University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia Tech
Hokies Even Series With No. 4 Tar Heels, 6-3
March 24, 2007 | Baseball
March 24, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va. - One day after scoring 15 runs on 19 base hits, No. 4 North Carolina managed just six hits off Virginia Tech pitching and fell to the host Hokies, 6-3, Saturday at English Field. Left-hander Andrew Wells pitched seven strong innings for Virginia Tech (15-9, 4-4 ACC), while second baseman Garrett Gore went 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead the Tar Heels (21-4, 5-3 ACC).
Wells (2-2) allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings to pick up the win, while Rhett Ballard struck out three over the final two innings for the Hokies. Nate Parks and Steve Bumbry each had two hits to lead Virginia Tech at the plate.
UNC starter Alex White (3-1) pitched well in defeat, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked only one, but was hurt by a two-run outfield error by the Tar Heels in the fifth that gave the Hokies a 4-1 lead.
Offensively, Carolina managed just two hits over the first five innings and then stranded five of its 10 base runners over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. The top four batters in the Tar Heels' lineup went just 2-for-20 on the afternoon.
Gore's two base hits matched a season high as the Wilmington native pushed his career-best hitting streak to seven games. Freshman first baseman Dustin Ackley extended his 17-game hitting streak - the longest by a Tar Heel since 2004 - in the first with a single up the middle but went just 1-for-5 on the day.
Carolina scratched out a run in the second, as Josh Horton walked, moved to third on an error and scored when Seth Williams hit into a 6-4-3 double play to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead.
The Hokies then scored six unanswered runs, beginning with two in the third. Catcher Anthony Sosnoskie doubled home Bumbry and scored on a Sean O'Brien sacrifice fly to give Virginia Tech a 2-1 advantage after three.
Carolina failed to score after loading the bases with no outs in the fourth and went in order in the fifth before the Hokies added two more runs on a fielding error by Williams in the fifth. He collided with right fielder Tim Fedroff on a two-out fly ball off the bat of Bryan Thomas, allowing the ball to drop and two unearned runs to score. Parks and O'Brien both singled to start the two-out rally.
Virginia Tech added two more runs in the seventh. Rob Wooten walked O'Brien to lead off the inning, and Thomas doubled to left before Adam Redd's sac fly to center plated the first run. Sean Ryan followed two batters later with a single to right to drive in Thomas and give the Hokies a 6-1 lead.
The Tar Heels trimmed the lead to three on a two-run single by Gore in the eighth. After loading the bases on a walk, a hit batter and a pinch-hit bunt single by Kyle Seager, Gore singled up the middle to drive in two. After working out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the inning to keep the deficit at three, Carolina went in order in the ninth against Ballard.
The Tar Heels and Hokies close out their three-game series with the rubber game at 1 p.m. Sunday. A webcast will be available through ACC Select.
