Chapel Hill Regional Breakdown
The North Carolina Tar Heels come into the 2012 Chapel Hill Regional as the number six national seed. The Tar Heels, under Mike Fox, have been very difficult to beat in the postseason at home. They are a balanced squad both offensively and especially on the mound. Benton Moss and Kent Emanuel, the two primary weekend starters, have been very difficult to deal with. Michael Morin, out of the pen, has a sub 1 earned run average and 17 saves and gives the Tar Heels the much needed pitching depth to attack the grind in their run to Omaha. Offensively, they will beat you with execution and speed. They are led by Chaz Frank and Jacob Stallings as both have been clutch in driving in runs at 37, and 38 respectively for the Tar Heels.
The #2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional is the East Carolina Pirates out of Conference USA. The Pirates are a somewhat controversial entrant into this year’s tourney as they were thought to be squarely on the bubble and not likely to get in. The Pirates definitely are looking to right themselves as they were 1-2 in the Conference USA Tourney and lost three of their last four series. They are looking to prove to those that thought they had no business in the tournament that they belong. John Wooten leads the Pirates offensively with a .341 batting average. The opener against St. John’s is a rematch from the 2011 Charlottesville Regional where the two teams split the two meetings.
The 3 and 4 seeds are St. John’s and Cornell. The Red Storm comes into Chapel Hill as the Big East Champions winning the Big East Conference Tournament Championship. They are led by Matt Wessinger offensively. The senior leads the team in batting average at .348 and is one of the best in the country at stealing bases with 34. Jeremy Baltz leads in the power department with seven homeruns and 49 runs batted in. Sean Hagan is the ace on the mound with an 8-2 record, and Matt Carasiti was the most outstanding player of the Big East Tournament with 6.2 innings of clutch pitching to clinch the tourney title for the Red Storm. Cornell is the Ivy League Champion, beating Dartmouth in the Ivy League Championship Series. The Big Red are led by Brian Billigen’s .362 batting average and Chris Cruz’s 12 homeruns at the plate. The pitching staff has been very effective at keeping the ball in the park only allowing seven homeruns. Kellen Urbon, the Rookie of the Year in the Ivy League, has been lethal out of the bullpen with a 0.51 earned run average and he has held opposing hitters to a .163 batting average.
See all 2012 Baseball World Series Regional Breakdowns
