USC Baseball travels to North Carolina
With the sour taste of defeat still in its mouth, the USC baseball team travels to Chapel Hill on Friday to take on USA Today sixth-ranked North Carolina. The three-game series will be a good opportunity to assess the team’s ability to bounce back after a loss and challenge a high-ranked team on the road.
The notably hyped Tar Heels hope to continue their five-game winning streak behind the arms of ace pitcher Kent Emanuel and impressive relief pitcher R.C. Orlan. In his sophomore year, Emanuel is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA. Revealing endurance and consistency, he threw for six scoreless innings in his most recent win over Wright State. All nine innings Orland has pitched have been shut outs, and he has 10 strikeouts on the year, proving his ability as a solid closer.
The 6-1 Tar Heels enter this weekend’s series against the Trojans with a .341 batting average. In their wins against Xavier, Wright State, and St. Johns, the Heels have outscored opponents 72-29. In Tuesday’s game against St. Johns, every Carolina starter reached base in some form, amounting to 10 walks and 13 hits. Sophomore Colin Moran, the 2011 Baseball America Freshman of the Year, is averaging .455 with 33 at-bats and 12 RBIs in his first seven games. Junior Cody Stubbs, who clinched Tuesday’s game for the Heels with a three-run double, is averaging .444 with 27 appearances at the plate.
UNC head coach Mike Fox commented before the start of this 2012 season on the importance and strength of his team defense.
“We expect to be a good defensive team, we’re going to have to be to reach our goals,” said Fox.
The early media excitement surrounding the Tar Heels comes after the 2011 squad tied for fifth at the College World Series and finished with the USA Today ranking of fifth nationally. USC received some early media love, scoring a spot in the Top-25 early this week at No. 23.
Before the 7-2 loss to Pepperdine, the Trojans were averaging more than eight runs a game and batting .332. The seven-game winning streak to begin the season was USC’s best start since 1988 when the team started 15-0. The loss demonstrated weaknesses at the plate, as 11 players were stranded on base, and major scoring chances slipped away. In order to compete this weekend, the Trojans need to regain their confidence at the plate early and find a way to slow down Carolina’s best bats.
The two-run total in the loss to the Waves was surprising for the Trojans, who had scored 58 in their first seven games. The offense has demonstrated moments of brilliance over the past couple weeks, such as Alex Sherrod's grand slam in the final game against Akron and senior Brandon Garcia's back-to-back homers against Jacksonville. Garcia is batting .429 this year with a .583 on base percentage. Senior Matt Foat and freshman Garrett Stubbs are leading the team, batting .438. These solid hitting percentages are great, but SC needs runs and not hits to outlast the Heels.
Unfortunately, USC’s 2012 schedule is ranked as the second toughest in the nation. Of the 25 teams in the preseason rankings, USC must face seven of them on its journey to Omaha. No.1 Stanford looms in the future, but first the Trojans must survive matches with North Carolina, No.15 Cal State Fullerton, and cross-town rival UCLA.
The series kicks off Friday at noon and continues on Saturday at 11 a.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. All games are available to watch on ESPN3 and will also feature the live GameTracker application available on usctrojans.com.
