After sitting out 21 games with a broken right hand, UNC baseball star Colin Moran has been cleared to play and could see action today against Winthrop at 6 p.m. in Chapel Hill.
Moran, picked by Baseball America as the national freshman player of the year in 2011, broke the fourth and fifth metacarpals in his right hand during a 3-1 loss to N,C. State on March 26.
The injury was similar to one suffered by UNC basketball player nine earlier in Greensboro during an NCAA Tournament win over Creighton.
Through 22 games, Moran, a left-handed hitting third baseman, had a .389 batting average in 90 at-bats. He had hit two homers and driven in 24 runs before the injury.
Carolina (30-13 overall, 13-8 ACC) is ranked No. 10 nationally. Winthrop is 13-29. The Tar Heels will host Boston College (20-26, 9-15) in a weekend series starting Friday at 6 p.m. in Boshamer Stadium. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 2 p.m. and Sunday’s series finale at noon.
As a freshman, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Moran batted .335 with nine HRs and 71 RBI in 67 games. The nephew of former Carolina star B.J. Surhoff, Moran is rated among the nation’s top prospects in the 2013 Major League draft.
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