Carlson Cruises, Carries UNC to Dominant ACC Tournament Win Over Clemson
Angel Zarate led another offensive outburst
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As North Carolina made its final push toward the NCAA Tournament a year ago, all Max Carlson could do was watch.
Shut down in early April due to a nagging elbow injury, Carlson — the prize arm of North Carolina’s 2020 recruiting class — entered May under the assumption that he’d require Tommy John surgery. Fortunately for the righty, an MRI revealed just a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament, making him eligible for the less invasive internal bracing procedure that he ultimately underwent. Despite the much shorter recovery time that came with it, though, he couldn’t so much as touch a baseball as the Tar Heels put together a memorable run that ended in the Lubbock Regional.
Fast-forward to Tuesday, and there Carlson was, making his long-awaited postseason debut in UNC’s ACC Tournament opener against Clemson. Given the significance of the moment, the sophomore could’ve shown some nerves, like he did in his first start back from surgery on Feb. 19. But he did anything but.
Instead, Carlson delivered one of his best starts of the season, striking out four over six innings of one-run ball to lead the Tar Heels to a 9-2 victory. The outing marked his second longest of the year. It also came just five days after a tough 84-pitch start against Florida State, which he exited after 4 1/3 innings.
“I thought Carly was the story of the day coming off short rest,” head coach Scott Forbes said. “I was joking with him earlier in the week that since he didn't pitch great against Florida State he would be in great shape, and I thought he looked tremendous.”
Tuesday was far from the first time this season that Carlson showed the sort of stuff that will eventually make him a high-round MLB Draft pick. What was particularly notable, though, was his ability to locate all of his pitches.
Entering Tuesday, Carlson — a self-described “command guy” — had issued three or more walks in seven of his last eight starts, which, in turn, led to him averaging less than four innings. Looking to improve those numbers before going to Charlotte, he said he spent time “working on some things and just cleaning up some stuff” with pitching coach Bryant Gaines. The result: just one walk and a strike percentage of 62.1% (59 of 95 pitches).
Carlson was especially aggressive early in the count, throwing first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 24 batters he faced. He showed no signs of backing down against a Tiger lineup that entered the day averaging 7.7 runs and slashing .284/.388/.486 with 97 homers, nor its best hitter, ACC Player of the Year Max Wagner, who he struck out three times.
“In situations like that, with those kinds of guys who are putting up big numbers like that, you can't be tentative,” Carlson said. “You have to really go at them. I think that helped out with the success tonight.”
Largely because of that proficiency, the Tar Heels came away with their 12th win in their last 14 games. In many ways, the run mirrors that of a year ago. Only this time, Carlson finds himself involved — and he’s not taking that for granted.
“When I went down last year, I had absolutely no thought in my mind that I was going to be even playing baseball this year,” he said. “So, I just take every day to the fullest, go out there and have fun and be grateful that I can even be in this situation.”
Table setter
For the second time in as many games, Angel Zarate set the tone for the Tar Heels on the opposing pitcher’s first pitch, lining Mack Anglin’s 94 mph fastball into the right-field corner for a standup double. He came around to score just two batters later on a single by Danny Serretti, marking the first of five consecutive innings in which UNC scored en route to building an 8-1 lead.
Zarate crossed home plate three more times, and in going 4-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, he became the first Tar Heel to tally four hits and four runs since Michael Busch on May 25, 2019, against Boston College in the ACC Tournament semifinals. The fifth-year outfielder’s performance came one day after he made the All-ACC second team.
“He’s as consistent a kid and player as we’ve had and as good a pure hitter as we've had in a long time,” Forbes said. “He gets hits. He came in as a two-way guy and didn't have much success. He just got in that weight room and kept working and kept working. The thing about Angel is he's always been a good hitter. He’s one of those kids who is always working. He always wants to get better, even if he’s on that long hitting streak, and leads by example. …
“He should get more credit. I think he’s one of the best pure hitters in the ACC. He probably could hit more home runs, but it's more important to him to win, to get on base and set the table.”
Resume check
Just a week ago, every conversation surrounding UNC’s NCAA Tournament resume focused on if the squad would make a regional. But on the heels of their series sweep of Florida State, the Tar Heels started being mentioned as a possible regional host, an idea that gained even more steam after Tuesday’s win.
And for good reason.
UNC entered Wednesday at No. 10 in the RPI and having played the country’s sixth-hardest schedule, according to WarrenNolan.com. The Tar Heels’ 17 Quadrant 1 wins were the second most nationally, trailing No. 1 Tennessee’s 19. They also ranked in the top six nationally in average RPI wins (86) and average RPI losses (36).
Many pundits believe UNC will have to make Sunday’s ACC Tournament title game to secure hosting privileges. But depending on how things shake out in other conference tournaments this week, a win over second-ranked Virginia Tech — the No. 5 team in the RPI — on Friday could be enough.
What’s next?
The Tar Heels will take two days off before facing top-seeded and second-ranked Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. Friday in the final game of pool play. The Hokies (40-11, 19-9 ACC) took two of three games from UNC when they met in Chapel Hill on April 1-3, outscoring the Tar Heels 25-14 and homering nine times. The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the semifinal round on Saturday.