Baseball team's offense explodes in regional win

Before the NCAA tournament Kansas coach Ritch Price saw the scouting report on North Carolina: Throw your best left-handed pitcher at UNC and you'll have a chance to win.

Somewhere along the line someone forgot to give the Tar Heels a copy of that memo.

 And by Sunday evening Kansas was the third team whose left-hander had been chased off the mound by Dustin Ackley Kyle Seager and the rest of the Tar Heels who seem to have found their hitting groove at just the right time.

UNC known for most of the season as a team built around pitching and defense" blew up offensively with 46 hits in three games — and two of those were against the best left-handed pitching Coastal Carolina and Kansas could throw.

""All I ever read about in the scouting reports are if you've got a good left-hander" match them up against North Carolina and you've got a really good chance to win" Price said after his team's loss. But I think you better run a really good left-hander out there — that's my take on it.""

UNC chased Kansas starter Travis Blankenship from the mound after just 2 2/3 innings and never looked back as they advanced to the super regional and downed the Jayhawks" 12-1 in the final game of the regional.

Nobody was more productive than Ackley. The junior went 10-for-14 during the weekend — for an average of .714. Against No. 4 seed Dartmouth in UNC's first game of the regional Ackley broke the UNC career hits record with his 329th hit.

It took him just 200 games. Two games later" he had the career runs record.

""He is the best player in the country"" UNC coach Mike Fox said. He has to be.""

But Ackley's bat wasn't the only one singing for the Tar Heels. Right fielder Garrett Gore launched two home runs in the regional final — his first-ever multi-homer game.

Ryan Graepel moved to the cleanup spot for the first time" and batted a season-best .364 with four runs batted in.

Gore went 6-for-14 (.428) and drove in seven. Seager also brought in seven runs and leadoff hitter Ben Bunting batted .462 for the weekend with three RBIs.

So it was no surprise that Fox said after each game that he thought his team played  some of its best baseball — UNC hasn't looked better all season.

Heck even senior Mike McKee got in on the act hitting a single in his first-ever NCAA tournament at-bat. McKee along with fellow seniors Adam Warren and Gore" have now been through four straight regionals and will now seek another fourth: their fourth straight College World Series appearance.

""I'm just enjoying the ride"" Gore said.  I mean it's been unbelievable. I thank God every day that I was blessed to come to school here.

""This is the reason why I came to school at the University of North Carolina. Not only to get a great education but to try to make it to Omaha and try to play in these big games. I've been fortunate enough to do it and to do it with a special group of guys.""


Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.