University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
East Carolina
Tar Heels Shut Out By ECU, 1-0
April 30, 2014 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL --- Reid Love outdueled Taylore Cherry and the East Carolina lefty's complete-game shutout beat North Carolina 1-0 Tuesday night at Boshamer Stadium. Love allowed just five hits over nine innings and didn't walk a batter as the Tar Heels were shut out for the first time in 2014. Cherry (0-1) scattered eight hits and allowed just one run in 6.0 solid innings of work.
Neither team could muster much offense on a cool, damp night, and the Pirates (28-18) scored the lone run of the game in the seventh. After Garrett Brooks led off the inning with a single to center, Trevor Kelley replaced Cherry and got a quick out on Hunter Allen's sacrifice. But Charlie Yorgen's clean single up the middle scored Brooks and ECU had the lead.
Perhaps Carolina's best chance came in the first when Michael Russell led off the inning with a single. The safety extended his career-best hitting streak to 18 games, and Parks Jordan's sacrifice moved him into scoring position with one out. But Russell would get no further, and Love would allow just four more hits the rest of the way.
Kelley pitched out of trouble in both the eighth and ninth as the Tar Heels committed a season-high five errors on the night, none of which led to runs. Love's masterpiece was the first complete-game shutout against the Tar Heels since Jordan Montgomery of South Carolina in last season's super regionals.
Russell left the game in the third for precautionary measures related to a sore back, so the six-day exam break is coming at a good time for the Tar Heels, who are also without injured second baseman Wood Myers.
Carolina is back in action in one week's time, as the Tar Heels host Campbell at 6 p.m. on May 6.
