University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Drops Series Finale to Virginia, 6-2
March 21, 2004 | Baseball
March 21, 2004
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The University of North Carolina baseball team was unable to secure a weekend sweep of Virginia Sunday, falling 6-2 at Davenport Field at the UVa aseball Stadium. The Cavaliers were able to build a 6-0 lead after eight innings of play and rode the strong arm and the key hitting of Joe Koshansky to a four-run victory over the Tar Heels. Koshansky (4-0) pitched 8.0 scoreless innings and struck out five batters and finished 2-for-5 at the plate with four RBI and scored one run in the win.
Virginia posted its first lead of the series and took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-out single through the right side before scoring a run in the Cavaliers' next at-bat on a RBI-double to left-center field by Koshansky. UVa added to its 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning and pushed its lead to 2-0 when Matt Street was hit by a pitch to reach base and eventually came around to score a run on a RBI ground-out by Koshansky.
The Cavaliers maintained their two-run lead and added four more runs to their total in the bottom of the seventh inning when Virginia increased its lead to 6-0 thanks to a four-run side sparked by two home runs and a double. UVa's Mark Reynolds lifted the Cavaliers to a 3-0 advantage with a lead-off, solo home run to right-center field. Reynolds' home run was his sixth of the season. After a Zimmerman double in Virginia's next at-bat, Koshansky connected on a two-run home run to right-center field to make it a 5-0 contest. UVa's Scott Headd later doubled to left field and scored Virginia's final run of the game on a RBI-single to left field by Tim Henry.
The Tar Heels scored a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning and cut the lead to 6-2 on after a two-run home run by Sammy Hewitt. ut that would be all the scoring UNC would muster as UVa posted a 6-2 victory.
UNC's Andrew Miller (2-2) took the loss after going 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits while striking out a team-high four batters.
With the victory, Virginia's record improves to 18-5 overall, 4-2 in the ACC. The loss drops North Carolina's record to 16-5 overall, 2-1 in the conference. The Tar Heels won the three-game series, two games to one.
UNC will return to home action on Tuesday, March 23, when North Carolina hosts Towson in a non-conference contest. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
