CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - It's been 25 years since Mike Fox played in the College World Series. He's had plenty of chances to return to baseball's showcase for coaching clinics, but has passed. <br>
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``I have refused to go back to Omaha until I could take a team with me,'' said Fox, who has North Carolina two wins away from a berth in the CWS in his fifth season. ``Maybe this will be the year.'' <br>
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The Tar Heels (42-21) play at South Carolina in a best-of-three Super Regional series this weekend to determine a berth in the CWS. <br>
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Fox was an infielder for the Tar Heels in 1978, when that club surprised many by finishing third at the World Series. <br>
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This year's team also began as a longshot to get to Nebraska. <br>
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In fact, Fox and his coaching staff were concerned after fall ball if the Tar Heels would even be competitive in the tough Atlantic Coast Conference. <br>
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``We thought we were going to be around .500. We just did not swing the bat much in the fall,'' Fox said. ``We thought we were going to have to scratch for runs any way we could. <br>
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``There's no question that we've exceeded expectations,'' Fox added. ``And that's not to downplay our guys. I give them a great deal of credit. We've found a way to get it done and this is an extremely competitive group.'' <br>
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That weak hitting unit in the fall came around in the spring as eight regulars are hitting over .300 heading into Friday's first game against the Gamecocks. <br>
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``Somewhere along the line these guys thought they were a good hitting team and that's half the battle right there,'' Fox said. <br>
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That group is led by Jeremy Cleveland, who is hitting .406 with 19 homers and 99 hits. <br>
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``One hundred hits would be nice and hopefully I can hit that 20th homer down there, too,'' Cleveland said. ``I just want to help with the contribution of getting to Omaha.'' <br>
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North Carolina's incentive may also be greater than other teams. South Carolina ended the Tar Heels' season last year in the regionals in Columbia, S.C. <br>
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``We had a list this year of people that we checked off that we owed,'' said Sean Farrell, who is hitting .354 with 14 homers. ``We got Florida State in the ACC tournament and South Carolina is a big check off for me.'' <br>
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The Tar Heels and Gamecocks were similar seeds in the first round of NCAA regionals, but South Carolina outbid North Carolina to host the Super Regional. <br>
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Fox doesn't believe the site matters since his team knocked off Mississippi State in front of their home fans last weekend. <br>
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``This is a step we've been wanting to take with the program,'' Fox said. ``You have to beat good teams at home or on the road. It's just part of it. We're not looking at it as anything other than that. If we start crying about where we're playing, we're dead before we ever get on the bus.'' <br>
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Fox, who led North Carolina-Wesleyan to eight Division III World Series berths between 1983-98, insists he won't get too sappy before the series opener with any speeches about when he played at the CWS. <br>
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``These guys have got to know what we're playing for,'' Fox said.
