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Tar Heel Rally Falls Short In 10-9 Loss To Duke
March 22, 2009 | Baseball
March 22, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Duke scored seven times in the second inning and held off a furious late-inning rally by No. 1 North Carolina for a 10-9 series-clinching victory Sunday at Boshamer Stadium. With the loss, the Tar Heels (17-4, 5-3 ACC) dropped their first regular season weekend series since April 2007 and suffered their first series loss to the Blue Devils (14-7, 5-4 ACC) since 2001.
By virtue of its series win, Duke also earns one point in the race towards the Carlyle Cup, the all-sports competition between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils. UNC leads the 2008-09 event, 11.5-6.5.
Duke got home runs from Will Piwnica-Worms, Jeremy Gould and Tim Sherlock among its 15 base hits on the afternoon. Piwnica-Worms went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI, and Matt Williams added three hits. Gould and Nate Frieman had two hits and three RBI apiece.
All-America Dustin Ackley was 3-for-5 with a triple and two RBI, and Kyle Seager, who has hit safely in 11 straight games, and Brett Thomas added two this each for Carolina. Mark Fleury, who connected on his sixth home run during the Tar Heels' rally, and Garrett Gore each drove in two runs.
Duke starter Ryan Knott (2-0) worked a career-best 5 1/3 innings and allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk. Alex Hassan pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his second save of the series and also went 2-for-4 with two runs from the top of the order.
Carolina right-hander Matt Harvey (3-1) lasted just two innings and allowed a career-high seven runs, all in the second. Duke pounded out seven hits, including two home runs, against the Connecticut native. Harvey walked two and struck out one before Patrick Johnson, who pitched four solid innings, entered in the third.
Paced by first-pitch home runs from Piwnica-Worms and Gould, Duke plated all seven runs with two down in the second. After a Gabriel Saade single, Piwnica-Worms put the Blue Devils on the board with a two-run homer down the left field line, his first. Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Freiman, who singled home two runs, and Gould followed with a three-run shot to left on the next pitch to close the scoring with his third home run.
The seven runs and six hits allowed in the second were both single-inning season highs for the UNC pitching staff.
Duke added a run in the third on a Williams' RBI single, and the Tar Heels got on the board in the bottom half of the inning when Levi Michael singled and scored on a triple to center field by Ackley.
The Blue Devils' third home run of the afternoon came in the fifth when Sherlock led off the inning with his second of the series for a 9-1 lead.
From there, the Tar Heels jumped on the comeback trail with five in the sixth and one more in the seventh to cut the margin to 9-7. Ackley singled and Seager doubled to put two in scoring position for Gore, who singled through the left side to plate Ackley with the first run. Seager crossed the plate on a run-scoring fielder's choice from Fleury, and Thomas followed with an RBI single to center off reliever Dennis O'Grady, who then balked in a run to cut the lead to 9-5.
Ackley delivered his second base hit of the sixth to score Mike Cavasinni with the final run of the five-run inning. Fleury connected on a one-out solo home run off reliever Michael Ness in the seventh to bring Carolina within two.
After Duke added an insurance run on Freiman's run-scoring double off Nate Striz in the eighth, the Tar Heels scored twice in the eighth without a hit to get within a run at 10-9. Ben Bunting walked, Michael was hit by a pitch and a throwing error by Duke shortstop Jake Lemmerman allowed one run to score and put Michael on third with just one out. Gore followed with a sac fly to left to drive in his second run of the afternoon.
Thomas drew a walk to put the tying run on base in the ninth but the Tar Heels were unable to advance pinch-runner Ryan Norton past first base.
The Tar Heels are back in action Tuesday at UNC Wilmington at 7 p.m.
