University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Cal Poly
Tar Heels Open Season With 2-1 Win
February 18, 2011 | Baseball
Feb. 18, 2011
LOS ANGELES - A 3-for-5 performance from junior Levi Michael and 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief from Greg Holt helped North Carolina open the 2011 season with a 2-1 win over Cal Poly in Los Angeles, Calif. Sophomore Tommy Coyle drove in the game-winning run in the top of the ninth, while Chris Munnelly struck out eight in 6 1/3 innings of work to help head coach Mike Fox improve to 13-0 in season openers as the Tar Heel skipper.
Levi Michael opened the scoring ledger on the 2011 season early in the contest when he drove a pitch to the warning track in the top of the first that Cal Poly left fielder David Armendariz was unable to track down. Michael raced around the bases and picked up a triple as senior Ben Bunting scored from first after drawing a four-pitch walk to open the game. Michael would be stranded at third after a short fly to right and a groundout was unable to move the shortstop into score.
A leadoff double from Seth Baldwin in the top of the second put a runner in scoring position early for the Tar Heels but three straight outs cut the rally short. Starter Chris Munnelly was dealing from the get-go as he set down three of four batters via strikeout in the bottom of the first and faced the minimum in the second thanks to junior catcher Jacob Stallings' first caught stealing of the year.
Munnelly set down the side in the third before encountering his first bit of trouble in the fourth as he walked the first two batters. A come-backer would put one out on the board before right fielder Seth Baldwin made a charging run for out number two. Another Munnelly strike out, the seventh of the day, would end the Mustang threat.
A single and a stolen base by Michael put a runner in scoring position with one down in the top of the fifth but would be stranded there as a pair of Tar Heels went down by strikeouts.
The missed opportunity to add to the lead hurt the Tar Heels as Cal Poly evened things up with a run in the bottom half of the fifth. Tim Wise led off with a double to left center before the Mustangs moved him to score. A sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to right did the damage before Munnelly ended the frame with another punch out.
A hit by pitch opened the bottom of the seventh for the Mustangs and a sacrifice bunt by Wise moved a runner into scoring position before a walk put runners on first and second and ending Munnelly's day. Senior Greg Holt would come on in relief and set down back-to-back batters on strikeouts to end the threat.
The Tar Heels busted through in the top of the ninth when Colin Moran led off with a single back up the box. Fellow freshman Jeff Bouton came on for Moran at first and moved to second when freshman Parks Jordan dropped down a sacrifice bunt. A groundout by Ben Bunting moved Bouton to third for Tommy Coyle who would face reliever Jeff Johnson.
Coyle hit a high chopper to shortstop that Mike Miller made a charging play on the ball and fired to first but Coyle beat the throw allowing Bouton to score and give Carolina the lead.
Holt would get some help in the bottom of the ninth as the Mustangs hit a pair of balls to center field that Ben Bunting was able to chase down. The second fly ball off the bat of D.J. Gentile sent Bunting to deep center field where he made the catch one step before crashing into the wall.
Michael would finish the day 3-for-5 at the plate with the early RBI, while the Tar Heels posted seven hits on the day. Greg Holt would earn the win by tossing 2 2/3 inning of hitless relief, while striking out five.
Munnelly earned the no decision despite throwing 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball and striking out eight. The eight punch outs equaled a career high for the Winston-Salem, N.C., native as he struck out eight against Wake Forest a year ago.
The Tar Heels will return to action for a rare doubleheader Saturday as they take on Cal State Fullerton in Fullerton, Calif. at 12 noon PT before taking on USC in Los Angeles at 7 p.m. PT
