UNC gets the most from Moran

Stepping into the batter’s box, third baseman Colin Moran lines up at the plate and settles into the motions he knows so well.

The North Carolina freshman sweeps his foot across the top of the box before stepping out and readjusting his gloves, one by one. Opposing pitchers wait until Moran is ready for every pitch.

For the UNC baseball team, the wait has been well worth it.

When runners are on base and the No. 6 Tar Heels are looking to score, fingers are crossed that Moran is up next in the batting order to take a shot at an opponent’s pitching staff.

“I give him a hard time and tell him it’s just because the guys in front of him in the order get on base for him all the time, but it’s really amazing,” catcher Jacob Stallings said. “We’re surprised when he doesn’t get a hit when guys are in scoring position — that’s how often he gets an RBI.”

As UNC has rolled to an impressive 30-5 record and four ACC series wins in a row, Moran has driven in a team-high 48 runs. His nearest competitor, shortstop Levi Michael, is a healthy 18 RBI behind him on UNC’s stat sheet.

Impact aside, the team — Stallings in particular —still remembers to remind Moran that he is just 35 games into his career.

Self-titled as “not much of a talker,” Moran’s attempts at a practical joke by taking the catcher’s protein shakes left him without shoes or an ID.

“He lost that battle,” Stallings said.

But his stoic attitude returns when it comes to the game.

Taking his first at-bat as seriously as those when UNC is desperate for runs, Moran depends on his routine to translate his swings into success.

“You have to take it like any other at-bat,” said Moran, who has 26 two-out RBI this season. “You have to realize that failure is going to happen, but also how good it feels to help your team win. I feel comfortable. Obviously a situation may be different, but you can’t change your approach.”

And his routine at the plate is just one of many.

Moran always begins at his comfort zone. He touches third base each time he runs out of the dugout to take his place in the diamond during games or in practice.

“I like to have a routine in pretty much everything I do in life,” Moran said. “I’ve got little quirks that I like to do just to feel comfortable.”

His most important systematic approach, though, is the one he takes toward improving himself.

Although the third baseman has seen a lot of success in his first season at North Carolina, it wasn’t initially the easiest transition.

“In the fall, I didn’t hit that well at all,” Moran said. “I struggled a lot. It helped more because I was able to learn through failure. You’re able to learn a lot more through that than success.”

Unhappy with his entry to collegiate baseball, Moran heeded the advice of his coaches and hit the weight room. He added muscle to his lean 6-foot-3 frame and even got contacts to improve his vision.

Most importantly, Moran refused to take a day off. Even when allowed, Moran has never missed a UNC practice.

“He’s extremely focused,” Fox said. “His maturity, especially on the field, is higher than typical young players. He’s very locked-in in practice and everything he does. That high level of concentration is extremely important — that’s what’s helped him.”

Midway through the season, Moran’s RBI count is first in the conference and fourth in the nation. His name also appears in multiple categories among the ACC’s leading stars — second in slugging percentage, fourth in on-base percentage and tied for fifth in hits.

Boasting these numbers along with an even-tempered and quiet personality, Moran is hard for opponents to read and even harder for them to stop.

“He’s got a great mentality for baseball because he’s so even-keeled,” Stallings said. “He doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve.”

In the Tar Heels’ series sweep of Duke and two routs against High Point and UNC-Wilmington in March, Moran belted four homers and drove in 13 runs. The accolades poured in, and Moran picked up nods as the ACC Player of the Week, National Player of the Week and National Hitter of the Week.

The reserved starter refuses to take credit.

“I don’t really pay too much attention to all that stuff,” Moran said. “We won all our games that week, so that was the most important thing.

“It kind of gives you a little bit of confidence, but you try not to let it get to your head. The game is so hard that you can’t really play it as a cocky person, because it will bring you down in a second.”

So Moran plays on, determined to improve.

“It’s hard to imagine him any better than he already is,” Stallings said.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.