PAGE 12
SCOREBOARD
DAVID MOSES
YOUR BOY
Overlooked
bullpen key
for UNC
All of the attention on the
North Carolina baseball
team has been focused on
its two sophomore aces, Andrew
Miller and Daniel Bard.
The spotlight doesn’t seem to
bother the pitchers, and perhaps
the focus on the front of the staff
is good for the Tar Heels, as it is
allowing the team’s bullpen to fly
under the radar.
“I guess there is a pressure to
carry the pitching staff,” Bard said.
“But we have a lot of guys behind
us who are very talented. I kind
of thrive off the pressure. I think
I pitch better in situations where
there is something riding on it.”
Bard and Miller, who both
earned All-ACC honors last year
and are on multiple preseason
All-American lists, have done their
part in their first starts, combining
to throw 10 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Tar Heels lost the majority
of their bullpen from last sea
son, as four seniors combined to
throw 154 1/3 innings.
Many considered relief pitch
ing to be the weak spot in the Tar
Heel pitching staff, but after four
games, the ’pen has looked solid.
“(The bullpen) was probably
my biggest concern starting the
year,” said UNC coach Mike Fox.
Mike Danford who sat out
last season with a shoulder injury
has done his best Eric Gagne
impression, using a variety of
pitches and speeds to strike out
six of the nine batters he’s faced
so far in this young season.
“It’s a lot of fun to close,”
Danford said. “Usually you are in
a meaningful role. You are help
ing your team get a win, and it’s
usually pretty exciting there at
the end of the game."
Robert Woodard and Adam
Kalkhof threw a combined 11
scoreless innings this weekend,
and the entire Tar Heel staff hasn’t
allowed an earned run in the four
games played this season.
While this might seem impres
sive, the level of competition cer
tainly has not been so far.
Seton Hall clearly couldn’t
match up with the Tar Heels
in any aspect. Players dropped
fly balls, pitchers consistently
missed the strike zone and they
simply couldn’t hit.
If the Seton Hall coach took a
page from Rick Pitino, he could
say Pirate legends Craig Biggio
and Mo Vaughn are definitely not
walking through that door.
It was a combination of good
pitching and terrible hitting that
kept Seton Hall ineffective this
weekend, and the Tar Heels will
find out more about themselves
when they face a stiffer test in
UNC-Wilmington on Tuesday.
Bridging the gap between the
talented starting rotation and
Danford will probably determine
North Carolina’s fate this year.
Jonathan Hovis worked 2 2/3
scoreless innings over the weekend,
and will see a lot of action for UNC.
“We know what we’re gonna
get out of Jonathan Hovis,” Fox
said. “A lot of strikes and a lot of
ground balls. So far our bullpen
has been very impressive.”
The only senior on the Tar
Heel pitching staff, Bryan
Phillips, also seems likely to fit
into the middle relief picture.
“Bryan Phillips has looked
really good,” Fox said. “He’s a
senior who hasn’t pitched a great
deal but he helps us.”
Two of the biggest hitters on
last year’s team Chris lannetta
and Marshall Hubbard left early
for the major leagues, and it will
be hard for the Tar Heels to find
replacements for their production.
Since the offense took a big hit
with the loss of those two stars,
the pressure remains on the arms
of the Tar Heels.
“Our pitching has been
superb,” Fox said.
It’s going to have to stay that
way for the Tar Heels to live up to
their top 10 ranking.
Contact David Moses
at dmoses@email.unc.edu.
SportsMondav
WOMEN'S SWIMMING Maryland Ist UNC 3rd
UNC SQUEAKS PAST ’PACK
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~ .. _ .. , . _ . DTH/SARA LEWKOWICZ
North Carolina freshman Erlana Larkins (2) shoots over N.C. State guard Tiffany Stansbury (44) in the Tar Heels' 75-72
single-overtime victory in the Smith Center on Sunday. Larkins put up 14 points as UNC completed its sweep of the 'Pack.
Pitchers power
3-game sweep
BY DANIEL MALLOY
SPORTS EDITOR
In the concourse of Boshamer
Stadium, there is a plaque display
ing the North Carolina baseball
team’s statistical leaders.
Under
Earned Run
Average, the
board simply
states: “10 tied
with 0.00.”
After three
victories
against Seton
Hall this week
end, the No. 14
BASEBALL
Seton Hall 2
UNC 5
Setori Hall 0
UNC 5
Seton Hall 0
UNC 17
Tar Heels moved to 4-0, and the
pitching staff still has not allowed
an earned run.
