State of the rotation
OMAHA, NEB. - One of the most important questions for Tar Heel fans in Omaha for the College World Series isn’t what steakhouse they’re going to tonight. Nor is it what flavor milkshake did they decide to get at everyone’s favorite place, Zesto’s.
No the question is, just what’s going on with North Carolina’s starting pitching.
Once the team’s focal point, the Tar Heel rotation has become a burden that must be overcome. Since June 1 when Robert Woodard threw eight shutout innings against Jacksonville, UNC starters have combined for an 11.22 ERA through 25.2 innings. And as stunning as that stat is to fans, it boggles the minds of North Carolina even more.
“It’s as much of a surprise to us as it is to everybody else,” Woodard said. “Alex (White) and I take great pride in our preparation, and we haven’t changed anything here in the last week or two as we’ve done the whole course of the season.”
What has changed is that pitches that used to befuddle opposing batters are now being hit all over the park.
“The one thing I think that everyone is ignoring is that we’re just getting hit,” UNC pitching coach Scott Forbes said. “We’re not walking a lot of people … we’re just giving up some hits.”
Part of the problem Forbes said is UNC’s starters aren’t pitching inside enough. Against good hitting teams, inside pitching is essential in keeping hitters off balance instead of settling into a groove. In recent games, Woodard, White and Luke Putkonen have fallen into a trap of pitching the ball on the outer half of the plate too often, and they have paid for it. And against Louisville, Putkonen will need to put the ball in on the hands of Cardinal hitters in order to have a successful outing.
“I think something we’re gonna have to do more is pitch in,” Forbes said. “I don’t think we’ve pitched in enough. Rice and Louisville who we are going to play tomorrow are both teams that crowd the plate. … We gotta get them off the plate, and that’s what we’re gonna try to do tomorrow from the first pitch on.”
And given the circumstances surrounding Tuesday’s game, Putkonen’s power style is a perfect match for that kind of aggressive game plan.
“He’s won here since he’s been here,” Forbes said of Putkonen. “Perfect type of guy for these type of situations, he’s real evened keeled. He won the ACC Championship for us, probably one of the best pitched games all year of any one of our pitchers. And that was pressure, we hadn’t won an ACC Championship in forever.”
-David Ely