ACC Coastal Champion North Carolina, on a 13-game win streak, will open the 2012 ACC Tournament Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against Wake Forest.
Sophomore Colin Moran missed 21 games after suffering an injury March 24. He returned 12 games ago and has picked up where he left off and has registered at least one hit in 11 of the last 12 games. The Rye, N.Y., native is hitting .375 over the stretch with 10 runs scored and 10 RBI with five extra-base hits, four doubles and a homer.
The Tar Heels will also take on Miami on Thursday at 3 p.m. followed by a meeting with NC State at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Streaking
• The 13-game winning streak is the longest of the season and longest since the 2002 squad won 13 straight from March 13-30.
• The 13-game winning streak is tied for Kent State for the longest current winning streak in the nation.
• The Tar Heels are eight games shy of tying for the longest wining streak in school history of 21 set by the 2000 team.
Turning Around Fortunes
• Carolina has struggled in the ACC Championship as of late by going 3-6 in its last three appearances since the 2007 title.
• The ACC Tournament title in 2007 was the first for the Tar Heels since the 1990 squad claimed the title with a 5-0 mark in the tournament.
• From 1980-1990 the Tar Heels appeared in the ACC Tournament final eight times but have appeared in the final once since 1990 with the 2007 team claiming the title.
• Despite the lack of finals appearances the Tar Heels have appeared in five College World Series since 2006.
Pitchers Approach Record Numbers
• Carolina allowed two earned runs for the second straight series this past weekend with a third straight sweep.
• In the process the Tar Heels lowered their team ERA to 2.62 on the year, the third-lowest mark in the country.
• If the Tar Heels keep the ERA under 3.00 it would be just the third time since 1980 the Tar Heels have accomplished the feat.
• Carolina’s 2.62 team ERA ranks the sixth-lowest in school history since 1960 entering the ACC Tournament and the lowest mark since the 1972 team posted a 2.23 mark.
40 Wins Once Again
• Carolina reached the 40-win plateau for the 19th time in school history in the weekend sweep of Virginia Tech and have 42 wins in 2012.
• The Tar Heels have now won at least 40 games 10 times in the last 11 years.
• The 42 wins on the year are tied for the third-most in the country in 2012 and one shy of the nation’s top mark of 43 held by Stony Brook and Utah Valley.
Starting To Pick It
• For the first time all year the Tar Heels posted five straight games (May 11-17) without committing an error and have raised their fielding percentage to .969.
• Carolina has posted fielding percentages of .970 or higher for each of the last five years, including a school-best .979 last year.
• The infield made a change prior to the matchup against East Carolina that kicked off a 13-game winning streak and the re-tooled infield has committed just four errors in 13 games for a .983 fielding percentage.