University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Duke
No. 2 Tar Heels Stumble Against Duke, 9-3
April 14, 2007 | Baseball
April 14, 2007
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 2 North Carolina allowed a single-inning, season-high six runs in the third, and Duke right-hander Tony Bajoczky took over from there to lead the Blue Devils to a 9-3 win in game one of a doubleheader Saturday at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels (31-6, 12-5 ACC) and Devils (23-14, 4-13 ACC) will play the rubber match of the three-game set at 2:25 p.m.
With the series now tied at one game each, the baseball point for the Carlyle Cup, the all sports competition between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils, will be decided with Saturday's second game. Duke holds a 9.5-8.5 lead in the competition for 2006-07.
Bajoczky, who also has wins against Florida State, Virginia and Georgia Tech, went a season-high eight innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks. He struck out two and moved to 7-2 on the year with the win. Michael Seander worked a scoreless ninth in relief.
First baseman Nate Freiman went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and shortstop Ryan McCurdy added three RBI to lead the Blue Devils at the plate. Second baseman Kyle Butler also added two RBI.
Dustin Ackley went 0-for-5 to snap the third-longest hitting streak in UNC history at 28 games. Shortstop Josh Horton, right fielder Tim Fedroff and center fielder Seth Williams each had two hits to lead the Tar Heels.
In the shortest outing of his young career, freshman Alex White (4-2) lasted just 2 2/3 innings for the Tar Heels. He struck out five, but also walked four and hit a batter. White was charged with six runs, all earned, on four hits.
White ran into trouble in the first thanks to a pair of walks and a single back to the mound but came back to strike out the side and leave the bases loaded. He set down the Blue Devils in order in the second but could not make it out of the third, as Duke scored six times for the most runs allowed by the Tar Heels in a single inning all season.
After a pair of walks, Freiman broke the scoreless tie with a single to right center. Matt Williams reached on a fielder's choice to drive in the second run, and, after back-to-back infield singles, Ryan McCurdy was hit by a pitch to give Duke a 3-0 lead. That was it for White, who was lifted in favor of senior righty Matt Danford. The Blue Devils then got back-to-back singles from Kyle Butler and Jimmy Gallagher off Danford to drive in three more runs and push the lead to 6-0.
The Tar Heels got on the board in the fourth when Fedroff followed back-to-back singles from Tim Federowicz and Horton with a base hit to right to cut the lead to 6-1.
Duke moved its lead back to six in the fifth on an RBI single by Tim Sherlock, but Carolina scratched out two runs in the bottom of the inning to get back in the game. A walk, a hit batter and an error loaded the bases for Ackley, who grounded to first to drive in a run. Federowicz followed with a groundout to short to plate the second run and cut the lead to 7-3.
McCurdy drove in the final two runs of the day for the Blue Devils with an RBI fielder's choice in the seventh and a run-scoring single in the ninth.
