The Roost

Season-ending notes

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. | Coastal Carolina started the season with an inexperienced roster and lots of questions. Though the Chanticleers probably outplayed their expectations -- and certainly those of onlookers -- the 2009 campaign was marked by the inconsistency expected from a youthful lineup.

Jayhawks end Coastal's season

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. | Tyler Bortnick sat on one end of the table in tears. On the other, coach Gary Gilmore first showed signs of frustration and teared up himself before ending his interview with a few jokes.

Coastal-Kansas Pregame

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. | Second-seeded Coastal Carolina will meet No. 3 Kansas in an elimination game at the NCAA Chapel Hill Baseball Regional on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Tough decisions

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. | The strategy in NCAA Baseball Regionals is really interesting to me. I'm not sure there is another sport where the first round of the postseason so drastically changes and impacts the way that coaches make decisions. Coaches almost have to scrap the way they would do things during the regular season during this round to work around the limitations in pitching.

Saturday notes

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. | The matchup of All-American pitchers didn't produce the expected results Saturday.

Heels rout Chants

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. | After watching the third North Carolina runner cross home plate, Tyler Bortnick glared across the infield and just shook his head.

Bortnick and his Coastal Carolina teammates had seen this storyline unfold before against the Tar Heels. Ben Bunting's three-run double in the third inning broke a tie and sparked North Carolina to a 14-5 win in the winner's bracket championship game of the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional on Saturday.

Coastal-UNC Pregame

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. | Coastal Carolina and North Carolina will meet at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the winner's bracket championship game of the NCAA Chapel Hill Baseball Regional.

White's take

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. | North Carolina will start staff ace Alex White tonight against Coastal. He has been inconsistent at times this season and his numbers certainly aren't as good as they were during his sophomore season. However, you can bet he'll be locked in tonight after he was shelled against Virginia in the ACC tournament (eight earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings) in one of the worst outings of his career.

The Fox Hole

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. | I asked North Carolina all-American first baseman Dustin Ackley, who had just broken the school's career hits record in just three seasons, after the Tar Heels' win over Dartmouth on Friday what impact Coastal Carolina having a great left-handed starting pitch, Cody Wheeler, would have on Saturday evening's game.

Friday notes

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. | After one of Cody Wheeler's starts earlier this season, Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore spoke to the lefty's dominance.