University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
No Carolina St
No. 6 Carolina Baseball Falls To NC State, 14-11
March 24, 2000 | Baseball
March 24, 2000
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina baseball team dropped a 14-11 contest to NC State Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium, but the No. 6 Tar Heels did not go down without a fight. Trailing 14-2, Carolina scored seven runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth but could not overcome the 12-run deficit in dropping to 0-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and 22-5 overall. NC State is now 16-8 on the season and 5-2 in the ACC.
Carolina starter Eric Henderson (4-2) struck out seven NC State batters, but surrendered seven runs on nine hits in 5.0 innings for the loss. Dan D'Amato was excellent for the Wolfpack through the first six innings, and despite struggling in the seventh he was credited with his fifth win against two losses. D'Amato allowed seven runs, six earned, on eight hits, four of those coming in that big UNC seventh.
Two-out, two-run homers by both Dan Mooney and Josh Schmitt helped the Wolfpack to a quick 4-0 start in the top of the first inning. The Pack added a fifth run in the second on an RBI double by leadoff man Brian Wright.
The Tar Heels got on the scoreboard with two runs in the third inning. Back-to-back two-out singles by Chris Maples and Dan Moylan put runners at the corners and Clay Hooper's single to center field scored Maples. Moylan later scored on a wild pitch and Carolina had cut the NCSU lead to 5-2.
But NC State blew the game open with two runs in the fifth, three in the sixth and four in the seventh. Schmitt hit his second two-run homer of the afternoon in the fifth. Wright finished the day 4-for-6, including three doubles, and he knocked in four runs. Schmitt was 3-for-5 with five RBI on the afternoon.
Adam Greenberg got the Heels going in the seventh, extending his hitting streak to 18 games with a leadoff double off the right field wall. Carolina sent 13 batters to the plate in the inning and got seven runs on six hits, but still trailed by a 14-9 count after the inning. Sean Farrell got the first three runs across the plate on a three-run homer to left field and a Tyrell Godwin double to left scored another two runs for the Heels.
A one-out Greenberg single in the ninth again sparked a UNC rally. Jay Madeira followed Greenberg with a pinch hit single and a two-out pinch hit single by Russ Adams knocked home both runners to cut the lead to 14-11. After Moylan walked, Hooper came to the plate as the tying run, but his foul out to first ended the game.
The Tar Heels and Wolfpack take to the field again tomorrow for a 1 p.m. game at Boshamer. Sunday's series finale begins at 1:30 p.m.
