Streaking towards the title

GREENSBORO — Jacob Stallings was in no mood to talk.

But, polite as always, he stood outside the Boshamer Stadium locker room and answered every question following North Carolina’s 8-4 loss to UNC-Greensboro.

The senior catcher talked about the 16 hits UNC pitchers gave up and the offense’s struggle to mount any sort of comeback. He talked about how his team seemed unusually flat — all while trying to restrain the frustration that simmered in his eyes.

That was April 24.

The Tar Heels haven’t lost a game since.

On Tuesday, Stallings was his usual affable self, standing on the field at NewBridge Bank Park. The No. 2 seeded Tar Heels had just finished practice for the 2012 ACC championship.

“Everyone’s excited,” Stallings said. “We feel like we’re playing good baseball … We’re ready to play, and we’re gonna try to come down and win three or four games down here — however many it takes.”

Ranked eighth nationally, the Tar Heels (42-13, 22-8 ACC) are playing their best baseball of the season. And it couldn’t come at a better time.

A team that looked disjointed a month ago now seems poised to make a deep run in the postseason.

But what changed?

“I think Colin (Moran) coming back, aside from the obvious offensive things he brings, it just brought solidity,” Stallings said.

“And … we’ve been playing much better defense lately. So, I’d say those two things.”

Moran was the team’s leading hitter and defensive anchor at third base when he broke his hand March 24. And his return on May 2 was the first piece of the puzzle.

The rest then fell into place.

After the loss to UNC-G, head coach Mike Fox shifted Tommy Coyle from shortstop — where he committed 19 errors — to second base and replaced him with freshman Michael Russell.

Moran was back at third base one game later, and the Tar Heels haven’t yet lost with that alignment.

“It’s made the biggest difference in how we’ve played because Michael’s played surprisingly well there,” Fox said.

“I think he’s gotten better and more confident. And our team’s playing with more confidence because of it.”

Defense is essential for a team that relies heavily on its pitching staff. UNC is third in the nation and first in the ACC with a 2.61 team ERA. But pitching too has been a work in progress.

“We saw in the fall that we had a lot of really good arms, and I think it’s taken some guys a little bit to find their roles to settle in,” said pitcher Shane Taylor, who started Wednesday night.

Regardless of who takes the mound, that pitcher will be supported by a far more cohesive unit than the one that lost to UNC-G one month ago.

“The coaches got on us a little bit after that game, and I think everyone responded really well,” Stallings said. “I think just getting Colin back, that kind of re-energized us a little a bit.

“And everybody was playing in the same spot everyday, so we knew what we had to do.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.