University of North Carolina Athletics
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Georgia Tech
Flack Sets Career Hit Mark In Split For No. 3 Carolina
April 6, 2008 | Baseball
April 6, 2008
Box Score
Game One Photo Gallery
Game Two Photo Gallery
CARY, N.C. - Senior third baseman Chad Flack became North Carolina's career hits leader Sunday as the No. 3 Tar Heels split a doubleheader with No. 14 Georgia Tech at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. Carolina (25-6, 10-4 ACC) claimed a 10-4 win in the first game to secure the series victory before the Yellow Jackets (25-7, 9-6 ACC) grabbed a 4-1 win in the finale.
Flack was 2-for-4 with two RBI in game one to tie Chad Prosser's record of 291 and then broke the five-year-old mark with a single to right in the sixth inning of game two. The record-setting hit also extended Flack's current hitting streak to 14 games, which matches his career best. With 292 career base hits, Flack ranks 21st in ACC history.
In addition to Flack's record setting day, second baseman Kyle Seager hit safely in both games to extend his hitting streak to 27 games, which stands as the fourth longest in school history. Seager was 3-for-5 with three RBI in game one victory, and followed with two hits and a fourth RBI in the second contest. Right fielder Tim Fedroff had three hits on the day to push his career-best hitting streak to 11 games.
Carolina righty Adam Warren (5-0) ran his career record to a perfect 18-0 with 5 1/3 strong innings in game one. The New Bern, N.C., product matched a season high with seven strikeouts and gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks. Lefty reliever Brian Moran worked out of a sixth-inning jam with a pair of strikeouts and went on to fan a career-high six batters over a career-long 2 2/3 innings. Carolina finished with 13 Ks in the game for its fourth straight game of 13-plus strikeouts.
Georgia Tech right-hander Eddie Burns (4-2) was tagged for six runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings in the game one loss.
Seager and Flack combined for five hits and drove in five of the Tar Heels' 10 runs in the opener. Fedroff added two hits, two runs and an RBI, and designated hitter Mark Fleury chipped in with two hits.
In game one, left fielder Kyle Shelton jump-started the Tar Heels' five-run second inning with a two-run single to right. First baseman Dustin Ackley followed with an RBI fielder's choice before Fedroff and Flack closed Carolina's big inning with run-scoring singles. In the fourth, Fedroff drew a two-out walk and scored from first on a double to left center by Seager for a 6-0 Tar Heel advantage.
Tech cut the lead in half with three in the sixth that were charged to Warren. After back-to-back singles opened the inning for the Jackets, first baseman Tony Plagman put them on the board with an RBI single to left to end the day for Warren. Right fielder Luke Murton then scored two with a double to right off Nate Striz before Moran came on to strike out the first two batters he faced to end the threat.
The Tar Heels got those runs back and put game one away with four in the eighth off the Tech bullpen, which ignited the rally with three straight two-out walks to load the bases. Seager drove in a pair of insurance runs with a single through the right side, and Flack followed with a single to third base to drive in his second run of the day and tie the school record for career base hits. A fielding error by Tech third baseman Patrick Long allowed Seager to score from third with the fourth and final run of the inning.
Georgia Tech right-hander Zach Von Tersch (4-1) was the story in game two, as he twirled seven shutout innings and held the Tar Heels to just four hits. He set down 11 straight batters at one point and finished with five strikeouts against just one walk.
Second baseman Thomas Nichols was 2-for-5 with two RBI, and right fielder Charlie Blackmon and designated hitter Luke Murton added two hits each for the Jackets, who scored twice in the first and added two more in the fourth to salvage one win in the three-game series.
Carolina starter Matt Harvey (4-2) failed to make it out of the fourth inning and was charged with four runs - three earned - on six hits and three walks over just 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four. Relievers Rob Catapano, Colin Bates and Rob Wooten combined for 5 1/3 shutout innings of relief.
After dropping the first two games of the series, the Yellow Jackets jumped on Harvey for two in the first. Nichols doubled to right and scored on a sharply hit single off Seager's glove at second from Blackmon to start the rally. Murton followed two batters later with a double down the left field line to score Blackmon, who took second on a passed ball earlier in the inning.
Tech ended the day for Harvey in the fourth and tacked two more runs on its lead in the process. Catcher Cole Leonida singled and center fielder Jeff Rowland doubled to put a pair of runners in scoring position for Nichols, who doubled to right off reliever Rob Catapano to score both runners.
The Tar Heels finally got on the board in the eighth against Tech reliever Brad Rulon when Fedroff singled and scored on an RBI double just inside the first base bag by Seager, who was stranded at second.
The Tar Heels are back in action this week with a pair of games in Cary - Tuesday against Elon and Wednesday against North Carolina A&T. First pitch for both games is slated for 6 p.m., and a webcast will be available live and on-demand through ACC Select.
