University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Nevada
Heels Pull Out A Dramatic 8-5 Win Over Nevada
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
May 28, 1999
STANFORD, Calif.-On a day that called for heroes, Ryan Earey and Derrick Depriest were just that for North Carolina as the Tar Heels pulled out a pulsating 12-inning, 8-5 victory over the Nevada WolfPack in Palo Alto Regional action. The game was played at the Sunken Diamond on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
The win, one of the most important and thrilling in UNC's post-season history, moves Carolina into Saturday's 6:00 p.m. EDT time winners-bracket game against Stanford, a 10-2 winner over Loyola Marymount.
Earey's third home run of the day, a three-run blast to left-center in the top of the twelth, broke a 5-5 tie in the Heels' biggest game of the season.
Earey's blast would not have been possible without the incredible heroics of reliever DePriest. DePriest came on in relief in the eighth and pitched out of huge jams in the bottom of the 9th, 10th and 11th innings.
With the score tied at 4-4 and the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth, DePriest struck out Matt Ortiz and Rickey Wiens to send the game to extra innings.
The WolfPack had men on first and second with one out in the 10th, but "You Rang" got Justin Martin on a fly ball to center and Joe Inglett on a grounder to first.
Jay Madiera gave Carolina a 5-4 lead in the top of the 11th. Madiera singled to center to lead off the inning, then went to second on an errant pick-off attempt. Madiera moved over to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a passed ball with Matt McCay at bat.
Nevada came storming back in the bottom of the 11th with the help of a Carolina error. Lyle Overbay's grounder to first was booted by Ryan Blake, then Don Price singled to right, moving Overbay to second. Ortiz ripped a grounder just under Clay Hooper's glove at short, scoring Overbay with the tying run and moving Price to third. After Rickey Wiens struck out, Arona Taeles was intentionally walked, loading the bases with one out. John Grover then grounded into a short to second to first double-play to get DePriest out of his third straight jam.
Hooper and LaMarsh led off the 12th with walks, but Nevada reliever Scott Albin looked like he might get out of the inning when he struck out Tyrell Godwin and Jarrett Shearin. Earey then launched his shot to left, giving him his second three-homer game of the season. Ironically, Earey's other three-homer game was also in California, coming earlier in the season in a game at Fresno.
Given a three-run cushion, DePriest waltzed through his only uneventful inning of the game, getting three straight WolfPack batters to end the game.
Mike Bynum started on the mound for UNC, giving up four earned runs on eight hits in 7.1 innings. Bynum struck out a season-high 12 Nevada batters.
Chad Qualls started and went 8.0 innings for Nevada. Qualls gave up four earned runs on nine hits while striking out ten Tar Heel batters.
Hooper homered in the first and Earey followed with his first shot of the night in the second to give UNC an early 2-0 lead, but Nevada tied it at 2-2 in the third with the aid of a pair of bloop hits.
Dan Moylan scored on a fielder's choice in the fifth for a 3-2 UNC lead, then Earey hit another homer in the eighth for a 4-2 lead.
Just when the Heels appeared to be in good shape, Nevada rallied for two runs, tying the game on a Taele's single and setting the stage for Earey and DePriest's extra-inning heroics.
Depriest (7-5) gave up one unearned run in 4.2 innings while giving up five hits and striking out five. Albin (4-4) gave up three runs in 4.0 innings. DePriest was making his 35th appearance of the season.
Earey finished the game 3-5 with five RBI, while Hooper was 3-5 with one RBI. Joe Inglett was 3-7 for Nevada, while Scott Grover, Justin Martin and Lyle Overbay each had two hits.
Nevada, which left 15 men on base, loaded the bases in the 1st, 4th, 9th and 11th innings but got just the one run in the 11th.
Carolina, which broke a four-game losing streak, is now 41-16, while Nevada falls to 36-19.