UNC shut out the Pirates (0-
3) in each of the first two games,
which, along with a 5-0 victory
;•
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DTH/ASHLIE WHITE
North Carolina sophomore Daniel Bard fires a pitch during UNC's 17-0 win
Friday against Seton Hall. Bard struck out eight Pirates in just four innings.
www.dthonline.ccm
WOMEN’S TENNIS UNC 4 Notre Dame 3
against Appalachian State on
Wednesday, marked the first time
since 1922 that UNC has posted
three consecutive shutouts.
The 32-inning streak was
snapped in the sloppy sixth inning
of Sunday’s 5-2 victory, in which
UNC surrendered two unearned
runs.
Errors had been a lingering
problem for the Tar Heels in their
easy wins in the first two games
UNC had six for the weekend
—but Craig Corrado’s mistakes
proved costly Sunday.
The shortstop airmailed a
throw to allow Seton Hall’s first
run to get on base. Four batters
later, Corrado botched another
throw on a potential double play
to allow Tim Pahuta to score from
SEE BASEBALL, PAGE 11
Tar Heels extend streak
to 51 in rout of Tigers
BY BRIAN MACPHERSON
SENIOR WRITER
The last time North Carolina took
the court against Clemson, a multi
tude of mistakes and generally sloppy
play allowed the Tigers to stay close
much longer than the visiting Tar
Heels otherwise would have liked.
On Saturday at the Smith Center,
Clemson’s glimmer of hope lasted
about 90 seconds.
Led by strong
defense early and
balanced scoring
throughout, the No.
4 Tar Heels cruised
MEN'S
BASKETBALL
Clemson 56
UNC 88
to an easy 88-56 victory their 51st
consecutive home triumph against
Clemson.
“We didn’t want them to stick
around and think that they could
play with us,” said UNC forward David
Noel. “No slight to them, but we want
ed to go out and jump on them, hit
them and just keep hitting them.”
Jawad Williams led all scorers
with 17 points, but three other Tar
Heels also scored in double figures
Marvin Williams (14), Sean May
(12) and Raymond Felton (11).
“We moved the ball really well and
got out and ran,” Marvin Williams said.
“Jawad, Sean and I really ran a lot better
today, and our teammates found us.”
After Tiger freshman James Mays
scored the first point of the game on
a free throw, UNC (22-3,10-2 in the
ACC) exploded on a 14-0 run to end any
suspense about the game’s outcome.
A technical foul assessed to
Clemson coach Oliver Purnell led to
two Jawad Williams free throws, and
SEE CLEMSON, PAGE 11
SOFTBALL Baylor 11 UNCI
BELL SEALS VICTORY
WITH CRUCIAL STEAL
LATE IN OVERTIME
BY GABRIELLE DE ROSA
SENIOR WRITER
Nikita Bell is the type of player who lives for the
intensity of overtime play.
Bell capitalized on such an opportunity Sunday,
when the No. 8 North Carolina women’s basket
ball team defeated No. 21 N.C. State 75-72 in
WOMEN'S
BASKETBALL
N.C. State 72
UNC 75
OVERTIME
sent the game into the extra frame.
“She’s a gamer,” said UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell.
“She’s an explosive player, too. Nikita’s best when
she doesn’t have to think, she just needs to play.
... She loves the intense pressure situations. She
thrives on them.”
With 10 seconds remaining in overtime and the Tar
Heels (22-3,10-2 in the ACC) up by two, Bell seized a
pass from N.C. State’s Kendra Bell and raced toward
the basket, only to be fouled by Kendra Bell on the
SEE N.C. STATE, PAGE 11
Latta hits
two clutch
free throws
BY JACOB KARABELL
SENIOR WRITER
In the press conference after North Carolina’s 75-
72 victory against N.C. State on Sunday, a reporter
asked UNC’s Ivory Latta if she got hit in the face
during the game.
Forward Camille Little, sitting across the table
from the sophomore point guard, interrupted the
interrogator. “Which time?” she asked.
Latta, who had averaged 21 points in the Tar
Heels’ last three games, certainly took a pounding
from the Wollpack’s physical defense. She made just
three of her 15 field goal attempts during the game,
but it was her resilience attacking the basket that
ultimately gave UNC the overtime win.
With the score tied at 72 with less than 30 sec
onds to play in the extra period, Latta received a
pass from Little at the top of the key. As the shot
clock wound down to single digits, she penetrated
the left side of the lane, drawing a double team
as she jumped up in an attempt to hoist a floater
SEE LATTA, PAGE 11
“We didn’t want them to stick
around and think they could play
with US.” DAVID NOEL, UNC FORWARD
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North Carolina's Raymond Felton flushes a dunk for two of his
11 points in UNC's 88-56 victory against Clemson on Saturday.
®ar
FEBRUARY 21, 2005
overtime.
She proved her ability to exe
cute in those down-to-the-wire
moments when she caught Leah
Metcalf’s missed layup with
about five seconds remaining
and put up the tying basket that