University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Wake Forest Comes Back For A 12-7 Win
March 17, 2001 | Baseball
March 17, 2001
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The University of North Carolina fell to 0-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference baseball action and 15-6 overall with a 12-7 loss to Wake Forest (16-4) Saturday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium. Wake Forest pounded out 14 hits, including three home runs, for its sixth consecutive win over UNC since last year.
Steve LeFaivre gave Wake an early 1-0 lead with a first-inning homer to right-center field, but the Tar Heels answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the second on a Ryan Blake single.
Carolina then erupted with a five-run third inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Jeremy Cleveland and a three-run homer by Blake, his team-high fourth home run of 2001.
Wake Forest battled back with a six-run sixth inning to erase UNC's 6-1 lead and stake a 7-6 advantage. The Deacs, who capitalized on three walks in the inning, got an RBI single from Jamie Athas, a sacrifice fly by Cory Sullivan and eventually took the lead with a two-run, pinch-hit home run by Stephen Ghutzman.
Sean Farrell knocked in a run for the Tar Heels in the bottom half of the sixth to tie the game at 7, but Wake answered with two runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth, including a two-run homer by Jamie D'Antona, for the 12-7 final margin.
Jason Howell, who entered the game 5-0 with a 0.93 ERA, gave up four runs on five hits over 1.1 innings to take his first loss of the year. Adam Hanson (3-1) allowed one UNC run on three hits over 2.0 innings to collect the win.
Cleveland had career highs with three hits and two RBIs (3-for-5), while Russ Adams (2-for3), Blake (2-for-4, 4 RBIs), Chris Maples (2-for-4) and Chad Prosser (2-for-5) also starred at the plate with multi-hit games for the Tar Heels. D'Antona and Athas each had three-hit games for Wake Forest.
Carolina and Wake Forest conclude their three-game series Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Scott Autrey (1-1) will make the start for UNC, while Cory Sullivan (0-0) will get his first start of the year for the Demon Deacons.
