University of North Carolina Athletics
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Clemson
No. 2 Tar Heels Top No. 18 Tigers In 9-8 Thriller
March 8, 2009 | Baseball
March 8, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Greg Holt's pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth capped a wild final two innings and lifted No. 2 North Carolina to a 9-8 series-clinching win over No. 18 Clemson Sunday at Boshamer Stadium. Kyle Seager tied career highs with four hits and four run scored, and Ryan Graepel drove in a career-best three runs for the Tar Heels (10-2, 2-1 ACC).
Winners of six of its last seven against the Tigers, Carolina has taken consecutive regular season series from Clemson (6-4, 1-2 ACC) for the first time since the ACC went to the three-game format in 1990.
The Tar Heels carried a comfortable 7-1 lead into the eighth inning, but the Tigers scored seven unanswered runs to take an 8-7 lead in the top of the ninth. Matt Sanders' two-run single off Nate Striz got Clemson back in the game in the eighth, and it took the lead with a five-run ninth, capped by a go-ahead three-run home run by Jeff Schaus off Colin Bates (1-1).
After Striz allowed a walk and a single to open the ninth, Bates was greeted by back-to-back RBI singles from Ben Paulsen and Wilson Boyd to trim the lead to just 7-5. Two batters later, Shaus connected on his second homer of the year - a shot to right - to put the Tigers in front for the first time since the first.
Seager led off the bottom of the inning with his fourth single of the afternoon and reached third when Mark Fleury put town a sacrifice bunt that pitcher Casey Harman (1-1) fielded and threw wildly to first to put two in scoring position. Graepel tied the game with his third run-scoring hit in a row, a single through the right side. Two batters later, Holt singled up the middle to score pinch runner Alex White from third with the game-winning run.
Seager reached base on all five trips to the plate on four singles and a walk. He went 6-for-14 this weekend and is 13-for-27 in his career versus the Tigers. Graepel was 3-for-4 with three RBI, and Mike Cavasinni added two hits and two walks for Carolina.
UNC starter Matt Harvey did not figure into the decision but limited Clemson to just one run on four hits and one walk over a season-best seven innings. He struck out four and has a 22-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his 18 innings this season. Bates earned his first win despite allowing three runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Harman allowed three hits and two runs in the ninth to take the loss for the Tigers. Paulsen, Shaus and Sanders led Clemson with two hits each.
Tigers starter Chris Dwyer went four innings and allowed four runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out three. The runs charged to Dwyer marked the first he allowed this season.
Clemson scratched first for the third straight game when Mike Freeman drew a one-out walk, moved to third on a Paulsen single and scored on Boyd's RBI groundout for a 1-0 lead in the first.
The Tar Heels answered in similar fashion to tie the score in the second, as Garrett Gore led off with a walk, advanced to third on Seager's single through the right side and crossed the plate when Fleury hit into a double play.
A second straight leadoff walk led to the go-ahead run for UNC in the third. Cavasinni drew the free pass and reached third on a Ryan Norton sacrifice bunt and a Ben Bunting single before Levi Michael scored him with a sac fly to left.
The Tar Heels tacked on two more in the fourth to extend their lead to 4-1. Consecutive singles by Seager and Fleury put runners on the corners for Graepel, who lofted a fly ball to right center that Kyle Parker dropped, allowing Seager to score on the error. Cavasinni followed with a walk to load the bases, and Bunting was hit by a pitch to drive in Fleury with the second run of the frame.
Carolina went for two more in the fifth against Clemson reliever Ryan Hinson. Gore walked and scored for the second time on a throwing error by Paulsen, and Seager singled for the third time and scored on an RBI base hit by Graepel for a 6-1 UNC advantage.
Graepel struck again in the seventh when his double to left center off Hinson scored Seager from second for his third run of the afternoon and a 7-1 Tar Heel lead that stood until the Tigers' late-inning rally.
The Tar Heels are back in action against Appalachian State Tuesday and Wednesday in Chapel Hill.
