
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Tar Heels Fall To Florida State In Series Finale, 9-4
March 25, 2018 | Baseball
Chapel Hill – After splitting Friday's double header with the Seminoles, the Tar Heels couldn't wrap up the series against Florida State on Sunday, dropping the rubber match 9-4.
North Carolina started the scoring in the bottom of the first with a leadoff home run to right-center from Cody Roberts. His second round-tripper of the season gave the Heels and starter Taylor Sugg an early 1-0 lead. That marked the first UNC home run to lead off a game since May 25, 2017 (Brian Miller vs. N.C. State).
After Brett Daniels came on in relief of Sugg in the top fo the third, with two on and nobody out, FSU catcher Cal Raleigh saw one pitch and sent it well over the outfield wall in right field. His third home run of the season gave Florida State a 3-1 edge.
The Heels answered back in the bottom frame, getting after FSU starter Austin Pollock. The freshman hit Michael Busch with the bases loaded to make it 3-2, and a Kyle Datres fielder's choice followed to knot the score at three.
The Seminoles tacked on a run courtesy of a sacrifice fly in the fifth, but the back-and-forth affair quickly saw a small two-out rally tie the game up once again. After a Ben Casparius walk, Brandon Riley slapped a single to right field to drive in his 14 run of the season, making it 4-4 after five full innings.
A scary collision occurred at second base on a fielder's choice up the middle between Ike Freeman and FSU's J.C. Flowers in the eighth inning. Both players remained down on the field for a few minutes. Flowers exited the game after taking a knee to the head on the slide, and Freeman left the game a few batters later as a precaution.
Immediately after that play, the Seminoles broke things open against Josh Hiatt. Nick Derr took a 1-1 pitch and skied it to left field for a grand slam that cleared the wall by a few feet. That made it 8-4 Florida State, a lead that would advance to 9-4 just a batter later with a Jackson Lueck solo shot.
Carolina threatened in the eighth, but couldn't cash in and find a way to win the series.
UNC is back in action in Charlotte on Tuesday, making the trip to play UNC-Charlotte at BB&T Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
North Carolina started the scoring in the bottom of the first with a leadoff home run to right-center from Cody Roberts. His second round-tripper of the season gave the Heels and starter Taylor Sugg an early 1-0 lead. That marked the first UNC home run to lead off a game since May 25, 2017 (Brian Miller vs. N.C. State).
After Brett Daniels came on in relief of Sugg in the top fo the third, with two on and nobody out, FSU catcher Cal Raleigh saw one pitch and sent it well over the outfield wall in right field. His third home run of the season gave Florida State a 3-1 edge.
The Heels answered back in the bottom frame, getting after FSU starter Austin Pollock. The freshman hit Michael Busch with the bases loaded to make it 3-2, and a Kyle Datres fielder's choice followed to knot the score at three.
The Seminoles tacked on a run courtesy of a sacrifice fly in the fifth, but the back-and-forth affair quickly saw a small two-out rally tie the game up once again. After a Ben Casparius walk, Brandon Riley slapped a single to right field to drive in his 14 run of the season, making it 4-4 after five full innings.
A scary collision occurred at second base on a fielder's choice up the middle between Ike Freeman and FSU's J.C. Flowers in the eighth inning. Both players remained down on the field for a few minutes. Flowers exited the game after taking a knee to the head on the slide, and Freeman left the game a few batters later as a precaution.
Immediately after that play, the Seminoles broke things open against Josh Hiatt. Nick Derr took a 1-1 pitch and skied it to left field for a grand slam that cleared the wall by a few feet. That made it 8-4 Florida State, a lead that would advance to 9-4 just a batter later with a Jackson Lueck solo shot.
Carolina threatened in the eighth, but couldn't cash in and find a way to win the series.
UNC is back in action in Charlotte on Tuesday, making the trip to play UNC-Charlotte at BB&T Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: C.J. Van Eyk (1-0)
L: Hiatt, Josh (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Rhett Aplin 1
HR: Nick Derr 1 ; Jackson Lueck 1 ; Cal Raleigh 1
RBI: Nick Derr 4 ; Jackson Lueck 1 ; Cal Raleigh 3 ; Drew Mendoza 1
SF: Drew Mendoza 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nick Derr 1 ; Jackson Lueck 2 ; Rhett Aplin 2 ; Cal Raleigh 1 ; Steven Wells 1 ; Skylar Frey 1 ; Mike Salvatore 1

Batting:
2B: Datres, Kyle 1
HR: Roberts, Cody 1
RBI: Roberts, Cody 1 ; Busch, Michael 1 ; Datres, Kyle 1 ; Riley, Brandon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Roberts, Cody 1 ; Datres, Kyle 1 ; Tessar, Dallas 1 ; Martorano, Brandon 1
SB: Datres, Kyle 1
HBP: Busch, Michael 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
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