Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 26, 1992, edition 1 / Page 18
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Spring Sports '92The Daily Tar HeelWednesday,February 26, 1 9921 1 Baseball from page 10 senior, Richardson saw limited action last season, hitting .333 with six stolen bases in seven attempts. Shortstop Keith Grunewald: As a freshman last year, Grunewald started 57 of UNC's 59 games, hitting .254. Third Base Chris Cox: A junior. Cox hit .237 last year, led the team with 12 home runs and knocked in 43 runs. Left Field Chad Holbrook: Also a junior, Holbrook hit .322 last year with a team-leading 23 stolen bases. Roberts said starters in center and right field had not yet surfaced. UNC's remaining outfielders are freshmen David Boone, Doug Merritt and David Young, junior Scott Chandler and se nior Scott Hughes. Sophomore Matt Shuey, a .232 hitter last year, will see time at designated hitter and at first base. Freshman Manny DaSilva will be the Tar Heels' utilityman extraordinaire, picking up where Brad Woodall left off. Woodall, now pitching in the Atlanta Braves' minor-league system, split time between the pitching, outfield and first base positions at UNC from 1988-91. Other backups for UNC are catchers Geoff Lewis and Davis Whitfield, catcherfirst baseman Crandel Coltrane, first baseman Dante McDowell, second baseman Hector Ferrer and third baseman Bo Durkac. Men's Track "We're very pleased with our depth in our position situations," Roberts said. "Our catching depth, and all the way around the infield and the outfield, is the best it's been in several years." On Roberts' desk in Boshamer Sta dium, a glass desk ornament sits with the following quote inscribed on it: "It's amazing what people can accomplish if they have no concern about who re ceives the credit." It captures the essence of team sports: chemistry. The "experts" have been stunned countless times by teams that were not supposed to win, yet did so by meshing talents and desires. Roberts knows. "I think the Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves were just another great example that there's no coach, there's no sports writer, there's no administra tor, there's no fan that can predict what a baseball team will do," he said. This season, chemistry will go a long way in determining just how far the UNC baseball team goes in '92. And that chemistry is looking good to UNC's skipper. "I think our players' chemistry is as good as it's been in a long time," Rob erts said. Roberts has tried to strengthen his teams' bonds by never naming cap tains. "We feel there are ways that fresh men can lead just as well as seniors." This year, Roberts and Co. will abide by a slogan: 'Mission Possible.' Cre ated by the team's seniors, it is a re minder of the value of team chemistry. "We can do the things we want to do if we all come together as one and play as one," Cox said. "We need to play together. Last year, we kind of got off that. "This year, it's a better chemistry. People are enjoying playing. It's a lot closer." The new slogan has become a favor ite of Roberts'. "Coach is really high on it, and he's got it on the scoreboard and in the dug out," Cox said. It is ironic that 'Mission Possible' flashes on Boshamer's scoreboard. For the $95,000 scoreboard, installed in 1989, is just one of the additions Rob erts has added to the stadium in recent years, despite the budget crunch. Last season, the team's locker room was renovated. This year, Roberts and Co. have added new lighting and prepare yourselves, Ehringhaus and Avery residents an organ. "Our goal is every year to try to upgrade Boshamer in some way," Rob erts said. "Boshamer is a beautiful sta dium, and we're very blessed with it." Behind Roberts' desk, a layout of Boshamer is tacked to the wall. The model is not the same Boshamer that the coach sits in. Rather, it is an improved stadium, one with individual seats. Roberts said that depending on fi nances, he would like to add individual seating within the next few years. But finances are not easy to come by these days, particularly for non-revenue sports. Budget cuts have affected nearly every facet of the baseball program. Perhaps the most pivotal budget cut concerns scholarships. New NCAA rules will force all baseball teams to decrease their number of scholarships by 10 percent in the fall of 1993. UNC will drop from 13 baseball scholarships to 1 t.7,tobedistributed among players. One way Roberts has begun to cope with this is by recruiting multi-position players like Leshnock and DaSilva. "This is going to be a new pattern in college baseball," Roberts said. "With the cost of schools going up and the NCAA taking money away, we've got to find a lot more people that can do two things pitch and play at this level." Another way Roberts has coped with slimmer budgets has been by recruiting more players from within North Caro lina, a reverse of past UNC patterns. Of this year's 13 freshmen, nine are from in-state. Of the nine high school seniors signed by UNC in the fall, six were from in-state. Roberts' attempts to get the most from the money available has not gone unnoticed. "He's done a lot with the budget that we have," Cox said. "He's making the program a lot better." As the baseball season begins, Mike Roberts is ready. Despite the grueling schedule of some 57-plus games, this is when the real fun begins. "My work schedule is fall practice and preseason practice," Roberts said. "When the season starts, it's much more of a fun schedule for everybody in volved. It's a rigorous schedule, but it's a fun schedule. "College baseball is a lot of fun." Especially when you're winning. leaders on the team that it is difficult to go astray from our goal to win the ACCs. That's an advantage we have over other teams." Williams, whose best events are the 3,000 and the 5,000, may participate in an event he has never competed in at UNC the steeplechase. "Andre has never run the steeple be fore, but he is such a good distance runner and he has got a blend of speed, strength and agility that will make him a good Steepler," Craddock said. The Tar Heels have ACC champion level talent in the decathlon, as three veteran athletes return. Senior Dennis McGorty, who won the event in his freshman and sophomore years, leads the Tar Heels' charge. Junior Paul Foxson placed third in the event last year, winning the high jump and the 1,500 in the competition. Junior Tom Schmitt placed fifth in last year's ACCs. UNC will also count on some new faces. Junior Jerod Neas, an All-ACC cross country performer in the fall, will help out in the distance runs, especially the 5,000. Heading the freshman class are Chad Black (sprints and hurdles), Tony Pough (high jump) and Henry McKoy (sprints and middle distance). "This feels like the strongest team I've been on," Harris said. "Everybody is striving to win. We are finally bring ing in athletes that really care about winning. The talent is there. That is for sure. "If you have the talent and the desire, nothing can stop you." Uijffrersity mifst and (tffoshop I JUL r?y" I 124 E. FRANKLIN ST. 929-1119 Buy 2 Fcollcng Subs & Get FREE EXDim Ml 30.1992 Timberlyne Shopping Center 2:00 bm-930 pm uenvery Hours vary 967-7771 We DELIVER! No Checks Accepted Cteq Campus V jiu.w .minimum 3 MM 133 W. Franklin St. HOURS: M.Sat 10 am-6 pm University Square VISA pfERICAKl gEXPBESS "Your Neighborhood Sporting Goods Store" RUSSELt ATHLETIC a u m.& yr -V Many styles and colors available! Coupon must be presented at the time of purchase. Limit one per customer. 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Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Feb. 26, 1992, edition 1
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