Before doubling to center field in Sunday’s NCAA regional championship game against James Madison, North Carolina shortstop Levi Michael went 0-for-11 at the plate during the tournament weekend.
Despite Michael’s recent hitting slump, UNC will look for strong performances from him as it hosts Stanford in a three-game series in this weekend’s NCAA super regional at Boshamer Stadium.
There’s no doubt in assistant coach Scott Jackson’s mind that the Tar Heel slugger will be up to the challenge.
“It’s just baseball,” Jackson said. “You’re going to have your ups and downs, and you’re going to have weekends that are great and you’ll have some weekends that are not so great. But if there’s anybody that’s going to be ready to play this weekend, I’m not worried about Levi.”
Michael, who was selected Monday in the first round of the MLB draft, is second on the team in RBI with 48 so far this season.
The shortstop has also shined defensively during the 2011 campaign. The Tar Heels have the ninth best fielding percentage in the nation.
Spot-on fielding and consistent pitching from UNC led the Tar Heels to a pair of shut-out wins in last weekend’s regional games.
Fortunately for North Carolina, the squad’s defense is peaking at just the right time, senior pitcher Greg Holt said.
“I think the last month we’ve thrown the best I’ve seen in the last four years,” Holt said. “That’s what’s going to carry us all the way to Omaha, is pitching and defense. And over the last month we’ve played exceptionally well in both phases.”
