| Matt Danford |
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AS A JUNIOR (2006)
One of the Tar Heels' most reliable arms out of the bullpen • Made a career-best 33 appearances to rank second on the team and seventh in the ACC • Posted a 7-2 record for a career-high win total • Struck out 51 and walked 26 in 54.2 innings • Tallied a 5.27 ERA and held opponents to a .267 batting average • Won two games in the Tar Heels' run through the NCAA Tournament • Tossed two scoreless frames to earn the victory in the 13-inning win over Cal State Fullerton June 16 • Also defeated Maine in the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional opener June 2 and pitched four solid innings in the Super Regional win at Alabama June 10 • Picked up first win of the season with 3.2 scoreless innings against George Mason March 14 • Struck out four and allowed just two hits against the Patriots • Defeated Maryland March 19 with two scoreless innings • Struck out a season-best seven over four innings at Georgia Tech March 25 • Also earned wins over Davidson April 5, Charlotte April 12 and Campbell May 9 • Tossed scoreless ACC outings against Maryland, Virginia Tech, NC State, Duke and Boston College. Summer 2006: Went 2-1 with a 3.16 ERA in six games with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League • Fanned 24 in 25.2 innings • Named the league's Pitcher of the Week for week eight after allowing just four hits and no earned runs over 10 innings • Also struck out 10 over this stretch.
AS A SOPHOMORE (2005)
Worked as the Tar Heels' closer for much of the season, posting a 4-2 record with a team-best nine saves • Led the staff with a 1.41 earned run average • Struck out 42 batters against just 18 walks in 44.2 innings • Second on the team with 26 appearances • His nine saves were fourth in the ACC, seventh on the UNC single-season list and the most by a Tar Heel since 2000 • Held opponents to a .222 average, including a .170 mark with runners on base • Did not allow a run in 16 of his 26 appearances on the season • Named to the midseason watch list for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, presented to the top relief pitcher in college baseball • Struck out the side in the ninth of the season opener versus Appalachian State in his first appearance since the 2003 season • Followed with his first career save in a 5-2 win over Seton Hall Feb. 20 • Earned saves in ACC action with two scoreless innings against Wake Forest, 3.1 shutout innings at Maryland and a scoreless ninth in a 7-6 win over Georgia Tech May 20 • Also saved key non-league games against UNC Wilmington, Birmingham Southern and VCU • Longest outing of the season came with 6.1 innings in a no-decision versus Miami April 17 • Earned wins against Gardner-Webb, Princeton, Viriginia and High Point • Did not allow a run until his seventh appearance of the season, a 1-0 loss to Michigan March 6. Summer 2005: Pitched for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod League • Recorded a 3.18 ERA over 22.2 innings • Made 15 appearances and posted an 0-1 record.
2004 SEASON
Missed the season and redshirted following surgery on his right shoulder.
AS A FRESHMAN (2003)
Finished the season third on the team with a 3.47 ERA • Went 3-1 in 24 appearances, including three starts • Struck out 38 batters in 46.2 innings pitched • Tossed five shutout innings and allowed just three hits to earn a win at East Carolina on April 16 • Also made starts against Towson (March 26) and Elon (April 22) • In his longest outing of the season, tossed 7.2 innings of three-hit ball against Michigan State (Feb. 28) • Also picked up the win in relief against Mississippi State in the NCAA Regional on May 31 • Went 6.1 innings and allowed three hits and two runs against the Bulldogs • Named to the Regional's All-Tournament Team • Allowed just four earned runs over his final nine appearances of the season.
BROUGHTON HIGH SCHOOL
Played four years of varsity baseball • All-conference four years in a row • Named all-state twice • Played in the state games in 2000 and 2001 and won gold medal in 2001 • Two-time conference player of the year • Selected to the academic all-conference team four times.
PERSONAL
John Matthew Danford is the son of Jane and Mike Danford • Born May 28, 1984, in Raleigh, N.C. • Majoring in geography • Great uncle is MLB Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter • Grandfather John Danford played in the Red Sox organization • Modeled his game after John Daly • Favorite video game is Guitar Hero.
DANFORD'S CAREER PITCHING STATISTICS
YEAR W-L ERA G-GS CG Sv Sh IP H R ER BB SO WP
2003 3-1 3.47 24-3 0 0 0 46.2 44 20 18 18 38 3
2005 4-2 1.41 26-0 0 9 0 44.2 36 14 7 18 42 1
2006 7-2 5.27 33-1 0 0 0 54.2 54 35 32 26 51 6
Totals 14-5 3.51 83-4 0 9 0 146.0 134 69 57 62 131 10
