Chris Maples

Position:
3rd Base/2nd Base/Outfield
Height:
5-10
Weight:
170
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Hillsborough, NC
High School:
Orange

Only fourth-year senior on the roster • Will move to right field after starting 46 games at third base as a junior • Also will see time on the mound after working some as a closer during the fall • Has strongest arm on the team and has worked very hard pitching in the offseason • Shows no fear and has a closer's mentality on the mound • Can throw a 90+ mph fastball and has a hard slider.

As a Junior (2001)
Started 46 games at third base and seven at second • Batted .288 and tied for the team lead with seven home runs • Ranked fourth on the team with 39 RBIs and tied for the team lead with six sacrifice bunts • Began the season on a tear, driving in a career-high six runs in batting 2-for-5 against James Madison on Feb. 10; had a two-run double and a three-run home run as Carolina won 23-9 to open the season • Drove in two more runs in each of the next two games, versus James Madison (Feb. 11) and Coastal Carolina (Feb. 13), to tally 10 RBIs in the first three games • Helped Carolina rally to a 7-6 win over Minnesota at the Coca-Cola Classic in Mobile, Ala., with a pinch-hit, RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning; UNC rallied for three runs in the ninth against the Gophers for the victory • Hit his second home run of the year, a solo shot in the sixth inning, in a 7-6 win over Seton Hall on Feb. 23; was 2-for-3 in the series finale against the Pirates to finish 4-for-10 for the series • Singled and scored twice in going 2-for-3 against Davidson on Feb. 27 • Had a three-run homer in the second inning of the March 10 win over LeMoyne; finished that game 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBIs • Had a two-run double and was 2-for-5 against Coastal Carolina on March 13 • Was 2-for-3, including a two-run double, in the series-opener at NC State on March 30 • Had a terrific series at Maryland (April 6-8), batting 5-for-15 with seven RBIs and scored five runs; had three homers in the series, including a two-run shot in the series-opener and solo home runs in consecutive at bats in Sunday’s series finale; became first Tar Heel to have homers in consecutive at bats since Tyrell Godwin did so in 1999 at Clemson • Extended career-long hitting streak to nine games with a hit at UNC Greensboro on April 10 • Saw hitting streak snapped with 0-for-2 game versus Charlotte on April 11, but hit safely in the next six games, including 5-for-11 (.455) in three games versus Virginia (April 13-15) • Had back-to-back three-hit games in mid-week wins over Liberty (May 1) and UNC Wilmington (May 2) • Ended the regular season with three hits in the Georgia Tech series (May 11-13). Summer 2001: Joined the Durham Braves of the Coastal Plain League for the second half of the summer and was productive • Batted .315 with three home runs and 24 RBIs.

As a Sophomore (2000)
Started 24 of 53 games in the infield and finished the season with a .306 batting average • Improved as the year went on and was excellent in the NCAA Regional at Upper Monclair, where he was named to the All-Tournament team after batting 6-for-15 (.400) with one RBI and two runs • Scored his first run and notched his first RBI of the season in the 9-0 win over Miami at the season-opening Disney Blast • Had three hits, including two doubles, in five at bats vs. Towson on March 22 • Started two games at third base and batted 3-for-7 (.429) in the NC State series (March 24-26) • Was 2-for-3 and scored a run in the 4-1 series-ending win • Helped blow open the 6-0 series-opening win over Clemson with a two-run pinch-hit single in the eighth inning • Had a pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh inning against Davidson (April 5) to help propel UNC to a five-run inning and an 11-5 win • Had a pinch-hit, two-out double to right-center field in the bottom of the ninth inning to score the game-winning run for Carolina in the 6-5 victory over Florida State (May 13) • Started two of three ACC Tournament games at second base and was 5-for-12 (.417) with two doubles and two runs • Was 3-for-6, including a double and an RBI single in the 13-7 second-round win over Duke (May 18) • Was 12-for-28 (.428) over the final eight games of the season after knocking in the game-winning run in the May 13 FSU win. Summer 2000: Played with the Durham Braves of the Coastal Plain League • Batted .234 with a team-high 18 RBIs and seven doubles.

As a Freshman (1999)
Backup middle infielder • Homered and drove in two runs in going 2-for-4 on Feb. 27 versus Temple • Also drove in two March 24 versus Towson and March 31 versus Davidson • Hit a two-run homer vs. Duke on April 23. Summer 1999: Played for the Durham Braves of the Coastal Plain League • Played both shortstop and third.

Orange High School
Played shortstop, second base and pitcher as a four-year letterman at Orange H.S. • Won school's scholar athlete award all four years • All-conference choice and runnerup for Pac 6 Conference player of the year honors as a senior • School's defensive player of the year as a junior and its offensive player of the year as a senior • Also played a year of football (cornerback and quarterback) and three years of basketball (guard) • Member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes • Batted .420 for American Legion Post 452 in the summer of 1998.

Personal
Christopher David Maples was born on 10/31/79 • Is the son of Charles and Mary Maples • Majoring in exercise and sports science.

Chris Maple's Career Batting Statistics
YEAR	G-GS	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR	Slg	SB	BB	SO	Avg
1999	36-4	25	7	6	11	0	0	2	.480	0-0	2	7	.240
2000	53-24	111	21	34	21	9	1	0	.405	3-4	13	20	.306
2001	57-53	198	35	57	39	11	1	7	.460	8-11	8	27	.288
Totals	146-81	334	63	97	71	20	2	9	.443	11-15	23	54	.290

Maples's Career Batting Highs
Hits: 3 vs. Towson (3/22/00), vs. Le Moyne (3/10/01), vs. Charlotte (4/12/01), vs. Liberty (5/1/01), at UNCW (5/2/01); Runs: 2 (13 times); RBI: 6 vs. James Madison (2/10/01); Hit Streak: 9 games (3/28/01-4/10/01); Stolen Bases: 2 vs. Davidson (2/27/01)