CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Franklin Street-- UNC's answer to the Corner -- was burning Saturday night following the Tar Heels' victory over Michigan State in St. Louis. Tar Heel fans, however, also had plenty of baseball success to celebrate this weekend. North Carolina (24-5, 8-2 ACC), ranked No. 11 nationally in the Baseball America poll, swept Virginia (19-9, 4-6 ACC) in a three-game weekend series.
Sunday the Cavaliers suffered a devastating 3-2 loss in 11 innings. The loss in the series finale was preceded by an 8-7 loss in 14 innings Friday night and a damp 10-5 loss Saturday afternoon. Saturday's game was postponed by two separate rain delays, each of which exceeded an hour in length.
Virginia was haunted by a plethora of tantalizing scoring opportunities that went unfulfilled. The Cavaliers failed to tally with runners in scoring position in the third, fifth and seventh innings. Virginia also broke a cardinal rule of baseball in the fourth inning, when Sean Doolittle made the third out of the inning attempting to steal third base.
Jeff Kamrath pitched brilliantly but, in the end, his effort was futile. Kamruth pitched eight-and-one-third innings while giving up only one run on two hits and striking out six.
"Jeff Kamrath was tremendous today," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "He showed what a veteran pitcher does in a difficult situation."
The Tar Heels manufactured their first run in the bottom of the second inning. Freshman first baseman Chad Flack led off the inning by lining Kamrath's offering to left field for a single. Flack then stole second before being pushed over to third by junior Mike Daniel's groundball to the Virginia second baseman, Kyle Werman. Sophomore Jay Cox lifted a lazy pop fly to the left fielder Mike Mitchell that was deep enough to score Flack. Kamrath responded by striking out Seth Williams on three straight pitches to end the inning.
The Cavaliers' offense awakened in the top of the fourth inning. Third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman continued his torrid hitting against Tar Heel pitching, lining his ninth hit of the series to center field. Zimmerman stole second, and with one out freshman Sean Doolittle drilled a double over the right-fielder's head, scoring Zimmerman.
"I decided to be a little more patient than I had been," said Zimmerman, who was zero for his last seven coming into the series.
The game evolved into an intense pitcher's duel between Kamrath and North Carolina left-handed starter Adam Kalkof. Kalkof, with all 6-feet-6-inches of him looming on the mound, limited the Cavaliers' offense to one run onsix hits over six-and-two-thirds innings. Sophomore right-hander Robert Woodard also pitched two-and-one-third innings of stellar relief for the Tar Heels.
The prospects of victory seemed excellent for Virginia when Matt Street hit a tenth inning homerun to give the Cavaliers a one-run lead. The Tar Heels, however, responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single off the bat of Jay Cox.
In the bottom of the 11th, North Carolina designated hitter Matt Ellington won the game with a single that landed just over the outstretched glove of Werman, scoring pinch-runner Kyle Shelton. Relief pitcher Casey Lambert, who replaced Kamrath in the ninth inning, surrendered the game-winning base-hit.
Read More
No. 6 women’s squash falls to No. 5 Stanford in first match of the new year
By Peter Kratz | YesterdayThe Cavaliers fall to 0-1 in conference play after their first clash with the Cardinal.
Katie Grimes posts historic debut as women’s swimming and diving annihilates Virginia Tech
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoGrimes broke out as a new superstar for Coach Todd DeSorbo's squad.
Women’s basketball displays stingy defense, but falls short versus No. 14 Duke
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers nearly conquered a ranked rival but could not generate consistent offense.
