“Put me in, coach” may not have been the exact phrase used by Wood Myers, but coach Mike Fox didn't hesitate to put the freshman second baseman back in the starting lineup as soon as possible.
After missing eight games due to a broken hand, Myers stepped onto Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium in Shelby for the North Carolina baseball team's 7-2 win Tuesday over Gardner-Webb in the final week of the regular season.
“I got cleared yesterday,” Myers said, “It’s still healing right now, but the doctor gave me the okay to play.”
A quick 2-0 lead over GWU in the top of the first inning, with doubles from Michael Russell and Parks Jordan and a RBI single from Tyler Ramirez, allowed Wood to step to the plate with confidence in the rest of the team.
“Anytime you go up there you have to have confidence," Myers said. "So I just kind of went up there with a clear head, because I haven’t played in a while and just tried to do the best I could.”
Coming off a strong win against Florida State Sunday, Fox said he had full confidence in his team when changing the lineup to accommodate Myers' health.
“It’s amazing he was able to step up there and place a couple balls to right field after not seeing a live pitcher for three weeks,” said Myers, who finished 2-for-5 with an RBI single in the top of the fifth inning.
A ball hit out of the ballpark by outfielder Skye Bolt in the top of the third pushed the UNC lead to four. And after six shutout innings by pitcher Taylore Cherry and a six-run Tar Heel lead, reliever Trevor Kelley took charge to push the team through the last three innings.
Regardless of two last-minute runs, the Tar Heels’ offensive domination held out to finish the game. Fox said he was pleased with the overall performance of his team.
