University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Baseball Holds On For 11-8 Win Over Wake Forest
April 6, 2002 | Baseball
April 6, 2002
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - No. 21 North Carolina jumped out to an 8-0 lead and held on for an 11-8 victory over No. 7 Wake Forest at Ernie Shore Field, ending Carolina's (22-10, 9-2) nine-game losing streak against the Demon Deacons (24-6, 7-3). The Deacs scored eight runs over the final four innings, but Chris Maples struck out Ryan Hubbard with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the dramatic win for the Tar Heels.
Garry Bakker (4-1) held the Demon Deacons scoreless into the sixth inning for his third straight win and fourth overall. Bakker gave up four runs on five hits while striking out five. Brian Bach took the loss after allowing eight runs, five of them earned, on six hits over the first 3.1 innings.
"It's certainly a good win for us," said UNC head coach Mike Fox. "We got off to a good start tonight, and I thought that was important to come out and get some runs. We talked about coming out and playing aggressive offensively."
One day after Wake Forest used a pair of unearned runs in the first inning to set the tone for an 8-2 series-opening win, the Tar Heels capitalized on a two-out error by Wake right fielder Steve LeFaivre to get out to a quick 3-0 lead. Russ Adams scored on the play and Chris Iannetta hit a two-run single to score Ryan Blake and Chris Maples.
The Tar Heels used four hits, a sac fly and a pair of walks to get five runs and chase Bach in the fourth. Carolina loaded the bases with no outs and Mell Adams drew a walk for UNC's first run of the inning. Adam Greenberg drove in Chad Prosser with a sacrifice fly to center field and Russ Adams followed with a two-run triple for a 7-0 Carolina lead. Sean Farrell followed with an RBI triple of his own and the Tar Heels led by eight.
Wake cut the lead in half with one swing of Hubbard's bat in the bottom of the sixth. Bakker walked the first two batters of the inning and a single by Jeff Ruziecki loaded the bases with no outs, but UNC's freshman righty appeared to be out of trouble after turning a 1-2-3 double play that got the lead runner at the plate and the batter, Ben Ingold, out at first. But akker re-loaded the bases after hitting Ryder Mathias with a pitch in the back and Hubbard made him pay with a shot over the fence in right. Hubbard's grand slam ended a stretch of 21 shutout innings by Bakker dating back to the first inning of the March 23 win over Florida State.
Chad Prosser hit a two-run homer and Ron Braun followed with a solo shot in the next at bat and UNC appeared to be in control ahead 11-4.
ut the Deacs capitalized on two UNC errors in the seventh and one in the eighth to pull within 11-7 entering the ninth inning. Ingold drove in Wake's eighth run with a sac fly to center, setting the stage for Hubbard, but the junior left fielder struck out to end the game.
"We've played well defensively all year, but we're in a funk right now," Fox said. "If you give them four or five outs in an inning, they're going to hammer you. They were one swing of the bat away from winning the game there at the end."
The Tar Heels and Demon Deacons conclude their three-game series Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Hooks Stadium on the WFU campus.
