North Carolina
Missouri
Tar Heels Close Out Weekend With Twinbill Sweep
February 20, 2011 | Baseball
Feb. 20, 2011
LOS ANGELES - Carolina used the big innings to its advantage Sunday in a doubleheader sweep of Missouri (11-3) and Southern California (11-7) to close out the USC Tournament in Los Angeles, Calif. The Tar Heels claimed all four games on the weekend as Levi Michael, Tommy Coyle and Jacob Stallings all finished with seven or more hits apiece. UNC will return to action Friday, Feb. 25 when it hosts Seton Hall in a three-game series starting at 3 p.m.
Game 1 vs. Missouri
Carolina found itself behind for the first time in 2011 in the second inning against Missouri as the Tigers used a double and a RBI single against starter Kent Emanuel to take the early 1-0 lead.
Tiger starter Zack Hardoin kept the Tar Heels in check through the first four innings as Carolina was held hitless putting just three runners on via walks and a hit by pitch. Jesse Wierzbicki snapped Hardoin's no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the fourth but the Carolina bats really came to life in the sixth inning trailing 2-0.
A RBI double put Mizzou ahead but Seth Baldwin prevented the Tigers from adding to their lead. With runners at the corners and one down Ben Turner lifted a fly ball to right field that Baldwin was under and fired home to attempt to cut down a tagging Opel from third. Baldwin's throw took one hop to a waiting Stallings at the plate who deftly blocked the plate at the last second for the double play.
Ben Bunting led off the sixth with a bunt directly at the first baseman that went through Dane Opel's legs getting the rally going early. A single by Tommy Coyle and a walk to Levi Michael loaded the bases for Jacob Stallings who quickly unloaded them with a shot down the third base line that made its way into the left field corner putting UNC in front 3-2.
Carolina erupted for six runs in the seventh inning to blow the game open Tom Zengel, Jesse Wierzbicki and Levi Michael all drove in two runs apiece in the sixth with Zengel and Michael going with the single and Wierzbicki delivering his first home run of the spring.
Baldwin contributed with the bat as well in the eighth inning when he drove a pitch well out of Dedeaux Field for a two-run blast giving Carolina an 11-2 lead. The Tar Heels would allow a run in the ninth and finish with the 11-3 win. Andrew Smith earned the win throwing a scoreless inning, while the Tar Heels used six pitchers in the contest.
Game 2 vs. USC
Seth Baldwin kept the hot bat going in the second game as he came just inches from another home run in the top of the second when he drove a pitch off the right center field wall for a triple. Jacob Stallings and Colin Moran both scored on the play after reaching earlier in the inning with singles.
The Trojans finally got to starter Michael Morin in the bottom of the fourth when they pushed three runs across to take the lead. Morin had kept the Trojans in check through the first three innings not allowing a hit and striking out a pair.
Carolina answered quickly in the top of the fifth as they sent 10 batters to the plate and scored four runs to regain the lead at 6-3. Run scoring doubles by Coyle and Moran along with a RBI single from Stallings and a bases loaded walk to Zengel helped push the lead to 6-3.
The Trojans had a big inning snuffed out in the fifth on a tremendous running catch by Seth Baldwin. With a runner on first and one out Alex Sherrod lifted a ball to deep right center field, the junior right fielder chased down the ball and made an over the shoulder catch before crashing into the wall. The runner at first was nearly to third base before he realized Baldwin had tracked down the fly.
The Tar Heels tacked on another run in the sixth when Moran rapped his second RBI single in as many at bats sending one back up the middle to score Levi Michael from second after he singled and stole second.
The Trojans would battle back in the sixth getting back-to-back singles to open the frame. Morin set down the next batter but a third single in the inning put the Tar Heels in trouble with the bases loaded. Morin earned another whiff but he was unable to escape trouble as he hit James Roberts to force in a run.
With preseason All-America Ricky Oropesa stepping to the plate R.C. Orlan came on in relief of Morin. Oropesa worked a 3-1 count before driving a pitch down the line and into the corner plating all three runners and knotting things up at 7-7. Freshman Shane Taylor came on to get the final out of the inning putting the Tar Heel bats back at the dish.
aldwin came through once again in the top of the seventh as he led off with a double to left center and moved to third on a perfectly placed ground ball by Tom Zengel. Chaz Frank hit a hard grounder to short that scored Baldwin from third and give Carolina a lead it would not relinquish.
Carolina found itself in trouble in the eighth, however, as USC put runners on first and second with one out for Oropessa but freshman Tate Parrish got the big lefty swinging before Cody Penny came on to get a fly out to end the inning.
Carolina tacked on three in the top of the ninth as Tommy Coyle ripped a two-run triple to left before scoring on a wild pitch. Penny threw a scoreless ninth for his second save in as many days.
Jacob Stallings and Seth Baldwin each drove in four runs on the day for the Tar Heels, while the Tar Heel hurlers combined to strike out 42 in 38 innings of work on the weekend allowing just 13 runs in the four games.
The Tar Heels begin the season 4-0 for the 10th time in head coach Mike Fox's 13 years at the helm. Carolina will open its 2011 home campaign on Friday, Feb. 25 in the first game of a three-game series against Seton Hall who went 1-2 at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge in St. Petersburg, Fla., over the weekend.
