Tag: Folger Boaz

Elbow injury shuts down UNC pitcher Folger Boaz for season

How much will the loss of Folger Boaz affect the UNC baseball team?

When Folger Boaz started his UNC baseball career in February, he showed a lot of promise as the possible staff ace.

Boaz won his first two starts, compiling a 2.16 earned run average and striking out 15 batters. North Carolina began the year 16-2, with a major part of that being Boaz’ pitching prowess.

The Diamond Heels are continuing their momentum from an early-season start, sitting 35-11 overall and atop the ACC Coastal Division at 17-7, but they’ll have to continue doing so without Boaz.

On Monday, April 29, UNC head coach Scott Forbes announced that Boaz will miss the rest of 2024 with a left elbow injury.

Boaz cooled off considerably since his hot start, slipping to a 5.77 ERA and allowing a team-high 25 runs. He did carry a 3-1 record, though, which shows North Carolina’s bats can pick up their pitchers after rough outings.

The Diamond Heels won’t hurt too much from the loss of Boaz, though, as it has a pair of starters with sub-4.00 ERAs in Shea Sprague and Jason DeCaro. UNC is still searching for a third weekend starter, but has plenty of other options to choose from,

If you remember last baseball season, North Carolina star center fielder Vance Honeycutt missed the home stretch. The Diamond Heels advanced to the NCAA Tournament, but only beat Wright State in the Terre Haute Regional, before watching their season end with a second loss to Iowa in as many days.

Who will be the next pitcher up for UNC?

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Folger Boaz showed just how good he can be with Friday victory

UNC freshman pitcher Folger Boaz, the younger brother of former UNC quarterback Jefferson Boaz, might just be the pitching staff’s ace.

There’s no shortage of arms amongst the UNC baseball team’s pitching staff, but there was a few questions heading into last Friday’s season-opener against Wagner.

One of those big questions was about who’d rise to become the ace.

Connor Bovair, Max Carlson and Jake Knapp were the Diamond Heels’ main starters last season. Bovair struggled with a 5.57 earned run average, Carlson was drafted by the Boston Red Sox and Knapp is sitting out the current campaign with a torn UCL.

We may have an early answer for 2024 staff ace – Folger Boaz.

If that last name sounds familiar to you, it’s because he’s the younger brother of former Tar Heels quarterback Jefferson Boaz.

North Carolina head coach Scott Forbes gave the younger Boaz a tall task ahead of the season opener – starting his first collegiate game.

Folger – the 2022-2023 NCHSAA Athlete of the Year – delivered. He struck out five Seahawk batters, allowed just five hits, one run and walk apiece, while doing all this in 80 pitches. There’s a good chance Folger could’ve gone deeper into the game, but the opener is so minuscule in terms of overall season outlook.

In comparison, no starting pitcher lasted more than 3 1/3 innings through UNC’s first four games this year, including Tuesday’s 8-7 win over Elon.

Friday was just one game, but it’s encouraging to know the Diamond Heels have a reliable freshman in their starting rotation.

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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.

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UNC Baseball commit Folger Boaz named Small Town All-American

UNC Baseball commit Folger Boaz was named Small Town All-American after finishing the season with a 1.15 ERA.

North Carolina Tar Heels commit [autotag]Folger Boaz [/autotag]has been named a 2023 MaxPreps Small Town All-America First Team member.

The honor is awarded to 30 players who attend schools with less than 1,000 students with a city population under 10,000. Boaz has been phenomenal on the mound at East Surrey, helping the Cardinals fly to three conference championships, A West Regional Championship, and State Runner-up in 2021.

This past season Boaz finished with a 9-1 record with an ERA of 1.15. He was recognized as the 2023 Foothills 2A Conference Player of the Year. Boaz’s ability to shine in multiple sports makes him so special, even picking up a football offer from the Florida Gators in 2021.

The future Tar Heel perfectly fits UNC’s needs on the mound. The inconsistencies from the mound have haunted the Tar Heels the past few seasons, so adding an accurate arm in Boaz will do wonders for the program.

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