University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Wake Forest
#13 Wake Forest Defeats Tar Heels, 6-1
March 21, 2003 | Baseball
March 21, 2003
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -Wake Forest (15-5) defeated North Carolina (14-7), 6-1 on Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels fell to 0-1 in the ACC while the Demon Deacons improved their conference record to a perfect 4-0 after sweeping Maryland last weekend. Both starting pitchers were impressive, but Wake Forest's Kyle Sleeth showed why he is one of the best pitching prospects in all of college baseball in collecting his 25th consecutive victory.
Sleeth struck out at least one batter in every inning he pitched and improved to a perfect 5-0 on the season. He pitched eight innings and gave up just one run on four hits while striking out 10.
The Tar Heels struck early to grab a 1-0 lead in the first inning. After a Chad Prosser single, Jeremy Cleveland was hit by a pitch. A passed ball moved both runners into scoring position and Sean Farrell followed with an RBI groundout to shortstop. Ryan Blake then singled to left, but Cleveland was thrown out at the plate by Wake Forest's Ryan Hubbard.
Wake Forest went ahead with two runs in the top of the third. Chris Getz and Ben Ingold hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. An RBI groundout by Steven Malinowski scored Getz and gave the Deacons their first run of the game. With two outs, Carolina starter Garry Bakker walked three consecutive batters, forcing home Ingold and allowing Wake Forest to take the 2-1 lead.
The Demon Deacons extended their lead with a run in the top of the fifth. Malinowski opened the inning with a single to left field and Adam Bourassa followed with a walk. With one out, Ryan Johnson drove in Malinowski with a sacrifice fly to deep right field and gave the Deacons a 3-1 advantage.
A three-run homer by centerfielder Adam Bourassa in the top of the ninth inning gave Wake Forest a 6-1 lead and put the game out of reach for Carolina.
The Tar Heels and Demon Deacons continue their weekend series at Boshamer Stadium with game two on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The third and final game of the series is scheduled for Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
