That word — work — comes up a lot with Moore. He so dominated the high school landscape that at times his pitching performances seemed effortless.
Now he’s part of an Atlantic Coast Conference squad, discovering that all of his teammates, and most of his opponents, enjoyed similar prep careers.
“There’s a high level of talent. You have to make better pitches,”Moore said. “You don’t get away with a fastball down the middle or a hanging breaking ball like you could in high school.”
Minnesota’s Golden Gophers taught Moore that valuable lesson in his second outing. Appearing in relief at a tournament in South Alabama, Moore allowed three earned runs on three hits and a walk. He didn’t retire a batter and the only good news was that the Tar Heels rallied in the late innings to keep Moore from taking the loss.
“I wasn’t disappointed in the way I threw. I really thought Ihad good stuff,” Moore explained, adding that he couldn’t keep the ball down against the Gophers. “That’s the difference between high school and college — dealing with failure. All the guys that came in were top-notch players in their area, used to being the No. 1 guy.
“Coming in here, you know that if you don’t get the job done, somebody can go in right behind you.”
n
Moore learned from the Minnesota game. His third outing, a start Saturday against Seton Hall, was just as impressive as the first — seven shutout innings, three hits allowed and four Ks in a 3-0 victory.
Tar Heel head coach Mike Fox offered an easy explanation for Moore’s up-and-down start.
“That’s the life of a freshman pitcher,”he said.
If that’s true, Fox and the Heels could be in for a roller-coaster campaign. Moore is one of eight freshman hurlers on the roster. The three starters and three relievers missing from last year’s squad accounted for 38 of 46 victories, 14 of 15 saves and 82 percent of the team’s innings in the 2000 season.
“It’s an interesting time. We get to see how these guys are going to do,”Fox said. “At some point you say, ‘OK, we’ve done what we can do, they’ve done what they can do, now it’s time to get out there.’
“There’s always a little bit of doubt, no matter how confident you are, of can you be successful?”Fox added. “When you see that light go off — ‘Wow, I can do it!’ — it’s fun to watch.”
The goal, of course, is for every pitcher to see the light. Moore is competing with five or six others for the coveted “weekend starter” role. For now, the weekend games come against talented nonconference squads. Starting March 16, they’ll be against the ACC’s best.
“It’s friendly competition,”Moore said. “That’s one of the reasons I came here. I saw that there would be openings in the starting rotation and I wanted to be able to compete somewhere for that this year.”
n
Fox extends the competition beyond the ballpark. Over the Christmas break, he sent a breakdown of the players’ grades home.
Moore did OK, but the National Honor Society student admitted that life in the college classroom has been as difficult as life on an ACCbaseball diamond.
“Classes aren’t easy. That’s my biggest adjustment,”he said. “It’s a top-notch academic school, and as an athlete you don’t catch any breaks. You’re expected to be there and do the work — and if not, the coaches find out and you pay the consequences.”
Fox’s no-nonsense approach to education appealed immediately to Jack and Jeanie Moore. They see their son’s Carolina education as far more important than his success on the mound, and luckily for them, Daniel sees things pretty much the same way. That’s why he turned down lucrative offers to sign with the Florida Marlins after Major League Baseball’s Amateur Draft last summer.
“I still have a lot to learn in life and in pitching out of high school,”Daniel said. “I haven’t had any second thoughts at all.”
Added Jack: “In the first email he sent us, the last thing he said really made me feel good. I made a copy of it: ‘I love it down here. This is the place I’m supposed to be and I don’t think that’ll ever change.’ ”
Those aren’t the only emails he sends, though.
“Every now and again, I’ll get a phone call at 11 at night: ‘Mom, can you read this paper for me?’ ” said Jeanie with a smile. “Then he’ll say that it’s no big deal, he just needs it back by 9 in the morning. So I’ve been trying to edit some papers over the internet.”
n
Jack and Jeanie have missed only one game so far this year — a midweek contest against Coastal Carolina — and of course were in the stands for Daniel’s three appearances.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,”Jack said. “Back during the high schooland Legion seasons, come playoff time I’d tighten up a little bit. Surprisingly enough, I sat pretty calmly throughout that ballgame (William & Mary).
“Of course, I don’t know if I’ll be the same way when he goes up against some of these ACC powers. I doubt I will be.”
One thing is certain, though — the fervent Wolfpack fan and former Tar Heel hater will be decked out in plenty of Carolina blue at every game.
“I bought two more Carolina hats while we were in Alabama for the tournament. To see all that UNC merchandise when you’re in Alabama, it makes you feel good,”Jack said. “I can get used to a lot of things. I’ve always been a Wolfpack fan, but everybody’s so nice here. It’s easy to ease right into that Tar Heel blue.”
Jeanie’s still not 100-percent convinced.
“I told Coach Fox that I’m not a pastel person,”she said with a laugh. “He said it would grow on me.”
n
Talking to Daniel, it’s easy to see how much college has grown on him.
He attended every home football game and has seen plenty of volleyball and lacrosse, as well. Basketball tickets are harder to come by, and he bemoaned the fact that the Duke-UNCrematch comes Sunday, right across the street from Boshamer Stadium at the Smith Center — and at the same time the baseball team takes on UCLA.
He’s rooming with Whitley Benson, a freshman reliever who saved his win againstSeton Hall. The two became fast friends, as have Moore and former Piedmont hurler Scott Manshack, who pitched against Rowan County squads in the South Piedmont Conference.
“We trade the stories about East Rowan, tell the guys about the rivalries. A lot of our stories kind of blend together,”Moore said of Manshack, also a solid starting prospect. “But it’s fun to hear guys from other areas talk about their rivalries. You realize that it goes on all over the country.
Moore likes talking about his high school days every once in a while. He doesn’t get back as often as he’d like, but still keeps in touch with hisCavalier teammates, especially Nate Woodburn, who walked onto East Carolina’s highly successful program as a freshman and is red-shirting this year in hopes of pitching for the Pirates as a sophomore.
Then there’s Bobby Hundley, a familiar face from North Rowan — who is Moore’s constant companion all over campus.
“Bobby Hundley and Daniel, I asked how they were doing the other day and they got these great big grins on their faces,”Jack said. “They’ve got be up to something. School can’t be that much fun.”
n
Steve Hanf covers baseball for the Post.
Today's News