North Carolina Baseball: The Top 10 Moments of the 2011 Season

Coming off a year in which they failed to make the ACC tournament and suffered several key personnel losses, the fans of the University of North Carolina’s baseball team did not have high expectations for the 2011 season.  The players and coaching staff felt otherwise.

The Tar Heels recently capped off a memorable and exciting season that saw them post a 51-16 record and make the College World Series for the fifth time in six seasons. 

What made this trip to Omaha the most improbable was the relative inexperience of this young squad and the lack of premium talent that has recently come through Chapel Hill.

Instead, this group far exceeded expectations, formed a tight bond and overcame significant adversity.  North Carolina’s journey from an unranked team to one that earned a No. 3 national seed and another trip to Omaha was filled with memorable games, plays and story lines. 

With the recent end to the college baseball season, here is a look back at the top 10 moments of the Tar Heels’ 2011 season:

Tar Heels Sweep West Coast Trip, February 18-20

North Carolina began the season unranked in most preseason polls after finishing ninth in the ACC in 2010 and losing in the regionals of the NCAA tournament. 

The Tar Heels lost their best pitcher (Matt Harvey) and best position player (Brian Goodwin) from the year before and expectations for the team were modest.  

Carolina traveled to Southern California to open the season and won four games in a span of three days. 

A day after defeating No. 8 Cal State Fullerton in 11 innings, the Tar Heels scored 11 runs each in victories over Missouri and USC. 

Sweeping all four games 2,500 miles from home gave the young Heels a positive start to the season and built a feeling of confidence that served them the rest of the year.

Carolina Rallies for a Dramatic Win over Duke, March 27

On the day the North Carolina basketball team’s season ended in the Elite Eight versus Kentucky, the Diamond Heels completed a sweep over Duke. 

More noteworthy than the outcome of the game was the manner in which the Tar Heels won and the player that led them to victory. 

In a back-and-forth game, Duke scored a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning to extend their lead to 6-3. 

Freshman third baseman Colin Moran tied the game for North Carolina with a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.  Michael Morin pitched two scoreless innings for the Tar Heels and Jacob Stallings delivered a RBI single in the 11th as the Heels completed the sweep of their nearby rivals.

For Moran, it was a breakout moment during a season in which he went on to win ACC Freshman of the Year honors while hitting nine home runs and leading the conference with 71 RBI.

North Carolina Sweeps Clemson, April 1-3

Through the end of March, the Tar Heels had rolled through their non-conference opponents and ACC teams projected for the bottom of the league standings. 

They had played only one game against a ranked opponent prior to No. 17 Clemson’s visit to Chapel Hill.  The series with the Tigers would give North Carolina an idea of how they would stack up against top conference opponents.

The Heels cruised to a 13-3 win in the opener and snapped a tie with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning the next day. 

One week after delivering a game-tying home run in the ninth inning against Duke, freshman Colin Moran again provided the clutch hit with a game-winning RBI single with two outs in the ninth against Clemson. Carolina allowed first-inning runs in each game of the series before rallying for their three victories.

The sweep lifted North Carolina to a 26-4 record and 10-2 mark in the ACC.  Although the series dropped Clemson’s conference record to 4-8 at the time, the Tigers won 13 of their next 18 conference games to eventually earn a regional seed.

Tar Heels Break Through in Tallahassee, April 8-10

In their toughest road test to date, North Carolina took two of three games at No.9 Florida State to record their first series win at Tallahassee since 1995.  The Tar Heels rebounded from a tough opening night loss to win the final two games of the weekend.  

The series marked a personal redemption for new Carolina closer Michael Morin.  The former starter suffered the loss on Friday night, allowing three runs in the eighth inning.  Morin recorded his first save of the season the next night and stifled a Seminoles comeback attempt in the finale by pitching three scoreless innings to earn the save in a 7-6 victory.  

After starter Chris Munnelly was unable to record an out in the Sunday matchup, Greg Holt entered in the first inning and picked up the win with 4.2 innings of relief.  The Tar Heels scored all seven of their runs in the third inning and held off a midgame rally by Florida State before Morin shut the door by retiring nine of the 11 batters he faced.

Kent Emanuel Takes Control, April 24

The Tar Heels faced their first stretch of adversity during the season, dropping five straight conference games.  They were swept by rival NC State, April 15-17, and lost both games of a doubleheader to Miami the following weekend on April 23.  Carolina had fallen from atop the ACC Coastal standings and favorable postseason seedings were in doubt with a challenging closing schedule ahead.

The Heels turned to freshman Kent Emanuel to halt the slide and prevent a second straight series sweep.  North Carolina staked the lefty with an early lead by scoring five runs in the first two innings.  Emanuel never allowed Miami to get back into the game as he cruised to a complete-game victory, allowing just one run. 

The complete game saved a taxed bullpen which allowed nine earned runs in 10.2 innings the day before.  More importantly, Emanuel’s performance helped right the Tar Heels ship heading into the final month of the regular season.

