State also met for the title in 1972 and 1973.

• North Carolina will be playing for its first-ever national championship in baseball and the 35th team national title in school history in this weekend's CWS Finals. The Tar Heels have won five titles in men's basketball (1924, 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005), 19 in women's soccer (1981-84, 1986-94, 1996-97, 1999-2000, 2003, 2006), four in field hockey (1985, 1995-97), four in men's lacrosse (1981-82, 1986, 1991) and one in men's soccer (2001) and women's basketball (1994).

• UNC head coach Mike Fox is in search of his second national title. He won the 1989 NCAA Division III national championship at North Carolina Wesleyan. Fox guided the Battling Bishops to eight Division III World Series appearances and has made 10 total World Series trips in 24 years of coaching.

TEAM NOTES:
• After hitting just two home runs over the previous 14 games, UNC homered four times in the first five innings Thursday against Rice. Carolina's last four-homer game came at NC State April 29. The Tar Heels also homered in four consecutive innings for just the second time this season and first since a six-home run game against Davidson March 28.

• After allowing 19 runs over its first two games in Omaha, Carolina's pitching staff has returned to form with just six runs and 16 hits surrendered over the last three games. The Tar Heels own a 2.00 ERA over the last three games.

• The Tar Heels have committed just two errors in the CWS for a .990 fielding percentage. The Tar Heels' .975 fielding percentage would be a school record, surpassing the .970 mark of the 1967 squad.

• North Carolina's 7-4 win over Rice Thursday was its school-record 57th of the season, surpassing the 54 victories of 2006. At 57-14 this year, the Tar Heels have won 111 games over the last two seasons, which is second only to Rice's 113 victories over this stretch.

• The Tar Heels are 4-0 in elimination games this postseason. Carolina posted a 9-4 win over South Carolina June 10 and a 3-1 victory over Louisville Tuesday before defeating Rice twice to reach the CWS Finals.

• UNC is 8-3 in the College World Series in the last two seasons and 10-11 in six all-time appearances.

• Ninth-year head coach Mike Fox is now 29-16 in eight NCAA Tournament appearances. The Tar Heels are 65-48 in 113 all-time postseason games.

PLAYER NOTES:
• Shortstop Josh Horton leads UNC with a .364 average (16-44) and 10 RBI in NCAA play. He is also tops in the CWS with a .389 average (7-18). Horton has moved to sixth on UNC's career hit list with 261.

• First baseman Dustin Ackley, who leads the nation with a UNC-record 116 hits, has homered in back-to-back games for the first time this season. He now has nine home runs and 72 RBI on the season. Ackley has driven in a team-high six runs in Omaha, including four in the last two games.

• Over Carolina's first three games, Freshman All-Americas Dustin Ackley and Tim Fedroff were a combined 4-for-24 with three RBI. In the last two outings, they have gone 7-for-15 with three home runs and seven RBI. Kyle Seager also drove in two runs to give UNC five of its seven RBI from freshmen Thursday versus Rice.

• In addition to Horton, freshmen Kyle Seager (.364) and Tim Fedroff (.316) are the only other Tar Heels batting over .300 in the CWS. Rookies have accounted for 12 of UNC's 24 RBI in Omaha.

• All-America closer Andrew Carignan earned his 18th save of the season Thursday to match UNC's single-season record set by Thad Chrismon in 1993. He also shares the national lead with Luke Prihoda of Sam Houston State. Carignan has five saves in seven career CWS appearances.

• Carignan has allowed just one hit in 6 1/3 innings in Omaha and is holding the opposition to a .048 average. He has lowered his ERA to 1.21, which is the eighth-best single-season total at UNC.

• Junior set-up man Rob Wooten has pitched in all 11 NCAA Tournament games and owns a school-record 46 appearances. He is 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA in 15 1/3 postseason innings. Wooten has tied an NCAA record with five appearances in a single CWS trip.

• All-America Dustin Ackley has enjoyed one of the finest offensive seasons in school history. He has already set the UNC record with 116 hits and also owns top-10 single-season totals in average (.403 - 4th), at-bats (288 - 2nd), runs (69 -10th), total bases (169 - 5th), doubles (20 - 8th) and RBI (71 - 6th).

• Left fielder Reid Fronk scored his 71st run of the year Thursday to move to sixth on the Tar Heels' single-season list. He has scored 140 runs over the last two seasons.