University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Florida State
No. 20 FSU Edges No. 2 Tar Heels, 3-2
April 10, 2009 | Baseball
April 10, 2009
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida State's Rafael Lopez hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to spoil an outstanding start by North Carolina All-America Alex White and lift the No. 20 Seminoles to a 3-2 win over the No. 2 Tar Heels Friday at Dick Howser Stadium.
White and Carolina (26-8, 9-6 ACC) carried a 2-1 lead into the ninth, but three straight one-out singles, including a game-tying infield hit by pinch-hitter James Ramsey, tied the score at two. Lopez then hit the first pitch from UNC reliever Colin Bates to center field to lift FSU (20-10, 8-6 ACC) to the series-opening victory.
White (5-1) worked a season-best 8 1/3 and matched a season high with nine strikeouts. He held the Seminoles to just two hits until the ninth and finished with three runs allowed on five hits and four walks. The Greensville, N.C., product went seven-plus innings for the fourth straight start and fanned at least eight for the fifth consecutive game.
FSU reliever Geoff Parker (3-1) earned the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of left-handed starter Sean Gilmartin, who held Carolina to just three hits and two unearned runs over 6 2/3 innings. Gilmartin walked four and struck out six.
Kyle Seager was 2-for-3 with his 17th double, a single and a walk for his fourth straight multi-hit game. He was only Tar Heel with a hit over the first six innings, a second-inning single and a sixth-inning double off Gilmartin. Mike Cavasinni had the only other UNC hit on the night, as Carolina matched a season low with just three base hits.
After Carolina stranded runners at second and third in back-to-back innings, the Seminoles struck first in the bottom of the third. Tyler Holt drew his second walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored when Stephen Cardullo doubled down the left field line for a 1-0 Seminole lead.
With the deficit still at a single run, White picked up two big outs to strand a runner a third in the sixth. Stuart Tapley walked, took second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, but the UNC right-hander fanned Mike McGee and got Tommy Oravetz to fly out to left to end the threat.
After White wriggled out the sixth-inning jam, the Tar Heels took advantage of Florida State's second error to grab their first lead of the night. Ryan Graepel drew a leadoff walk and moved to third when Cavasinni singled just inside the first base bag. Gilmartin battled back to strike out the next two batters and appeared to work out of the jam when Garrett Gore hit a grounder to short, but FSU first baseman Jack Posey mishandled the throw to the bag, allowing both runners to score.
Once he got the lead, White set down the next seven batters in order until McGee and Oravetz singled with one out in the ninth to put runners on the corners. Ramsey legged out an infield single to the right side to score McGee with the game-tying run and end the night for White before Lopez delivered the game-winning RBI.
The series continues at 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Tomorrow's game will be televised by FSN South in North Carolina, and a webcast of Sunday's finale will be available via ACC Select. Both games will air on the Tar Heel Sports Network.