Tar Heels Rally for an Important Road Victory at East Carolina, April 27

Still feeling the effects of a stretch in which they lost five of seven games, the Tar Heels traveled to Greenville to face in-state rival East Carolina.  The Pirates were looking to avenge a sloppy loss in Chapel Hill two weeks earlier in which they committed five errors.  ECU also had a boisterous crowd of 4,470 on their side in this matchup at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

North Carolina fell behind early as the Pirates scored three runs in the third inning.  The Heels tied the game the next inning but fell behind in the sixth inning as their second error of the game led to their fourth unearned run allowed that night. 

Carolina entered the ninth inning trailing by one run before singles by freshman Matt Roberts and Parks Jordan helped load the bases with no outs and the heart of the order coming to the plate.  Levi Michael and Colin Moran both popped out and UNC was down to their last out.  Jesse Wierzbicki delivered a two-run single to put the Heels ahead and Michael Morin pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the win.

Combined with the victory over Miami three days earlier, the dramatic win over a solid opponent in the hostile atmosphere in Greenville gave the Tar Heels a much needed boost of confidence headed into a break for finals.

North Carolina Sweeps No. 1 Virginia, May 19-21

The Tar Heels hosted top-ranked Virginia in the final series of the regular season.  While the Cavaliers had the top seed in the ACC tournament secured, Carolina needed an impressive showing to lock up a regional seed and possibly secure a national seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

The Tar Heels swept Virginia, holding the Cavs to a total of three runs in the series.  Senior Patrick Johnson was dominant in the opener, pitching a four-hit shutout and striking out nine batters.   The next night, Kent Emanuel and three relievers outdueled Virginia ace Danny Hultzen for a 2-1 victory.  The Heels scored both runs in the bottom of the eighth inning while Michael Morin closed the door in the ninth.  North Carolina finished off the series with a 3-2 win in front of a sellout crowd the next day.

The sweep of the top team in the country made a statement across the nation and gave the Heels tremendous confidence heading into the postseason.  North Carolina would receive a coveted national seed and host regional and super regional play at Boshamer Stadium, where they posted a 29-3 regular season record.

Emotional Tar Heels Romp Through Regionals, June 3-5

North Carolina swept through the opening round of NCAA play, outscoring their opponents 27-3 in three games.  Kent Emanuel took the hill in the opener against Maine and earned the win with eight shutout innings.  The Heels scored all four of their runs in the first inning.

Not to be outdone, Patrick Johnson also tossed eight scoreless innings the next game against James Madison, striking out 11 batters.  The Tar Heels erupted for seven runs in the seventh inning and coasted to a 14-0 win.  Carolina clinched the regional victory on June 5 with a 9-3 win over JMU as six relievers combined for 4.1 scoreless innings.

The Diamond Heels played with a heavy heart that weekend as head coach Mike Fox missed the series due to the death of his mother.  In the final game of the series, the team wore pink socks to pay tribute to Barbara Fox.  Associate Head Coach Scott Forbes led the Tar Heels in Fox’s absence.  Just days later, tragedy struck the team again as Forbes’ father-in-law, Earl Passwaters, died of a sudden heart attack.

North Carolina Advances to 5th College World Series in 6 Years, June 10-11

The Tar Heels hosted super regional action against No. 20 Stanford, the winner of the Cal State Fullerton Regional. 

Carolina took an early lead in the opener with an unearned run in the second inning and held a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.  Unable to move a runner over with a sacrifice bunt, Seth Baldwin hit a booming opposite field home run to put the Heels up 3-0. 

After the Cardinal narrowed the lead with two runs in the top of the eighth inning, the Tar Heels answered with two of their own in the bottom of the frame.  Patrick Johnson was masterful once again, extending his scoreless inning streak to 30.2 innings before a run charged to him scored after he left the game.

The next day, North Carolina defeated Stanford 7-5 to earn their fifth trip to Omaha in the last six years.  Kent Emanuel earned the win by allowing just one run in 6.0 innings while the Heels supplied most of their offense with a pair of three-run innings.  The two teams endured a three-hour-and-32-minute rain delay before Michael Morin retired the side in the ninth inning, leading to a dogpile celebration near the mound.

The Tar Heels extended their winning streak to 16 straight postseason games in which they hosted.  They finished the season with a 34-3 record at Boshamer Stadium.

Kent Emanuel Shuts Out Texas in the College World Series, June 20

North Carolina lost to Vanderbilt in the opening game of the College World Series and faced Texas in an elimination game for both teams.  Kent Emanuel kept the Tar Heels alive with a dominant four-hit shutout on the biggest stage in college baseball.  The shutout was the first at the CWS since current Carolina assistant coach Robert Woodard in 2006 and the first by a freshman in Omaha since LSU’s Brett Laxton in 1993.

Emanuel kept the Longhorns off balance all game long with an outstanding assortment of off-speed pitches before spotting his fastball at key points.  The freshman also benefited twice when Texas runners were doubled up on the bases on fly ball outs to the outfield.  The second double play erased the only time Texas put a runner in scoring position the entire game. 

Emanuel won all three of his postseason starts, allowing one run in 23.0 innings (0.39 ERA).  North Carolina was eliminated with a loss in their next game against Vanderbilt.  The Tar Heels finished the season with a 51-16 record, tied for the fourth most wins in school history.