Tar Heels Make Statement in Series Win Over East Carolina
UNC appears on verge of cracking national polls after taking 2 of 3 games
As he strutted around the pitcher’s mound Saturday, the Boshamer Stadium crowd roaring as loud as it has in quite some time, Caden O’Brien’s face said it all.
Four weeks earlier, when speaking to reporters as part of North Carolina’s virtual media day, the fifth-year lefty – one of only three players left from the 2018 College World Series team – talked about how what set that team apart was the chip-on-the-shoulder mentality that it played with. A 7-7 start contributed to that. But if the 2022 Tar Heels could adopt that same approach from the beginning, he said, then “that will help us a lot.”
Unranked and unmentioned in every NCAA Tournament projection this preseason, it didn’t take much for UNC to feel as if it had something to prove. That was evident in its first four games, as it outscored Seton Hall and Elon 45-7. Questions, however, still persisted about the Tar Heels and how they might stack up against stiffer competition.
This weekend’s three-game series against No. 25 East Carolina – a consensus top-15 preseason team – offered UNC the chance to answer those. And after striking out the side to earn his second save in as many days and secure the series win, O’Brien stared intently at his teammates while they swarmed him, as if to say, “That should show them.”
Another member of the 2018 team, Angel Zarate also spoke in the preseason about that squad’s desire to prove its doubters wrong. After Saturday’s 2-0 win, he said he’s noticed a similar mindset with this year’s team in the early going.
“It definitely helps a lot that we got guys who once they step out on the field, you have to think we’re the best guys out there,” said the fifth-year outfielder, whose two-run, two-out double in the fifth inning Saturday was the difference. “That takes us a long way. If everybody has that mentality, that confidence, everything else doesn’t matter.”
After Friday’s 7-4 win, head coach Scott Forbes noted how excited his team was to face ECU (2-5) from the moment the season started. The Tar Heels (6-1) successfully channeled that energy into two victories that should help them break into the national polls. But with the Pirates’ backs against the wall Sunday in Greenville, UNC didn’t match their intensity in a 5-0 loss that included two wild pitches, three errors and six free passes (four walks and two hit-by-pitches).
That will likely serve as an important lesson for the Tar Heels moving forward. But even then, Forbes said he’s encouraged by what he saw from his team this weekend.
“I do think we can play with anybody in the country,” he said. “We’ve got to play defense. Everybody does because it’s a fine line. But I thought the whole series was well pitched for the most part. I thought every pitcher out there had an idea of what they were doing, and it was not easy to score runs. I thought you had to earn them. That’s the mark of two potentially good teams because you have to win with those guys on the mound.”
Carlson captivates
As impressive as he was against Seton Hall on Feb. 19 in his first appearance since undergoing an internal bracing procedure on his right elbow last May, Max Carlson was even better Saturday, holding ECU scoreless on four hits over 5 2/3 innings. The righty struck out five and walked just one while throwing 81 pitches, 50 for strikes.
Carlson was sharp from the start, tossing 10 pitches in a 1-2-3 first inning. Over his first three frames, he allowed just two baserunners on a pair of defensive miscues, while also throwing first-pitch strikes to 8 of 11 batters he faced – one of his first-pitch balls came on a pitchout.
The Pirates eventually put some pressure on him in the fourth, but thanks to a caught stealing by Tomas Frick and a great throw by Zarate to nab Cam Clonch as he tried to stretch a two-out single into a double, Carlson escaped the jam unscathed. He turned in 1 2/3 more innings from there, mostly relying on his 90-92 mph fastball.
“He has induced vertical break, it’s a fastball that plays,” Forbes said. “And it stays where it comes out of his hand, for the most part, and he gets a ton of swings and misses. We talked about that (Friday) as a staff, how the whole preseason he had the most swings and misses of any pitcher on our staff, and we still don’t feel like his off-speed is quite where it was before the injury, especially his breaking stuff. But he’s got fastball command, he’s got the good changeup, so I think that even helps his fastball even more because because you know he’s got that really good changeup in his back pocket.”
Despite having a start under his belt, Carlson said he still felt some nerves Saturday, adding that “it’s gonna take a few weeks to feel comfortable out there again” coming off surgery. But he feels like he’s making progress.
“Things are developing, playing catch with all my pitches every day, I’m sure most pitchers do that,” Carlson said. “Coach (Bryant) Gaines and I are working every single week. Most of it’s mechanics-wise that we’re working on, and the stuff is going to come with it.”
Carlson wasn’t the only UNC pitcher who logged a great start, as Brandon Schaeffer allowed one run on four hits over five innings Friday. The lefty struck out five and walked just one while throwing 81 pitches, 56 for strikes.
Rising to the occasion
No two Tar Heel pitchers improved more this offseason than Kyle Mott and Davis Palermo, who, after combining to give up 19 runs in as many innings last season, transformed themselves into high-leverage options. The ECU series marked their biggest opportunity yet to prove themselves in high-pressure situations, and they stepped up to the moment.
With UNC leading 5-2 Friday, Mott came in with one out and a runner on first in the top of the seventh. The first batter he faced reached on a grounder to short, but the righty notched back-to-back strikeouts to thwart the scoring chance. After the Tar Heels tacked on two insurance runs in the ensuing frame, he struck out two more batters in a scoreless eighth before giving up a homer to lead off the ninth.
