University of North Carolina Athletics
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Virginia
Tar Heels Hold Off Virginia, 7-6
April 14, 2001 | Baseball
April 14, 2001
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina defeated Virginia, 7-6, Saturday evening in Atlantic Coast Conference baseball action at Boshamer Stadium. Carolina has now won three straight ACC games after getting off to a school-worst 0-7 start in conference play to improve to 23-17 overall, 5-9 in the league. The Tar Heels have also now won three straight games overall for the first time since March 7-10.
The Tar Heels allowed five unearned runs but capitalized on six Virginia (18-20, 5-12) errors in the victory. Carolina, which has never lost a three-game series at home to the Cavs, needs a win in Sunday's series finale for its fourth series sweep in Chapel Hill since 1993.
Kevin Brower (2-1) pitched the final three innings out of the bullpen, allowing one run on three hits, for the win. With runners at the corners and two outs in the ninth, the freshman righty struck out Jeff Kamrath to end the game. Virginia starter Dan Street went the full eight innings for the loss to fall to 2-4.
Virginia got an unearned in the top of the third to score the game's first run. Second baseman Shawn McLeary's single scored David Stone, who got on base by an error by Tar Heel right fielder Jeremy Cleveland.
The Cavaliers added two more unearned runs in the fourth for a 3-0 lead. Dan Street was hit to lead off the inning and later scored on a throwing error at the plate by third baseman Chris Maples. Stone added a sacrifice bunt to score Chris Sweet.
Street was perfect through three innings and had allowed just one hit through four before the Tar Heels got to the junior righty in the fifth with two runs on three hits. Ralph Roberts led off the inning with a single and Jason Howell followed with a bunt single. Sean Farrell's sacrifice fly drove home Roberts for UNC's first run and Ron Braun added an RBI to cut Virginia's lead to 3-2.
Virginia's fourth and fifth unearned runs of the evening pushed the Cavs ahead 5-2 in the sixth. Sweet and center fielder Doug Vroman each scored in the inning for UVa. But the Tar Heels answered with two unearned runs of their own in a wild bottom half of the sixth, which included four Virginia errors. Chad Prosser and Cleveland each scored for UNC to pull the Heels to within 5-4.
Carolina eventually pulled ahead 7-5 in the bottom of the seventh. Greenberg singled and scored, while Braun and Adams both walked and scored in an inning that featured just one hit, but three runs.
Virginia threatened in the eighth, but Brower managed to get out of the inning unscathed. Kamrath and Stone each drew one-out walks, but the freshman right-hander fanned McCleary for the inning's second out. Hunter Wyant then flied out to Greenberg on the warning track in left-center for the final out of the eighth. The Cavs pulled to within one run in the ninth on an RBI single by Sweet, before Brower's game-ending strikeout of Kamrath.
Virginia managed five hits in six innings off of UNC starter Ralph Roberts, but scored five unearned runs. Last week's ACC Pitcher of the Week, Roberts also struck out five batters before being relieved by Brower in the seventh.
Greenberg was 2-for-4 to extend his season-high hitting streak to six games, while Roberts was 1-for-3 and has also now hit in a season-high six straight games. Cleveland was 0-for-4 to end his hitting streak at 12 games, a the longest hitting streak by a Tar Heel this season. Cleveland had an 11-game hitting streak in March, which was the previous team-high.
Carolina and Virginia conclude their three-game series Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
