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.
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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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