BUTLER TWP — Location is everything.

It's become that way this spring for Butler graduate and University of North Carolina sophomore pitcher Connor Ollio.

With the college baseball season short-circuited by the coronavirus outbreak, Ollio and his teammates are left to fend for themselves in terms of staying in baseball shape.

Ollio is back home in Butler doing just that.

“There's an open field next to our house,” Ollio said. “Our coaches gave us a workout plan to follow. I go over to that field with a bucket of 50 to 60 balls and just throw them,

“It's hard to measure the proper distance as to where I want the baseballs to land. But that's my throwing workout.”

One of his neighbors, Nathan Higgins, plays baseball for North Catholic and “he and I have an occasional catch,” Ollio added.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Ollio doesn't have a lot of weights at home, but does have a treadmill.

“I've been doing a lot of running,” he said.

He's preparing to pitch again. He just doesn't know when.

The right-hander was a regular starter in the Tar Heels' rotation — pitching on Sundays — when the spring season was abruptly ended. He was 1-1 with a 4.61 earned run average in four starts this year.

A control pitcher, Ollio allowed only two walks and one wild pitch in his 13.2 innings. He was 3-1 with a 4.58 ERA, 44 strikeouts in 37.1 innings pitched for the Atlantic Coast Conference champion Tar Heels last year.

“I think I've improved more mentally than anything I'm doing physically this year,” Ollio said. “My fastball is usually between 88 and 91 (mph), I have a nice slider and have been working on my changeup. That pitch has gotten better.

“It definitely hurts my development, the rest of this season being canceled. That's three months of time with our coaches lost. I've learned a lot from those guys and I've adjusted mentally to baseball at this level.”

North Carolina coach Mike Fox is in his 37th year overall and leads all active Div. I baseball coaches with 1,475 career wins. He has sent 105 players on to Major League Baseball.

Ollio hopes to one day join that list.

“It's been a goal of mine since third grade,” he admitted.

He's facing plenty of variables in that journey right now: UNC has a first-year pitching coach, the MLB draft may shrink in size and there may be no summer baseball this year.

“I don't know where or if I'm playing yet,” Ollio said of summer ball. “The Cape Cod League shut down this year and that's the premier summer league. Other leagues may follow suit. None of us (UNC) players have been assigned anywhere yet. I just have to wait and see.”

North Carolina has three seniors on its team. Ollio said one will return for his fifth year of eligibility while the other two are weighing their options in professional baseball.

Bryant Gaines, UNC's pitching coach, held that position at Liberty the previous three years. A former Tar Heel pitcher, Gaines had Tommy John surgery twice in his collegiate career.

“He's been through a lot and really knows the craft,” Ollio said. “I love working with him.

“I've got three years left to play here. How long I go depends on my (pro) prospects and what happens with the draft. It's just too soon to tell.”

Ollio is majoring in statistics.

A highly touted shortstop as well as pitcher coming out of high school, he admits he misses playing an every-day position.

“It was my favorite part of the game,” Ollio said of playing every day. “I still slip into the batting cage on my own every now and then, just to get some swings in.

“I was a big fish in a small pond as a high school player. Now I'm a small fish in a big pond. I do what's good for the team and that's good enough for me.”

North Carolina was 12-7 and had yet to begin ACC play when the season was ended.

“We're all just hoping for fall baseball now,” Ollio said. “When the students can come back, we'll be out there.”