Miller "floats" past Stags in UNC baseball series sweep

Brian Miller needed to get on base.

With the No. 11 North Carolina baseball team down one run in the bottom of the ninth inning of its 4-3 win over Fairfield on Friday, UNC turned to the sophomore first baseman to make something happen.

And he delivered.

For his first hit of the game, Miller whacked the ball deep into center field. While the ball bounced off the wall just shy of a home run, he bolted for third.

“Not too many guys that can hit the ball off the wall right there that hard and get a triple out of it ...” Coach Mike Fox said. “That was the biggest play, best play of the game, for sure.”

Junior outfielder Adam Pate batted next, sending a grounder to third base. Miller waited for the Fairfield third baseman to fire the ball to first, then he made a break for home.

“I think he just did it; he just went on his own,” Fox said. “I don’t think Coach Jackson told him to go — just great instincts on his part.”

The Stags’ first baseman saw Miller sprinting and flung the ball home after getting Pate out.

But he was too late.

Miller slid into home before the catcher could tag him out, tying the game at three runs. North Carolina went on to score in the 13th inning to topple the Stags.

But Miller wasn’t done there.

On Saturday, he used his speed to pick up one of his five runs of the weekend. In his second trip to the plate, Miller darted to first base on a bunt single, then swiped second and third in the next at-bat.

When Pate sprinted to steal second a short time later, Miller used the window to steal home, giving the Tar Heels a 4-0 lead over Fairfield in the second inning.

Despite the impressive nature of his three consecutive stolen bases, Miller offered little in response.

“That was fun.”

But it wasn’t new.

Miller remembers stealing three bases in one inning in high school during his junior or senior year.

“Brian Miller’s kind of been our catalyst and kind of getting us going ...” Fox said of his leadoff hitter. “It’s like a lot of other things in sports — it’s a little contagious.”

Miller set the tone for the rest of the weekend as his team ultimately swept the series. He went 6-for-7 in the final two games of the series — 10-2 and 11-0 UNC victories — as his team tallied 30 hits.

“He’s awesome,” said first-year Brandon Riley. “He can do it all. He can put a gap to the wall, he can bunt for a hit, he stole three bases in one inning ... He’s got all the tools.”

Fox cited Miller’s speed as the key to his big plays.

“Brian Miller is a really, really good player ...” Fox said. “He has a chance to be pretty special because he can hit a fastball, for one — a good fastball. You can’t throw one by him. And he absolutely floats when he runs ...

“I’m going to have fun watching him play for the next two years.”

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