Earlier this season, Jason DeCaro faced a bit of a "sophomore slump" on the mound.
From March 7 to April 4, the Diamond Heels lost four of DeCaro's five starts. The right-hander pitched less than five innings in three of those outings, as his struggles led to Scott Forbes shifting the weekend rotation a bit.
DeCaro went from being the team's Friday night starter to becoming the No. 3 starter in the rotation, a move that has certainly fueled the North Port, New York native.
In fact, his stint as the team's No. 3 starter only lasted a few starts, as Forbes moved the surging DeCaro up a day to follow ace Jake Knapp in the rotation. On Friday night, DeCaro put together another gem, limiting the No. 2-ranked Florida State Seminoles to one run over six strong innings of work.
Over his last five starts, DeCaro has posted an impressive 1.55 ERA over 29 innings of work. This has led to success for the Diamond Heels, as they've won each of those five contests.
If the Diamond Heels aim to make a deep run to Omaha, they are going to need Jason DeCaro at the top of his game. With Knapp and DeCaro pitching at an elite level, the Tar Heels will have two top-flight arms available to neutralize opposing team's offenses.
Fortunately, it seems like DeCaro is finding his groove just at the right time, as Friday night's start in his final regular season outing leaves UNC baseball fans feeling confident about the team's rotation leading up to postseason action.