Brandon Schaeffer, Gage Gillean detail importance of Mikey Madej to North Carolina

Despite North Carolina baseball’s rollercoaster of a Regional tournament, they emerged victorious after battling through the consolation bracket and losing head coach Scott Forbes for two games due to suspension.

Redshirt senior and former “JUCO Bandit” Mike Madej refused to see his season end, hitting an astounding eight RBIs during consecutive elimination games against VCU last weekend. His teammates raved about his performance on in the box ahead of their Super Regional matchup.

“He’s a really special players – he’s electric out there. He’s a switch hitter and that helps a lot,” LHP Brandon Schaeffer said. “Just having his presence in the lineup, out there in left field – he’s always got energy. He’s always upbeat and there for every single person. … And I love playing with him and I hate playing against him.”

RHP Gage Gillean and Madej came into the program together as roommates – and the impact Madej has made on Gillean hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“He’s always been one of the hardest workers on the team,” Gillean said. “Always one of the guys to help everybody up, never getting down, always giving 100 percent. Even if he’s not having the best day, he’s never going to let off the breaks and that’s extremely valuable.”

The praise comes directly off the heels of a strong two-game team performance against the Rams, defeating them by a combined total of 26-11.

His most notable at bat came with one run already on the board, for the Tar Heels. Madej stepped up to the plate with runners on the corners. Swinging on the first pitch he saw, the left fielder hit a moonshot to cap off a four-run inning for North Carolina.

Forbes said after the win that if any player on his team deserves the success in the limelight, it should definitely be Mikey Madej, citing him as a phenomenal teammate and one of the most mature players on his team.

Now, the Tar Heels move on to play a best-of-three-game series at home versus Arkansas. The series begins Saturday, June 11, at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill. The first pitch of Game 1 is set for 11 a.m. ET.

“We’re not done yet, I mean, this isn’t the goal,” Madej said after the Regional victory. “We’re not going to celebrate like Coach Forbes said, we’ll celebrate in Omaha.”