University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Elon
Moss's Gem Leads Tar Heels Past Elon, 3-0
March 7, 2012 | Baseball
March 7, 2012
ELON, N.C. - Freshman right-hander Benton Moss turned in a dominant performance in North Carolina's first road game of the season Wednesday night as Moss threw 8.1 innings of shutout ball in a 3-0 win at Elon. Moss allowed just three hits while striking out eight in his first win as a Tar Heel.
Moss did not allow a hit out of the infield against Elon as the Phoenix beat out a pair of infield singles in the first and another in the fourth. The Enfield, N.C., native worked his way around the singles in the first and faced the minimum over the next five innings.
Carolina broke through in the scoring column in the third inning when Parks Jordan opened the frame with a single to left field. After a sacrifice bunt from Chaz Frank, Tommy Coyle laced a single into center field that the center fielder bobbled a bit allowing Jordan to score.
The Tar Heels added a run in the fourth when Mike Zolk singled home Tom Zengel to make it 2-0. Carolina stranded the bases loaded in the sixth before tacking on an insurance run in the seventh.
With one out on the board Tommy Coyle lined a ball into the right center field gap and raced around the bases for his team-leading third triple of the year. Colin Moran stepped in and sent a ball deep to center field but the centerfielder was able to track it down on the warning track as Coyle tagged up and pushed UNC's lead to 3-0.
After a scoreless eighth, Moss came back out for the ninth and struck out his eighth batter of the day for the first out before walking the two-hole hitter.
Closer Michael Morin came on with one out in the ninth after Moss allowed just his fifth base runner of the day. Morin closed the door to notch his second save in as many nights and fourth of the year as the Tar Heels claimed their 10th win of the year.
Up next for the Tar Heels is a trip to Clemson, S.C. where Carolina will face the Clemson Tigers in the first ACC series of the year. First pitch Friday is set for 4 p.m.
