University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Nc Wilmington
Baseball Falls 11-5 To UNC Wilmington
April 24, 2001 | Baseball
April 24, 2001
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The UNC Wilmington baseball team handed North Carolina an 11-5 loss Tuesday evening at Boshamer Stadium, sending the Tar Heels to their third straight loss and a 25-21 overall record. With just its 11th win in 49 meetings with the Tar Heels, UNCW improves to 30-17.
Dennis Robinson made the start for Carolina, but pitched just the first inning, surrendering three runs on three hits and committing one error as the Seahawks jumped out to an early lead. Matt Wright singled home Justin Wishon and Kevin Hairr for UNCW's first two runs, while David McKenna also had an RBI single in the first.
Wright added another two-run single in the top of the second, this time off of UNC's Bo Dickerson, as UNC Wilmington jumped ahead 5-0 and knocked the second Tar Heel pitcher from the game.
Michael Gross came on to pitch at the start of the third and settled into the best outing of his freshman season, holding the Seahawks in check while Carolina worked its way back into the game with one run in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Jason Howell walked and scored an unearned run in the fifth and then had a two-out, two-run, inside-the-park home run to pull Carolina within 5-3.
Meanwhile, Gross pitched a career-long 4.1 innings and faced 18 batters before giving up a hit, but UNCW catcher Magnus Pilegard made his single count, driving home UNCW's sixth run of the game and knocking Gross from the game. Kevin Brower came on in relief but struggled through the rest of the seventh, walking the first batter he faced, McKenna, before giving up a three-run homer to third baseman Pat Massey as the Seahawks extended their lead to 9-3.
Ron Braun singled and came home on a Sean Farrell sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh, while Wes Moyer scored on a wild pitch in the ninth for UNC's final run. UNCW tacked on two unearned runs off of reliever Scott Senatore in the top of the ninth for its final runs.
Dennis Robinson took the loss for Carolina to drop to 3-4, while Charlie Weatherby improved to 8-5 with the win. Weatherby gave up four runs on six hits while striking out six and walking five in seven complete innings.
The Tar Heels conclude a 10-game homestand Wednesday when they host UNC Greensboro at 7p.m. Carolina returns to ACC action this weekend with three games at Clemson.
