University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Clemson
Tar Heels Take Down No. 14 Clemson, 9-4
May 11, 2003 | Baseball
May 11, 2003
CLEMSON, S.C. -North Carolina (35-15 12-7 ACC) defeated Clemson (33-17, 10-9 ACC), 9-4 on Saturday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tar Heels had a strong offensive showing as eight different players contributed at least one hit and starting pitcher Daniel Moore went seven innings, giving up just one run on five hits to pick up his sixth victory of the season.
Carolina struck first with three runs in the top of the second inning. Sean Farrell singled to lead off the inning and Sammy Hewitt followed with a double down the right field line. Chris Iannetta then walked to load the bases with no outs. Ryan Blake kept the rally going with a sharp single into right field which scored Farrell with the game's first run. With one out and the bases loaded, an RBI single by Blair Waggett brought Hewitt home and gave the Tar Heels a two-run lead. Greg Mangum followed with an infield single to first, scoring Iannetta and chasing Clemson starter Tyler Lumsden from the game after just 1.1 innings of work.
The Tar Heels put four more runs on the board in the top of the third. Farrell again led off the inning with a single and came around to score three batters later on Blake's second RBI single in as many innings. With two outs, a throwing error by Clemson third baseman Brad McCann on a grounder off the bat of Waggett allowed Iannetta to score. Mangum then ripped a line drive single into left, plating Blake and Waggett with two unearned runs and putting Carolina up 7-0.
Clemson got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Michael Johnson singled, Brad McCann walked and Jeff Hourigan singled to load the bases. Kyle Frank's first sacrifice fly of the season scored Johnson with the Tigers' first run of the game.
Trailing 9-2 in the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers mounted a rally, but would eventually fall short. Russell Triplett and Johnson both contributed RBI singles, but Whitley Benson recorded the final out for Carolina and ended Clemson's comeback attempt.
The Tar Heels continue their series against the Tigers with game two on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. The third and final game of this ACC matchup will be played on Monday at 4 p.m.
