There was once a time when Stanford was a fixture at the College World Series. They made it to Omaha in five straight seasons from 1990 to 2003 and might as well have booked their hotel before the season even started. You could bet on seeing the Cardinal show up with their old-school pullover uniforms, ready to play for a national title. That was eight years ago, and Stanford has only been back to Omaha once since.
NCAA Baseball Super Regionals 2011: North Carolina Vs. Stanford Preview
In Stanford’s absence, North Carolina became the team you could bet on seeing in Omaha. They made it to four straight College World Series from 2006 to 2009, missing out on making it five straight last year when they fell to Oklahoma in the Regional final.
Now Stanford heads across the country for a Super Regional match-up with No. 3 national seed North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The winner of the three-game series will move onto the College World Series. For the Cardinal it would be a return to the good ol’ days, while the Tar Heels will be returning “home” after a one year hiatus.
Carolina now intends to win the national title for Mike Fox, their head coach, and his late mother, whom passed away last Saturday after a second bout with cancer. Playing without their head coach in the Regionals, the Tar Heels went 3-0, outscoring their opponents 27-3 under associate head coach Scott Forbes.
With Colin Moran at the heart of the order, it is no surprise that the Tar Heels have had success. The freshman is hitting .335, with nine homers and 69 RBI. Put him in a lineup with Tommy Coyle, who hit .322 and stole 18 bags and it’s not tough to imagine how they were able to score some runs. Stolen bases are not rare with the Tar Heels either with four buys swiping at last 10 bags.
If the Cardinal are to take down the Tar Heels they will have to play as well as they did a week ago in the Regionals where they went 3-0, including a win over hosts Cal St. Fullerton. The Stanford pitching was phenomenal, but more importantly, their freshmen showed no nerves whatsoever. Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Brian Ragira and fellow top freshman Austin Wilson played well to help the offense through. That is because they opened the season with road series against Texas, Rice and Vanderbilt, all national seed. The Cardinal have been tested, but this is the Super Regionals and the Tar Heels are as good as anyone they have played all year.
Projected Starters
Friday, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN2): Patrick Johnson (12-1, 2.36 ERA) vs. Mark Appel (6-6, 3.02 ERA)- Coming into the season, the Tar Heels were looking for an ace and they have sure found one in the surprising senior Johnson. 113 strikeouts to just 29 walks tells the story of just how good he has been, while Appeal is a truly special talent. Big and strong with a good fastball, he could be a top pick in next year's MLB Draft.
Saturday, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN): Kent Emanuel (7-1, 2.62 ERA) vs. Jordan Pries (6-5, 3.24 ERA)- Emanuel doesn't have eye-popping great stuff, but he spots it well and has shown great poise for a freshman. Pries has had an up and down career, sometimes being a mess, but more recently showing why he's a legitimate ace with three good pitches. Never did he look as good as he did last weekend, shutting down Cal St. Fullerton in the Regionals.
Sunday, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN): Chris Munnelly (6-5, 4.11 ERA) vs. Danny Sandbrink (4-1, 3.39 ERA)- If this one gets to Sunday, UNC could be in trouble because Munnelly is very hittable and he'd be going up against an experienced, solid Sandbink, who started in the College World Series as a freshman.
What To Watch For
It will be vital for the Stanford pitchers to pitch well and go deep into games. If they can get a quality start then turn the ball over to star reliever Chris Reed, they'll be looking good, but they don't have much in the bullpen beyond him. That is why the Tar Heels will have to be patient and make the Stanford starters work hard, then get into the bullpen where they can really do damage.
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