University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Princeton
No. 1 Carolina Tops Princeton For Eighth Straight
March 18, 2009 | Baseball
March 18, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Right-hander Bryant Gaines tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings, and Levi Michael and Mark Fleury each homered to lift No. 1 North Carolina to a two-game sweep of Princeton, 6-1, Wednesday at Boshamer Stadium. With the victory, the Tar Heels (16-2) extended their season-best winning streak to eight games.
Gaines (3-0) struck out six, walked two and scattered five hits to pick up his third consecutive Wednesday win. Relievers Logan Munson, Ryan Leach, Nate Striz and Colin Bates allowed just one run over 3 1/3 innings the rest of the way, as Carolina pitching held the Tigers (3-4) to just one run on nine hits over the midweek series.
Fleury went 3-for-4 with two RBI for his fourth career three-hit day. He singled and scored in the second, connected on a solo home run in the fifth and delivered a run-scoring single in the seventh.
Michael also drove in two runs with a solo home run in the third and a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Both Fleury and Michael share the team and Atlantic Coast Conference lead with 24 RBI this season. With the two homers Wednesday, Carolina now has 15 long balls in its last six games.
Princeton starter David Palms (0-1) allowed just three hits over four innings but walked six and gave up four runs, only two of which were earned. Greg Van Horn, Jack Murphy and Sam Mulroy each had two hits for the Tigers.
Jacob Stallings plated the first run of the day for Carolina with a bases-loaded walk in the second. Fleury singled, Ryan Graepel doubled and Mike Cavasinni and Stallings drew consecutive walks to stake the Tar Heels to an early lead.
Michael doubled Carolina's advantage in the third with a leadoff solo homer to left, his seventh of the year and second this week. He belted a 1-0 pitch from Palms to left for his third home run from the right side of the plate.
The Tar Heels took advantage of a pair of walks and the Tigers' second error of the afternoon to add two more in the fourth. With the bases loaded, Ben Bunting and Michael came through with consecutive sacrifice flies to score Graepel and Cavasinni, respectively.
After Fleury pushed the lead to 5-0 in the fifth thanks to his fifth home run, a two-out, solo homer to right center off Jon Broscious, Princeton threatened in the sixth. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases, but Gaines struck out the Tigers' leading hitter David Hale, and Munson came on to induce a fly ball from David Berkowitz to end the threat.
Princeton scored its first run of the series when Mulroy hit a pinch-hit solo home run in the seventh, but UNC answered with a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single down the right field line from Fleury. Kyle Seager doubled to extend his hitting streak to eight games and scored from third on Fleury's third hit of the afternoon.
Carolina is back in action this weekend for a three-game set with Duke beginning Friday at 7 p.m.
