University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Towson
Baseball Pounds Towson, 17-9
March 27, 2002 | Baseball
March 27, 2002
CHAPEL HILL - No. 24 North Carolina pounded Towson, 17-9, Wednesday afternoon for its 11th straight win after opening the season 6-8. The Tar Heels (17-8) crushed six home runs, including three by Adam Greenberg, and were ahead 14-2 through five innings before giving up seven late runs to the Tigers (9-10-1) en route to the lopsided victory.
The Tar Heels have not lost since returning from a three-game road trip at Auburn on March 10 and have outscored their opponents 134-41 in their 11-game homestand. With 51 home runs in 25 games, Carolina is also averaging better than two home runs per game, including 10 in the last two games.
"I've never seen anything like this," said UNC head coach Mike Fox, whose Tar Heels face their first ACC road test this weekend at Virginia. "I've had teams that have been hot offensively. But not with this kind of power. It beats anything I've ever seen."
Carolina notched a season-high 22 hits against Towson, including a career-high-tying four in five at bats by Greenberg. The junior center fielder also scored a career-high five times and matched a career best with five RBIs. Chad Prosser (4-for-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI), Chris Maples (3-for-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI), Russ Adams (2-for-5, 3 runs, 1 RBI), Sean Farrell (2-for-4, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) and Ryan Blake (2-for-4, 1 run) also had big days at the plate for the Tar Heels.
Carolina's first four batters scored in the first to erase an early 2-0 deficit, while three home runs in the second highlighted a six-run inning that blew the game open. Mell Adams opened the second with a triple and Greenberg homered him home for a 6-2 lead. Two batters later Sean Farrell hit a two-run shot and Maples added a solo home run before the inning was complete. Maples has 10 home runs and 27 RBIs in the last 11 games.
Greenberg led off the third with a solo home run to center and a two-run shot by Chris Iannetta in the fourth pushed the Carolina margin to 13-2.
Greenberg hit his third consecutive homer with a shot to right in the fifth to become the first Tar Heel to homer three times in one game since Ryan Earey did so in 1999.
Towson closed to within 14-9 with five runs on six singles in the eight off of reliever Michael Gross, but Greenberg, Russ Adams and Greg Mangum all had RBI hits in the bottom of the eighth to cap the UNC scoring.
Scott Manshack (3-0) pitched five strong innings for the win. The sophomore righty gave up a first inning home run to Scott Bacon but settled down and allowed just two runs on four hits while striking out seven, his season high. Matt Nein (1-2) gave up four runs in the first on two hits without recording an out for the loss.
