OMAHA, NEB. - After two low scoring games Saturday, Louisville set the tone for an offensive explosion scoring in the first four innings en route to a 12-4 triumph against Mississippi State in Rosenblatt Stadium.

One of the biggest contributors to the high-scoring affair, besides the red-hot Cardinal bats, was the intense wind blowing out of left field. Throughout the entire game, gusts ranged from 20-to-33 miles a hour carrying multiple balls out of the park. Of the five home runs hit (four by Louisville and one by MSU), each was hit into the wind which carried the balls over the fence.

If the weather stays put, these gusts will figure to effect the outcome of North Carolina’s battle against Rice at 7 p.m. For one thing, the wind will figure to even the pitching battle from Rice’s favor to a wash. Left-hander Joe Savery has been more consistent throughout the year then UNC right-hander Alex White, but this wind could possibly turn tonight’s game into a traditional college slugfest.

And looking North Carolina’s right-handed power - Chad Flack, Tim Federowicz, Seth Williams and Benji Johnson - the wind might give the Tar Heels a key advantage.

Also check out the sports section of dailytarheel.com for a great slide show from Friday’s game against MSU put together by senior photographer Timothy Reese.
-David Ely

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 17th, 2007 at 5:35 pm and is filed under Uncategorized, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.