The North Carolina Tar Heels’ baseball program will begin the season in February, looking to bounce back from a tough early exit in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. But on Tuesday, they received some bad news regarding a starter in their rotation.
The program announced that pitcher Jake Knapp will miss the regular season with a UCL tear in his throwing arm. Knapp was projected to be the team’s Friday starter and an anchor in the rotation for the Tar Heels’ this season.
So losing Knapp means someone else on the rotation will have to step up and try to fill the void.
Senior Jake Knapp will miss the entire 2024 season due to a tear in the UCL of his throwing arm.
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— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) January 30, 2024
Manager Scott Forbes released a statement on the devastating injury news for the Tar Heels:
“We are certainly going to miss Jake’s presence on the mound,” Forbes said. “He worked extremely hard during the offseason and was poised to have a terrific senior season. Jake will still be with us at practice, in the dugout and on road trips. He’s one of our captains and leaders and will be a vital part of our team this year.”
Knapp was 5-4 last season with a 5.04 earned run average. He did pitch better in conference play and was a spark for the Tar Heels rotation.
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