He’s been to Omaha, Neb. Twice. He’s missed out on Omaha, too. He’s been with the North Carolina baseball team for four years — through exhilirating College World Series runs and heartbreakers.
But the Tar Heels have never needed Tom Zengel more than they’ve needed him this year.
UNC (15-12, 5-7 ACC ) is approaching dangerous territory. The Tar Heels have lost six consecutive games — including their first weekend sweep against Duke since 1994 . And in an offense that has sputtered at times like a faulty engine, Zengel has served as one of its few sparkplugs, moving into the middle of the UNC order.
“His bat has really been probably the only consistent bat throughout the year,” said junior shortstop Michael Russell . “And now he’s been in the lineup every day, so he’s really been carrying us offensively. A lot of big hits.”
It hasn’t always been that way. Zengel’s bat has often been overshadowed by the bigger names and prospects around him. Last season, as a junior, Zengel had just 14 at-bats in a lineup that featured four future MLB draft picks .
But this season, in 47 at-bats already, Zengel is hitting .340, slugging .638 with 12 RBIs and is batting consistently in the middle third of UNC’s lineup, while playing primarily as a DH or at first base .
In Saturday’s teeter-totter, 12-inning 9-8 loss to Duke , Zengel gave UNC reason to hope — blasting a solo home run immediately following Russell to give UNC an 8-6 lead in the seventh inning .
On Sunday, Zengel got the Tar Heels on the board first, drilling an RBI double into the right-center field gap. It was the first hit for UNC in the game — and the first against hard-throwing Duke righty Michael Matuella this season .
