Tag: Ben Peterson

Diamond Heels’ 2024 top hitter, bullpen arm ink professional free agent deals

Two more North Carolina Tar Heels baseball standouts signed with MLB teams on Friday.

The 2024 college baseball season was one to remember for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

UNC brought in one of its best recruiting classes in program history. Returning stars took major jumps, players stepped up in wake of injury and – in a year where over half of the ACC made the NCAA Tournament – North Carolina came out on top with a regular-season championship.

The Diamond Heels didn’t win the ACC Baseball Tournament Championship, but advanced even further – to their first College World Series since 2018. UNC was nearly eliminated from its own regional, but roared back against 2023 CWS champs LSU and advanced to host West Virginia, in the Mountaineers’ first-ever Super Regional.

Going back to that recruiting class, which included transfers and incoming freshman, it was an SEC transfer who ended up being North Carolina’s top hitter.

Parks Harber, who came to Chapel Hill from UGA, led the Diamond Heels with a .343 batting average last year. He was also quite the power threat, hitting 20 home runs (one of two UNC players to do so) and driving in 63 runners.

North Carolina’s bullpen was also a major reason it advanced to the CWS, as you could pick literally anyone to come in and shut down the opposition. In this case, we’re talking about Ben Peterson, the 6’3″ started-turned-reliever senior who finished his year with a 3-2 win-loss record and 4.70 earned run average.

The 2024 MLB Draft also came and went, with six Diamond Heels hearing their names called. Peterson and – surprisingly – Harber didn’t hear their names called.

Peterson and Harber will be playing at the next level, though, as they signed free agent contracts on Friday, July 19.

Harber is the latest slugger to join the storied New York Yankees, who gained their nickname “Bronx Bombers” from their ability to hit home runs at a high clip. Peterson joins the San Francisco Giants.

How long will it take before both are in the major leagues?

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49ers have new major box to check before training camp

The 49ers have a new major box to check before training camp.

Brandon Aiyuk’s contract remains the biggest unchecked box on the 49ers’ offseason to-do list. However, they added a new one Thursday when NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported 49ers head of player health and performance Ben Peterson is taking a job with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks as their new VP of player health and performance.

Peterson was part of an overhaul of the 49ers’ health and performance staffs after the 2019 season. They put their training staff and player performance staffs under one umbrella following some terrible injury luck during head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch’s first few seasons.

Prior to joining the 49ers, Peterson was with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. That makes the NBA his third major US sports league.

Health is a key component to making a deep playoff run. It’s even more important for the team to stay on top of player health and performance with so many veterans on the club. Finding a replacement for Peterson has to be one of the 49ers’ top priorities with a little over a month left until training camp starts. Their hire to replace Peterson could play a major role in whether they’re able to return to the Super Bowl, making this one of the key items for them to figure out before camp.

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Diamond Heels announce Opening Weekend rotation

The UNC baseball team’s Opening Weekend rotation will be highlighted by a vet and two freshmen. Game 1 is Friday at 4 p.m. ET.

It’s the middle of February and – chances are – it’s likely still cold where you live.

It’s the middle of February and – baseball is upon us?!

You got that right.

On Friday, Feb. 16, college baseball teams across the country will begin their quest for a College World Series Title. You’ll have the expected contenders, like LSU and Wake Forest, plus teams who’ll try to play spoiler as underdogs.

One team projected to have another strong season is UNC. The Diamond Heels have made the past six NCAA Tournaments, including a Super Regional they hosted in 2022, but have no CWS Titles to show for those runs.

With North Carolina kicking off its season on Friday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. against Wagner College, let’s meet the starting pitching rotation – Folger Boaz, Ben Peterson and Olin Johnson.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3YfP9auA6O/

It’s rare to see two freshman start, particularly on Opening Weekend, but this shows UNC head coach Scott Forbes has a lot of trust in his young guys.

Boaz, the younger brother of former Tar Heels quarterback Jefferson Boaz, was quite the ace at East Surry (NC) High School. The 2022-2023 NCHSAA Athlete of the Year, Folger dominated the scholastic scene with a 26-1 record, 1.28 earned run average and 320 pitching strikeouts. He also led the Cardinals to a state championship appearance in 2021.

Despite his 5.40 ERA last season, Peterson was one of four UNC pitchers to finish the 2023 campaign undefeated (3-0). Peterson struck out 30 batters across 35 innings pitched – he’ll look to translate his success in relief to a solid, starting role.

Johnson, the 6’6″ right-hander from the state of Washington, played his final two years of high school baseball in Tennessee. He led McCallie School to a state championship his junior year, plus was named 2023 TSSAA DII-AA East Region Pitcher of the Year last season.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.