Tag: Shea Sprague

Two key members of UNC pitching staff taken in MLB Draft on Tuesday

Two more Tar Heel baseball players are off the MLB Draft Board.

I’m convinced that if the North Carolina Tar Heels had better starting pitching, they would’ve made a deeper run in the College World Series.

UNC’s first bit of bad news came weeks before its 2024 season started, when it learned senior pitcher Jake Knapp would miss the year with a UCL (elbow) tear. North thought it initially had a freshman ace in Folger Boaz, then he started to struggle and – later – missed the season’s remainder with a left elbow injury.

With the loss of Knapp and Boaz, though, came opportunity. Two junior Diamond Heel pitchers, by the names of Shea Sprague and Aidan Haugh, took full advantage of their opportunities.

Sprague and Haugh became North Carolina’s number two and three starters. Sprague ended his season with a 3-2 record, 4.23 earned run average and 70 strikeouts, which was second most on the team. Haugh compiled a 4-3 record, with his four victories tied for fourth-most on UNC.

It would be great to have the pair back in Chapel Hill next season, but they’ll be elsewhere – for good reason.

On Tuesday, July 16, Sprague and Haugh were picked in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Sprague, originally from Massachusetts, will play professional baseball for his hometown Red Sox.

Haugh, picked three rounds later, heads up to the Twin Cities and joins a promising AL Central squad.

It’d be a full-circle moment if the pair of former Diamond Heels teammates faced off in the future. Are they the last two to go from North Carolina?

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UNC announces Game 1 starting pitcher for Chapel Hill Super Regional

North Carolina will rely on a transfer pitcher to win Game 1 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional.

While the Diamond Heels bats clutched up in Monday’s 4-3 Chapel Hill Regional Final win over defending College World Series champion LSU, one could argue UNC’s pitching kept them in position to win throughout.

After allowing three runs in the first three innings, North Carolina went to its talented bullpen. 12-game winner Matthew Matthijs relieved starter Jason DeCaro with 4 1/3 innings of 1-run, 2- hit ball, then star UNC closer Dalton Pence tossed his best outing of the season, striking out four over 3 2/3 innings while allowing just one hit and two walks.

DeCaro suffered through unusual struggles in the Chapel Hill Regional, but I attribute that to short rest. He started the Friday opener against Long Island University, then was asked to pitch three days later.

For college baseball teams, there’s usually a weekend rotation and a few, midweek starters.

Aidan Haugh didn’t pitch well in Sunday night’s 8-4 loss to LSU, but Elon transfer Shea Sprague shined in Saturday’s 6-2 win over LSU, tossing 4 1/3 shutout innings with three strikeouts, just two walks and four hits allowed.

It’s no surprise that, as a result of Saturday’s strong outing, Sprague gets the ball Friday night for Game 1 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional.

Sprague’s Saturday victory was his best outing since April 27, when he hurled a season-high 6 2/3 innings against Virginia Tech, striking out six Hokies while allowing just one run on four hits. Sprague leads Diamond Heel starters in earned run average (3.76), plus his 58 strikeouts tie him with Haugh for third-most amongst UNC pitchers.

Can Sprague shut down the JJ Wetherholt-led West Virginia lineup?

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LSU baseball falls to North Carolina in winners’ bracket, will face elimination on Sunday

LSU will play Wofford on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT in an elimination game.

[autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] took the mound for the winner’s bracket game against North Carolina. The winner of this game advanced to the Regional final matchup and would be one win away from Omaha. North Carolina won 6-2 and sent LSU to an elimination game.

There were no early runs in this one as Holman and [autotag]Shea Sprague[/autotag] were both locked in until the bottom of the fifth inning. With two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth, [autotag]Vance Honeycutt[/autotag] hit a three-run bomb to give the Tar Heels a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the seventh inning, [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] started it off with a single, [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] followed that with a single, and [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit a single to load the bases for [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag]. Jones then was walked on a 3-2 count to bring in the first run of the game for the Tigers. [autotag]Ethan Frey[/autotag] then entered as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded against the new Carolina pitcher. Frey drew a walk on a 3-2 count to score another run for LSU. [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] then grounded into a double play to send us to the bottom of the seventh inning with the score 3-2 North Carolina.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Honeycutt hit another homer off of Holman, this time a solo shot, to extend the lead to 4-2 North Carolina. That homer chased Holman from the mound and [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] entered the game. Holman’s final line was 6.2 innings pitched and he allowed four runs on seven hits, 11 strikeouts, and one walk.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, North Carolina added some insurance as they tacked on two more runs to increase their lead to 6-2 as we headed to the ninth. LSU was unable to come up with any magic in the top of the ninth and the Tigers lost 6-2.

LSU will play Wofford on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT in an elimination game.

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