Facing elimination Thursday, North Carolina decided to bust out its suave white and baby blue batting helmets for just the third time in team history — and the second consecutive time in College World Series play.
Inspired mostly by the white helmets worn by Texas and Georgia, the Tar Heels first decided to try the new look in their regional contest against rival Coastal Carolina.
The Heels won the game 14-5 and have kept their new secret weapon sheathed until facing elimination in Omaha against underdog Southern Mississippi on Tuesday and again against Arizona State.
“Because it's an elimination game we wanted to break them out and get the guys excited,” said equipment manager Nate Yarbrough. “The guys love it.”
In comparison to North Carolina's traditional navy helmets, the snow white version is a welcomed change of pace.
“The white really pops,” Yarbrough said, noting the advances in concussion resistance, comfort and padding in the Nike helmets. “It looks really good.”
North Carolina first got permission from Nike to redesign the helmets at the end of the regular season, then had them custom painted on campus in Chapel Hill.
The process of creating the new design didn't come without headaches. Yarbrough and his staff, he said, were faced with the task of removing thick, gummy coats of pine tar from the old helmets in line to get a face-lift.
“We used Goo Gone to get that stuff off,” he said. “Some of the guys didn't want it taken off because they're superstitious.”
Two players in particular, junior first baseman Dustin Ackley and junior catcher Mark Fleury, didn't want their pine tar removed.
“They're so superstitious,” Yarbrough said. “Ackley even keeps the chin strap on one of his helmets like you had when you were playing little league.”
— Ross Boettcher
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