University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Clemson
Clemson Holds Off UNC Baseball At Packed Boshamer Stadium
April 13, 2002 | Baseball
April 13, 2002
CHAPEL HILL - Top-ranked Clemson defeated No. 21 North Carolina 4-2 Saturday afternoon in front of a beyond-capacity crowd of 3,015 at Boshamer Stadium. Matt Henrie (7-1) allowed just one run on seven hits over 8.1 innings for the win, while Jeff Hourigan got the final two outs for his second save.
Down 4-1 entering the ninth, Chris Iannetta singled, and pinch hitters Greg Mangum and Ron Braun reached base on a walk and hit-by-pitch to load the bases. Russ Adams drew a walk to drive home UNC's second run and pull the Tar Heels to within 4-2 with one out. But Clemson third baseman Jeff Baker snared a potential double down the line off of Sean Farrell's bat and turned a double play to end the game.
"We're obviously disappointed," said UNC head coach Mike Fox. "We didn't muster enough offense during the course of the game to put any pressure on them. You can't just rely on one inning against a team the caliber of Clemson. You also have to credit their pitching. Henrie pitched well today and we couldn't seem to string a couple of hits together."
Chris Maples got the Tar Heels out to an early lead with an RBIdouble in the first. Farrell had a two-out single and Maples dropped in a double to shallow right just out of the reach of right fielder Jarrod Schmidt for the quick 1-0 advantage.
Dominant pitching took over from there, with Henrie and Garry Bakker holding both offenses in check through the early innings of the game. But Bakker got into trouble in the sixth, walking leadoff man Kyle Frank on four pitches. Khalil Greene slapped a single to left and Michael Johnson drew a walk to load the bases with just one out. Schmidt drew a bases-loaded walk for Clemson's first run to tie the game, 1-1. David Sleven had an RBI single for a 2-1 Tiger advantage and Clemson tacked on two more runs before the inning was done on a wild pitch and another bases-loaded walk. Those four runs were all the Tigers would get, as Whitley Benson and Scott Manshack allowed just one hit over the final 3.1 innings out of the bullpen.
"I think I lost a little focus," Bakker said, who went 5.2 innings but dropped to 4-2 with the loss. "I hit the wall and I have to learn from that. I have to stay on my pitches and continue to improve."
Carolina dropped to 24-13, 9-5 in the ACC with the loss, while Clemson stands 30-3, 7-1 in league play.
"What was extremely disappointing was that this might have been the best crowd and the best atmosphere possibly in the history of this stadium," Fox said of the standing-room only crowd that packed into Boshamer. "I wanted to win for that reason and get people to come back. That's what we're trying to do here. We're trying to get this program up another level. The bottom line is, you've got to win. We're going to get there."
Carolina and Clemson conclude their three-game series Sunday at 2 p.m.
