It was a magical season and run to the College World Series for the North Carolina Tar Heels, but it’s now come to an end. With that, Vance Honeycutt will likely be moving on to the ranks of professional baseball.
Still, there were plenty of moments that Honeycutt and the Tar Heels are going to hold onto from this postseason. That includes how North Carolina rallied and tried to make a comeback attempt against Florida State, starting with his home run.
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“That’s how this team has been all year,” Vance Honeycutt said. “They’re just no-quit. That’s a credit to how we’re trained, how we’re coached, and the character of the guys in the locker room.”
North Carolina ended up losing that final game to Florida State by a score of 9-5. In that game, he went three for five with three RBIs and the home run. It was a memorable performance and helped North Carolina keep the game within two for a time.
Of course, he has had plenty of other memorable moments this year. The most notable for him are the ones that helped to define this Tar Heels team.
“It’s hard to put your finger on just one,” Honeycutt said. “Probably a Sunday win at Miami or UVA or State, or coming back from losing the first game at Duke, winning the series. Just things like that that kind of really defines this team, I guess. Kind of when everyone is counting us out, just being able to battle and play for each other.”
Vance Honeycutt finished his junior season at North Carolina with a .313 batting average, 28 home runs, and 70 RBIs. He also had a .407 OBP and a .703 slugging percentage.
Scott Forbes on Vance Honeycutt
Leading up to the College World Series, North Carolina head coach Scott Forbes praised Vance Honeycutt, not just for his talent but for his leadership as well.
“I’ve never coached a combination of power and speed. The kid has never taken a day off. I’ve never said a word negative to the kid. I’ve never had to say, Hey, you know, keep your head up. Or if he is 0-for-4, 4Ks, which has happened to him, you can’t tell. He’s an unbelievable leader off the field. He’s done an unbelievable job in the classroom. I don’t like to use the word ‘perfect’ because nobody is perfect, but he’s been an absolute pleasure to coach. And there’s a reason we’ve had the success we’ve had, and there’s a reason that this team made it to Omaha,” Forbes said.
“He stepped up and played great for us. But when he wasn’t, quote, hitting the home runs or getting the big hit, he was doing so much more for us. Obviously playing an unbelievable center field, but he is a lead-by-example guy, and that’s really helped these young guys. That gets passed down. Look at these guys that are here today that played in our program. When you have that leadership in your locker room like that, it affects you years down the road, and that’s what Vance Honeycutt — he will leave more than what you guys see on the field. He’ll leave a much bigger legacy than that for sure.”
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