Wierzbicki finds place in ACC baseball

North Carolina junior catcher Jesse Wierzbicki has assimilated quickly to ACC baseball since transferring from junior college.

Although the No. 17 Tar Heels dropped two out of three to No. 4 Florida State, Wierzbicki tallied four hits and five RBIs over the weekend for the Tar Heels while delivering steady play behind the plate for the larger portion of the three-game series.

A transfer from Tennessee’s Walters State Community College, Wierzbicki smacked 12 home runs last year and hit .433 during his freshman campaign two seasons ago.

“Competition is pretty much altogether better,” Wierzbicki said. “During junior college, you face teams during the week and you’d just kill them. You’d get to the weekend and it’d be a fight, but here, every game’s a battle. You’re not ever gonna go out there and get an easy win.”

In Friday’s game against Florida State, Wierzbicki had two runners in scoring position and one out in the first when he put UNC on the board early.

He squared to bunt when starting pitcher Sean Gilmartin began his rotation, drawing in the infield. Wierzbicki delivered a knock to shallow left field that scored Tommy Coyle and Levi Michael and gave UNC a 2-0 advantage.

“Coach gave me the bunt sign at first, and I took the first one, and the next one I punched it through,” Wierzbicki said.

Jacob Stallings assumed catching duties in Saturday’s 10-4 UNC victory, but Wierzbicki took over the designated hitter spot where he went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, a walk and two runs scored.

After a big seventh inning where Wierzbicki drove in two of the Tar Heels’ four runs in the inning, Fox replaced Stallings with Wierzbicki behind the plate.

He cooled off on Sunday, though, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored.

“I’m just trying to take it day by day,” Wierzbicki said. “They gave me good pitches to hit, and sometimes the ball finds the gap. Sometimes they don’t. I thought I swung the bat well today, but I didn’t get any hits to show for it. Sometimes it goes your way, other times it doesn’t. You just gotta live with it.”

Wierzbicki is tied for tops on the Tar Heels with three home runs and has 23 RBIs, which is good for second-best on the team after Dillon Hazlett overtook him on Sunday with his three RBIs. He’s also one of six regular Tar Heel starters batting above .300 with a .333 average.

More impressive than his power numbers is his triple total. The junior has legged out two triples in 20 games this season. He has the second most triples on the team as a catcher, a position notorious for its players lumbering around the bases rather than running.

“Jesse comes to play,” UNC coach Mike Fox said. “He really wanted to play in the ACC. I think he was excited at Duke, and he was really excited today. I like to see that; I like giving those kids a chance.”



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.