University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
No. 1 Tar Heels, No. 7 Cavaliers Split Doubleheader Sunday
March 18, 2007 | Baseball
March 18, 2007
Game One Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
Game Two Box Score |
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 1 North Carolina rebounded from back-to-back losses to No. 7 Virginia and avoided its first sweep at home since 2003 with a 9-4 victory in game two of a doubleheader Sunday at Boshamer Stadium. The Cavaliers (19-4, 3-3 ACC) scored a 9-6 win in the first game, before the Tar Heels (18-3, 4-2 ACC) hammered out 13 hits en route to the game two victory.
The series loss was the first at home for UNC since going 0-2-1 against Miami at Boshamer in 2005.
Freshman first baseman Dustin Ackley, who went 10-for-13 in the series, led Carolina with six hits and three RBI Sunday to extend his career-best hitting streak to 13 games. Over the last four games, the Walnut Cove native is 13-for-16 and reached base 12 straight times at one point over this run. He is now batting .481 on the season with a team-high 27 RBI.
Ackley was 2-for-5 with an RBI in game two, while left fielder Reid Fronk was 3-for-5 with a season-best four RBI. Tim Federowicz also added three hits, while Benji Johnson and Tim Fedroff each had two hits in the second contest. Johnson also matched a career high with three runs scored.
Right-hander Luke Putkonen (4-0) improved to 10-0 in his career after scattering eight hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings. He was tagged with four runs and struck out five. Virginia lefty Matt Packer (2-1) allowed seven runs on nine hits over four innings.
Led by juniors Andrew Carignan and Tyler Trice, Carolina's bullpen allowed just two hits over 3 1/3 innings.
After Virginia scored in the first, Carolina came back with three unearned runs in the second to grab a lead it would never relinquish in the series finale. Ackley reached on an error and scored on Fedroff's RBI single to tie the game. Garrett Gore followed with a run-scoring grounder to second, and Fronk added his first hit of the day to plate the third run.
The teams traded runs in the fourth before the Tar Heels put up five in the fifth to take a 9-2 lead. Ackley drove in the first run with a single up the middle, Gore drew a bases loaded walk and scored on a wild pitch and Fronk came through with a two-run, two-out single to right center.
In the first game of the day, Virginia rallied from a 5-3 deficit with six runs over the sixth and seventh innings and held on for the 9-6 series-clinching victory. Reliever Andrew Carraway (3-0) picked up the win after allowing just one run over three innings. UNC lefty Rob Catapano (0-1) was charged with the go-ahead run for UVa and took the loss.
Sean Doolittle went 4-for-5 with three RBI to lead the Wahoos, while Ackley had his second straight four-hit game and added two RBI to pace the Tar Heels. UNC third baseman Chad Flack went 3-for-5 with two RBI to snap an 0-for-15 slump. Carolina had 14 hits in the game, but stranded 13 runners and left the bases loaded twice.
With the game tied at three, Carolina scored twice in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double by Federowicz and a run-scoring groundout from Johnson to take its first lead of the day.
The 5-3 advantage for the Tar Heels was short-lived, as the Cavaliers scored four times in the sixth. Doolittle had the big blow with a two-run single, but pinch hitter John Scaglione started the scoring rally with an RBI single. Three of the runs were unearned, as shortstop Josh Horton could not hold on to a throw from Johnson on a stolen base attempt by pinch runner Mike Mitchell that would have been the second out of the inning.
Virginia added two more in the seventh, including a fourth unearned run on a throwing error by Horton, to make the score 9-5.
The Tar Heels loaded the bases on three singles in the bottom of the inning, but left the bases loaded for the second time in the game. UNC cut the lead to three on a sac fly by Ackley in the eighth, but left two more runners on base in their final threat of game one.
Starter Alex White allowed five runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings for the Tar Heels, while Doolittle gave up four runs on nine hits over four innings.
Carolina is back in action this week with a two-game midweek set against Towson. Game time for Tuesday and Wednesday is 3 p.m.
