University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
Tar Heels Secure Third Place in ACC With 6-1 Win Over Georgia Tech On Sunday
May 19, 2002 | Baseball
May 19, 2002
ATLANTA, GA. - The University of North Carolina baseball team closed out its 2002 regular-season schedule with a 6-1 win over Georgia Tech Sunday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium. Daniel Moore allowed just one run on four hits in the first complete game of his career in helping the Tar Heels secure their most ACC wins (17) and highest finish (3rd) in the conference since 1990, the last year Carolina won the ACC title.
The Tar Heels enter next week's ACC Tournament 39-17 overall, 17-7 in the league, while Georgia Tech finished the regular season 44-12, 14-9 in the ACC, good for fifth place in the conference.
"Daniel Moore gave us a great outing," said UNC head coach Mike Fox of his sophomore left-hander who struck out seven and improved to 5-1. "We needed a great outing from a pitcher and we got it from Daniel. I think he smelled it there in the seventh and eighth innings after we got him a few runs."
The Tar Heels notched 12 hits in the win, including two from Chris Maples, who extended his career-long hit streak to 17 games, and four from Sean Farrell, whose first inning double established a new single-season team record for doubles in a season. The Tar Heels have 140 doubles in 2002, while the previous school record for doubles was 137. Adam Greenberg also homered, his 15th of the year and the 95th by a Tar Heel this season, which ties the school record previously set in 1986.
After Georgia Tech scored in the third inning for a 1-0 lead, the Tar Heels scored six unanswered runs to avoid their first three-game sweep in ACC play of the season.
A two-out error in the fourth inning by Tech second baseman Eric Patterson allowed Maples to score UNC's first run and tie the game, 1-1. Carolina went on top 3-1 in the sixth, when Ryan Blake's two-out single drove home Farrell from third and Maples from second.
Greenberg sent the first pitch of the seventh inning deep over the fence in right field to push the Carolina lead to 4-1, while Farrell doubled two batters later and Maples doubled him home for a 5-1 lead and his 68th RBI of the season, the fourth most ever by a Tar Heel in a single season. Maples stole third base and scored on the play on a throwing error by Burks to cap a three-run inning for the Tar Heels and extend the lead to the final 6-1 margin.
Yellow Jacket starter Brian Burks (9-5) tied a career high with eight strikeouts but suffered the loss.
Seeded third, Carolina opens ACC Tournament play versus sixth-seeded Virginia at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Tar Heels took two of three games in the regular season against the Cavaliers.
