Heels earn at-large bid to NCAA baseball tournament

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 27, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

CHAPEL HILL -- Had North Carolina done enough to make the NCAA tournament?

Adam Pate and his teammates thought so.

Two wins in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, including a victory over eventual runner-up Maryland, bolstered the Tar Heels' chances of extending their baseball season one more week.

The NCAA selection committee thought so, too.

North Carolina (34-25 overall) earned an at-large bid as the No. 3 seed in the Gainesville (Fla.) Regional and opposes Long Beach State in first-round action Friday. Florida, the No. 2 national seed, meets College of Charleston in the other game.

The double-elimination tournament continues through Sunday with the winner advancing to the super regional.

Pate and his teammates had to play their way into the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. A 4-3 victory over archrival N.C. State put the Heels into the four-day, round-robin tournament.

"Some people said that even if we hadn't beat N.C. State, that we would probably would get in," said Pate, a freshman and Charles B. Aycock alum.

"(The Maryland) win solidified us and gave us the hope that we would get in. That was huge and beating State to end their season, that was fun. Then when we saw Clemson get in, we knew we had to be in there somewhere."

The Tar Heels are making their 13th consecutive postseason appearance and 29th overall in program history. UNC and LBSU have met just once -- a Tar Heel win at Boshamer Stadium in 1992.

Injuries plagued North Carolina during the season. Second baseman Wood Myers is back to full strength after missing several games with a broken thumb. But closer Chris McCue is out for the season.

The snake-bitten Heels endured 19 defeats by two runs or less, including 13 one-run losses during regular-season play. Mid-week setbacks proved frustrating along with weekend series at ACC rivals Miami and Virginia.

"Those tight ballgames, a lot of things didn't go our way," Pate said. "A hard-hit ball always seemed to go straight to somebody. We're ready to get back rolling and get hot at the right time.

"Our first goal is to beat Long Beach ... that care of that one. We're ready to prove some people wrong."