University of North Carolina Athletics
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Duke Takes 9-7 Win Over Carolina At Boshamer Stadium
April 21, 2001 | Baseball
April 21, 2001
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The Duke University baseball team erased a 5-0, third-inning lead by North Carolina to take a 9-7 win over the Tar Heels Saturday evening at Boshamer Stadium. Duke's (19-25, 6-10 ACC) victory snapped a 12-game winning streak in the series for Carolina and dropped the Heels to 25-19, 6-11 in the ACC.
One day after Carolina spotted Duke seven runs before rebounding for a 10-7 victory in the series-opener, the Blue Devils turned the tables on the Tar Heels, bouncing back from the early 5-0 deficit for two runs in the fourth, five in the fifth and one run in both the sixth and seventh innings for the comeback win. Duke had 18 hits in the game, all of which were singles.
The Tar Heels got off to a fast start with one run in the bottom of the first. Adam Greenberg led off the inning with the game's only extra base hit ? a double down the right-field line. He eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Russ Adams to give Carolina the early 1-0 lead. Carolina then notched four more runs in the bottom of the third to go ahead 5-0. Adams had a two-run single in the inning, while Sean Farrell's fifth hit of the series drove home Adams.
Duke began its comeback with two runs in the top of the fourth, cutting UNC's advantage to 5-2. J.D. Alleva, who finished 4-for-6 at the plate, led off the fourth with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by David Mason. Doug Bechtold followed with a bunt single to score Wes Goodner. With Duke threatening for more in the fourth, Ralph Roberts struck out Adam Loftin to end the inning.
Five more Blue Devil runs in the top of the fifth gave Duke a 7-5 lead. Roberts got Scott Grossi to fly out to open the fifth, but the Devils tallied five straight singles to knock the Tar Heel starter from the game and knot the score at 5. Bechtold's two-run single off of reliever Kevin Brower provided Duke's final scoring in the inning.
The two team's traded runs in the sixth, but Duke extended its lead once again to three runs with an unearned run in the seventh. Ron Braun's pinch-hit single in the eighth drove home Jason Howell and pulled UNC back to within 9-7, but UNC's rally fell short when Duke reliever Jeff Alleva got Greenberg to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
Six Blue Devils had at least two hits in the Duke win, while the Tar Heels had 13 hits of their own, including two by Greenberg (2-for-5), Howell (2-for-4) and Blake (2-for-4). Roberts took the loss to fall to 2-1, while Duke starter Ryan Caradonna (5-8) scattered 12 hits and seven runs over 7.0 innings for the win. Jeff Alleva was credited with his sixth save.
The Tar Heels and Blue Devils conclude their three-game series Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The winner of Sunday's game will earn three points in the tight Carlyle Cup competition between UNC and Duke.
