University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Towson
Tar Heels Dominate Towson, 15-1
March 26, 2003 | Baseball
March 26, 2003
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina (18-7) defeated Towson (9-8), 15-1 on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels scored in each of the first five innings and for the second straight game, Carolina pitchers gave up no earned runs. Freshman pitcher Matt Danford started for the Tar Heels on a designated staff day and picked up his first career victory by working three scoreless innings and striking out five.
The Tar Heels jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning without a hit. Towson starter Jon Tapper struggled right from the start by walking the first four batters he faced and throwing a wild pitch with the bases loaded, which allowed Greg Mangum to score the game's first run. Tapper was then pulled without retiring a batter. Chris Iannetta then drew a bases loaded walk and Sammy Hewitt followed with a sacrifice fly which scored Cleveland.
Carolina added to its lead with two runs in the bottom of the second. Mangum reached on a single and Chad Prosser followed with a double down the left field line. Cleveland's team-leading eighth double of the season knocked in Mangum and Prosser and put the Tar Heels up by five.
Leading 10-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Carolina catcher Mark Griffin hit a sacrifice fly to center field which brought Cleveland around to score his second run of the day and give UNC a ten-run advantage. Justin Webb 's third single in as many at-bats brought Farrell home two batters later. The Tar Heels would add two more runs in the inning to lead 14-1 after five.
UNC's bullpen continued to be strong throughout the rest of the game as Bryan Phillips, Michael Gross, Jason King, Kevin Brower, Scott Senatore and Whitley Benson pitched six innings of scoreless relief to shut down the Tigers' offense.
Carolina heads south for a three game ACC series against the Florida State Seminoles this weekend. The starting time for Friday's game at Dick Howser Stadium is 7 p.m. Follow all the action live from Tallahassee with TarHeelBlue.com's Gametracker.
