Scott Forbes knows as well as anyone that he has one of the nation’s best on his team in North Carolina OF Vance Honeycutt.
Forbes sang Honeycutt’s praises following the 2-1 victory for the Tar Heels over West Virginia on Saturday that clinched their berth in the College World Series. He called it how he saw it by restating his claim that Honeycutt is the best player in college baseball.
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“I mean I’ve been saying this since the beginning of the season. He’s the best player in the country and I believe that,” said Forbes postgame.
Honeycutt alone has an impact on UNC. That includes the belief that he causes throughout their entire team that even Forbes has fully bought in on this year.
“I also said that, when somebody asked me what’s your approach this season? I remember Vance and I meeting and he said, ‘Coach, just trust us and jump on our back,'” Forbes recalled. “That’s what I’ve done. I wrote on my game card today – ‘Trust the players, trust the coaches.'”
There’s plenty to believe in with a player like Honeycutt. Over 174 games in three seasons in Chapel Hill, he has 198 hits, including 63 home runs, for 165 RBI. He has also posted a fielding percentage of .984.
Honeycutt has made his presence known in their six postseason games at Bryson Field. In 26 at bats, he has had seven hits, with four being home runs, for seven RBI. That was good for a batting average of .313. He also recorded just one error in 18 opportunities for a fielding percentage of .945.
One of those home runs was a two-run walk-off in Game 1. That gave North Carolina an 8-6 victory over the Mountaineers on Friday. That then set them up for the sweep of the Chapel Hill Super Regional with the one-run win in Game 2 to advance to Charles Schwab Field starting this weekend.
It doesn’t hurt to have one of your game’s heading on to the final stages of the postseason. That’s why Forbes is going to continue to hitch himself to Honeycutt and the rest of the Tar Heels as they make their dozenth appearance in the College World Series.
“He changes the game,” said Forbes. “I’m just going to keep jumping on his back while we head to Omaha.”
Honeycutt on having potentially played his last home game at UNC
Back-to-back thrilling wins over West Virginia in the Chapel Hill Super Regional advanced North Carolina to the College World Series for the 12th time in program history.
UNC star Vance Honeycutt had his fingerprints all over the team’s historic weekend. However, with the 2024 MLB Draft looking like a strong likelihood for the outfielder, he was asked about Saturday’s game potentially being the final one of his career at Boshamer Stadium ahead of team’s trip to Omaha.
“If this is the last one then this was an awesome game,” Honeycutt said. “So many guys in this locker room beside me have just put us in a good spot so far this season. To see the look on everybody’s faces was priceless.”
“It’s what we worked for since August. It’s very rewarding, yes, to see all those faces.”
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