University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia Tech
Harvey, No. 3 Tar Heels Shut Down Hokies To Sweep Series
March 16, 2008 | Baseball
March 16, 2008
CARY, N.C. - North Carolina freshman right-hander Matt Harvey and four relievers combined on a six-hit shutout in Sunday's 6-0 victory over Virginia Tech at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. The Tar Heels (14-3, 5-1 ACC) broke open a tight game with four runs in the seventh to sweep the three-game series from the Hokies (7-11, 0-6 ACC).
Making his third appearance of the week, Harvey (2-1) struck out six over 6 1/3 innings, allowed just four hits and did not walk a batter. The Mystic, Conn., native retired 13 out of 15 batters at one point and allowed just two base runners to reach second on the day. He stranded a pair of Hokies in the sixth and recorded the first out of the seventh before giving way to classmate Nate Striz, who struck out two of the five batters he faced. Freshman Ryan Leach and sophomore Brian Moran picked up the three outs in the eighth, and senior Rob Wooten struck out the side in the ninth.
Second baseman Kyle Seager drove in a game-high three runs, and right fielder Tim Fedroff went 3-for-4 with an RBI for his eighth multi-hit game in the last nine. First baseman Dustin Ackley extended hitting streak to 21 games with a double on the first pitch he saw, and Seager (13 games) and center fielder Seth Williams (nine games) also kept hitting streaks alive.
Harvey's teammate last year at Connecticut's Fitch High School, Virginia Tech starter Jesse Hahn (1-2) also worked into the seventh but was lifted after allowing back-to-back base hits to open the Tar Heels' four-run inning. He struck out two and allowed four runs - two earned - on six hits and two walks over six-plus innings.
Carolina took advantage of a pair of outfield errors by the Hokies in the second to grab an early lead. Seager reached second on a two-base error by left fielder Jose Cueto and then scored from third when designated hitter Mark Fleury sent a liner to center field that was misplayed by the Hokies' Steve Bumbry.
UNC added to its lead in the third with the help of a third Hokie error. Fedroff started the rally with a two-out single to center and scored on a bases-loaded walk by Seager for the 2-0 lead. A walk to Ackley and a fielding error by third baseman Michael Seaborn on a Tim Federowicz chopper prolonged the inning and loaded the bases for Seager, who drove in the first of three runs with the walk.
Harvey and Hahn kept things quiet until Carolina broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh. Shortstop Ryan Graepel led things off with a single to right field and took third on a hit-and-run with left fielder Ben Bunting, who singled up the middle. Fedroff then laced his third single of the day into right to score Graepel, and Seager followed an intentional pass to Federowicz with a two-run single through the right side to open up a five-run lead for the Tar Heels. Williams followed with an RBI groundout to second to plate Federowicz from third.
The Tar Heels are back in action for at two-game midweek series with Princeton at the USA Baseball Complex. The Tar Heels and Tigers will play at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and 6 p.m. Wednesday. A webcast of all three games will be available live and on-demand through ACC Select.
