University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Seton Hall
Baseball Drops Series Finale, 4-3, To Seton Hall
February 17, 2002 | Baseball
Feb. 17, 2002
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Seton Hall rallied for two runs in the seventh and one more in the ninth for a 4-3 baseball win over No. 19 North Carolina Sunday at Boshamer Stadium. Mike Bascom raced home from third base for the game-winner in the top of the ninth after a wild pitch by UNC reliever Scott Senatore.
The Tar Heels had five hits in the first three innings of Sunday's series finale, but Seton Hall starter Matt Skrypack (1-0) settled down and allowed no hits and just one base runner over the next five innings - a two-out walk to Chase Younts in the sixth - for the win. Elvys Quezada pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his first save of 2002. Whitley Benson (0-1) took the loss for Carolina.
"It's not the way we wanted to start, but it's just one weekend - we have a lot more to go," UNC head coach Mike Fox said after the game. "I thought we pitched great for three days, and that's what I'm going to take out of this weekend. I don't want to focus on the negatives. We have a veteran team that just needs to learn to win close games."
Carolina notched three runs in the second inning for an early 3-0 lead. Jeremy Cleveland doubled and later scored on a throwing error by Seton Hall shortstop Joey Scott. Adam Greenberg and Chad Prosser drove in UNC's second and third runs of the inning - Greenberg on a sacrifice fly and Prosser on a ground out to second base. Garry Bakker, who had an impressive pitching debut for the Tar Heels, struck out seven batters in five two-hit innings. Bakker allowed just one run, a fifth-inning home run by Tim Pahuta which cut Carolina's lead to 3-1.
Scott Manshack started the sixth in relief of Bakker and Seton Hall tied the game at 3-3 with two runs in the seventh off the sophomore right hander. Garrett Weir doubled to lead off the inning and back-to-back walks by pinch hitter Anthony Seratelli and Mike Bascom loaded the bases for Todd Crawford, who drove in two runs with a single up the middle. Crawford finished the game 3-for-5.
ascom began the ninth-inning rally with a one-out single off of Benson. Crawford added a single in the ninth before Senatore's wild pitch sent Bascom home from third for the game-winner.
Younts was 2-for-3 and scored once for UNC in his first start. Younts started in place of Chris Maples in right, while Maples filled in for injured second baseman Russ Adams. Adams was held out of the game with a hairline fracture in his left thumb and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday. He suffered the injury in his second at bat of Friday's season-opener.
The Tar Heels return to action next weekend with three games at the Memorial Health Diamond Classic in Savannah, Ga. Carolina's opponents in the weekend tournament are Georgia, Armstrong State and Connecticut. Carolina's next home game is Feb. 26 vs. UNC Wilmington.
