University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Ohio State
Buckeyes Hand No. 4 Tar Heels Second Straight One-Run Loss
March 5, 2005 | Baseball
March 5, 2005
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Led by six strong innings from sophomore righty Daniel Bard, North Carolina limited Ohio State to just five hits, but the Buckeyes (2-2) scored twice in the first inning and held on for a 2-1 victory over the Tar Heels (9-2) Saturday in game five of the Keith LeClair Classic at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Despite scoring outhitting OSU, 8-5, Carolina dropped its second consecutive one-run game.
Bard (2-1) allowed two runs on five hits and three walks, while striking out four and did not reenter the game following a one-hour, seven-minute rain delay in the middle of the seventh. After OSU scored twice on three hits in the first, Bard settled down and gave up just two more hits over the final five innings he worked. Redshirt freshman Rob Wooten worked two scoreless innings of relief for Carolina, which did not allow a hit after the fourth inning.
Buckeye starter Trent Luyster (1-1) went six innings and allowed one run on seven hits and one walk to pick up the win. He struck out three and was lifted in favor of reliever Rory Meister in the seventh. Trey Fausnaugh earned his first save with 2.2 scoreless innings. Center fielder Matt Angle had two hits to lead Ohio State at the plate.
In the first, the Buckeyes took a 2-0 lead thanks to a run-scoring single by shortstop Jedidiah Stephen and a sacrifice fly from designated hitter Cody Caughenbaugh. After an infield single to right fielder Wes Schirtzinger and a walk to third baseman Ronnie Bourquin put two on, Stephen singled down the right field line to drive in Schirtzinger and give OSU a 1-0 lead. Bourquin moved over to third on the hit and raced home on Caughenbaugh's RBI fly out to center for the second run off Bard, who entered Saturday's start with just one earned run allowed in 11 innings.
Trailing 2-0 and having stranded six runners through six innings, the Tar Heels got on the board in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI single to right by center fielder Chase Younts, who did not start but entered as a defensive replacement in the fifth. The hit scored freshman right fielder Seth Williams, who led off the inning with his first career double to left. After a walk to shortstop Josh Horton, Younts came through with the run-scoring hit, which snapped a string of 11.2 scoreless innings for the Tar Heel offense.
Before finally breaking through into the scoring column, Carolina had two hits and left two on the first and had three hits in the sixth but a base-running blunder led to a rally-killing double play for the Buckeyes, who turned three double plays on the afternoon. Overall, UNC stranded eight runners on the day.
The Tar Heels wrap up the tournament versus Michigan at 1 p.m. Sunday.