On Sunday, UNC again turned to Mott, this time with no outs and a runner on second in bottom of the fourth. Coming in with a 2-0 count to Jacob Jenkins-Cowart, he induced a fly out, then recorded a strikeout. Mott couldn’t get out of the inning unscathed, as Zarate took a sharp angle on a hard-hit ball to right field that fell for an RBI double, but he struck out Zach Agnos to limit the damage.
“He spent a lot of time, especially over Christmas break, working, just getting stronger,” Forbes said. “And then him and Coach Gaines really worked on his arm slot, getting it right back to – he’s a real athletic kid who played some shortstop when he was younger. So just feeling that when you’re taking that ground ball at shortstop, and all of a sudden we saw his velocity come right back and he’s starting to get his confidence back.”
Palermo’s opportunity came on Saturday, with one out and a runner on first in the top of the seventh. With the Tar Heels clinging to their 2-0 lead, the righty retired all five batters he faced in 1 2/3 innings, flashing a fastball that sat 92-94.
“We haven’t really had Davis in a high-pressure situation,” Forbes said. “He showed in the preseason that he can do it in the preseason, but that’s different than the season. So that was great to see. … He’s really improved in every area. Coach Gaines has done a phenomenal job with all of our guys, but in particular, with Davis since last year, just helping him understand the confidence side.”
O’Brien slams the door
In Gage Gillian, Mott, O’Brien, Palermo and Shawn Rapp, UNC has five relievers who are capable of getting the final outs of any game. But on Friday and Saturday, Forbes turned to O’Brien, who struck out all four batters he faced to pick up the sixth and seventh saves of his career.
“If you look at Caden’s career, he’s a hard guy to square up,” the head coach said. “Usually, if he gets in trouble, it’s a walk here or there. He’s very deceptive, and he’s got good stuff. He’s got a swing-and-miss pitch – really, he has two with his fastball and his changeup. … But when Caden is in those situations like the ACC Tournament last year – I think it was Jonny Butler up when he came in with the bases loaded (and recorded a five-out save against N.C. State) – there’s just something about him that I feel good about.”
Forbes isn’t alone in that regard.
“I’ll tell you, that guy’s something else,” Carlson said. “He gets me fired up just looking at him. But it’s huge, he’s a mentor, especially to me last year, and I know he’s a mentor to a lot of young guys on the team. He’s a huge leader. And he gets the job done every single time. So every time he goes out there, I’m sure everyone in the dugout is ready and they’re like, ‘Let’s go.’”
Osuna adjusting
After Alberto Osuna registered four hits – all singles – in his first 14 at-bats as a Tar Heel, Forbes said Walter State coach David Shelton texted him Thursday to jokingly tell the slugger – who belted 25 homers with the Senators last season – that he didn’t realize he was a singles hitter now.
Osuna wasted little time shedding that label Friday, launching a 2-2 slider over the left-field wall to lead off the bottom of the second. The homer left his bat at 103 mph and went an estimated 405 feet, per UNC’s analytics team. With the bases loaded an inning later, the designated hitter just missed another home run, flying out to deep center. The sacrifice fly, however, gave him a season-high two RBIs.
Osuna ultimately went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts and a hit-by-pitch the rest of the weekend, and is now hitting .238/.320/.381 with 11 strikeouts in 25 plate appearances this year. That he isn’t immediately posting the video game-like numbers that he put up en route to being named the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Player of the Year shouldn’t be surprising, nor should it have been expected. But he’s seeing the ball well, Forbes said, and he’s working diligently to refine his approach.
“I feel like in junior college, you can kind of get away with swinging at a bit more balls because they make a few more mistakes,” Osuna said. “But it’s higher velocity, less mistakes (at this level). So, it’s really zoning in on what pitch you want to hit and taking advantage of it. I think that’s probably the biggest learning curve. …
“I think (Shaddon Peavyhouse) was the first person who told me that I’m going to have to have an approach. I’ve always been a free-swinger. Coach (Jesse) Wierzbicki, he’s helped me out with that. We’ve worked on it, and I feel like it just keeps on getting better and better. It’s still not where it’s supposed to be, but it’s getting there.”
Defensive issues
The Tar Heels made a few key defensive plays in the series – none more notable than Zarate’s in the fourth inning Saturday, when he fielded a line drive off the right-field wall and threw a dart to second for the final out. But their defense struggled overall, making seven errors and a few lapses that didn't show up in the box score.
Two of the team’s errors came in the ninth inning Friday, when Frick dropped a pop up in foul territory and Danny Serretti made an errant throw to first that allowed a run to score. That proved to be the first of two multi-error innings for UNC, as Serretti and Colby Wilkerson each mishandled a groundball in the second inning Sunday, enabling ECU to score the game’s first run.
That Serretti and Wilkerson found themselves at the heart of the Tar Heels’ defensive troubles was perhaps the most surprising part. Serretti – who made just six errors on 196 chances last season – committed three this weekend. Wilkerson – who started at second base Sunday after Patrick Alvarez didn’t make a few plays Friday and Saturday – finished with two errors Sunday. He made two on 62 chances last season.
What’s next?
For the first time in two years, UNC will play back-to-back midweek games, as the Tar Heels will host Longwood at 4 p.m. Tuesday and Winthrop at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Picked to finish last in the league in the Big South preseason coaches poll, Longwood (3-5) dropped all three games over the weekend to Elon – which UNC beat 5-1 last Tuesday. Winthrop (2-5) – which was picked to finish sixth in the Big South preseason coaches poll – was swept by Liberty this weekend.