Tar Heels Beat Terps In Slugfest, 13-7

Saturday, May 24

Greensboro, N.C.

3:00 PM

North Carolina

Maryland

Tar Heels Drop Series Finale To URI, 6-3

May 25, 2014 | Baseball

By: UNC Athletic Communications

GREENSBORO, N.C. --- North Carolina scored six times in the eighth to break a 7-7 tie and beat Maryland 13-7 Saturday evening in the final game of pool play at the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship. The Tar Heels, who had 15 hits against five Maryland pitchers and matched a season high with 13 runs, will now await their NCAA tournament fate after finishing 34-25 with a third win of the season against the Terrapins.

Skye Bolt had three hits and drove in a pair of runs, while four other Tar Heels had two hits. Carolina led 7-2 after six innings before Maryland (36-20) stormed back to tie it in the seventh against Trent Thornton.

Zac Gallen started for UNC and was outstanding through six innings before leaving with two on in the seventh. The Gibbsboro, New Jersey, freshman had allowed just five hits and two runs before Blake Schmit and Tim Lewis reached on back-to-back singles and Thornton entered for his second relief outing of the week.

But unlike Tuesday against NC State when Thornton retired the final six Wolfpack batters to secure a 4-3 win, Maryland got to the sophomore righty to tie the game. Nick Cieri greeted Thornton with an RBI single to make it 7-3, and the Terps added three more hits and a sac fly to spoil Gallen's stellar outing and knot the game at 7.

Maryland threatened again in the eighth when Carolina called on Reilly Hovis, who stranded a pair with a three-pitch strikeout of Kevin Martir.

Joe Dudek led off the home half of the eighth with a pinch-hit single against Robert Galligan (0-1) before a bunt and an Adam Pate walk put two on for Wood Myers. Myers, who homered in the seventh Friday against Virginia, came up big again with a hard-hit ball to right center. Maryland's Charlie White made a diving attempt and temporary blocked the sight of the ball from pinch-runner Michael Massardo, who was forced to hold up. Massardo eventually broke for home, and his head-first slide was just ahead of the tag of Martir to put Carolina back in front.

The Tar Heels followed with five consecutive run-scoring at-bats - hits by Landon Lassiter, Bolt, Tyler Ramirez and Parks Jordan as well as a sac fly by Alex Raburn - to build a 13-7 lead. Hovis (8-1) allowed a one-out single to Kyle Convissar in the ninth, but Raburn turned a 6-3 double play to end the game and give Carolina a third win in four tries against the Terps and a 2-2 finish at the event.

Michael Russell started at DH after missing Friday night's game and had two hits and two RBIs before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth.

Carolina will now await the announcement of the NCAA tournament field of 64 Monday at noon on ESPNU.