Wierzbicki's game shows playmaking ability

 Jesse Wierzbicki hit two balls where no one could get to them. The first was a two-run blast over the right field wall during a fifth inning rally.

But the second seemed like the more frustrating play for Winthrop’s defense.

In the sixth inning, North Carolina had two outs, and Wierzbicki was coming off his towering homer. His swing was similar but too low, and he popped the pitch up high in the air behind second base.

Winthrop’s center fielder, shortstop and second baseman all scuttled to the ball as it continued to hang in the air. Then, it dropped.

It fell a few feet from each fielder, all three triangulating its location on the shallow outfield grass.

“They had their outfielders played really deep, so I was fortunate enough to get one to fall in,” Wierzbicki said.

By being too spaced out to reach the ball, Winthrop forfeited another hit. It got worse for the Eagles after they composed themselves. When they looked back, Wierzbicki was on his way to second.

“Nobody was really covering the bag,” Wierzbicki said. “I think sometimes teams look at me because I’m a catcher, I don’t have much speed, so I can kind of catch them off guard sometimes and turn a single into a double. When I got that opportunity, I just went for it.”

While opposing teams might rarely expect Wierzbicki’s feet to make any plays, all should recognize his playmaking ability with a bat in his hands.

That’s why Winthrop was so spread out to begin: it recognized who held the bat.

Entering the game, the junior catcher had been batting .364 and led the team with five home runs, and he only added to that Tuesday night, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a homer.

“He’s probably our hitter right now that’s seeing the ball the best,” UNC coach Mike Fox said. “We need a couple more of those, but Jesse has really been playing well for us lately.”

Wierzbicki’s long shot was just as impressive. It’s natural for a batter to want to drive through a ball, normally resulting in a shot to left field for right-handed hitters. But Fox said it isn’t too unusual to see the righty hit opposite field.

“We’ve seen him hit home runs in practice the other way, like he did tonight,” he said.

No matter what side of the field the ball went, it slammed the brakes on Winthrop’s hopes of winning. Winthrop was beginning to watch its lead slip away, and then Wierzbicki stole it altogether.

After watching the ball sail over their heads, the Eagles looked finished.

“That’s what Jesse has been doing,” senior shortstop Ryan Graepel said. “That was a really big hit for us. I think that really deflated their team a lot.”

Wierzbicki had another would-be home run late in the game, but he pulled it foul. Regardless of the missed opportunity, he said he was happy with his play. Tuesday night’s game was one in a string of solid performances for the junior.

And in baseball, that level of play doesn’t usually stop on a dime.

“He’s been hitting a lot of balls on the nose,” Fox said. “He’s hot.”



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.