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Fleury, No. 4 Carolina Grab Walk-Off Win Over No. 7 Miami
April 18, 2009 | Baseball
April 18, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Mark Fleury tripled and scored the game-tying run in the eighth and delivered a walk-off game-winning single in the 10th to lift No. 4 North Carolina to a 5-4 win over No. 7 Miami Saturday on dedication day of the newly-renovated Boshamer Stadium. With the victory, the Tar Heels (30-10, 12-7 ACC) clinched their fourth straight series win over the Hurricanes (26-12, 11-9 ACC) and took their third series from a top-10 opponent this season.
With the score knotted at four, Kyle Seager smacked Carolina's season-best third triple of the day into the right field corner to lead off the 10th against Miami ace reliever Kyle Bellamy (3-1). The Hurricanes brought the infield in, but it would not matter as Fleury ripped a 2-1 pitch to right center to send the Tar Heels to their fifth walk-off win this season.
Fleury went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, and Garrett Gore and Seager also tripled and scored to lead the offense. Levi Michael added a key two-run single in the fourth to tie the game at three, and Brett Thomas doubled, walked twice and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.
UNC reliever Nate Striz (2-0) earned the win after coming on to strand a pair of Miami base runners in the top of the 10th. Colin Bates was also key out of the pen with 2 2/3 shutout innings.
Bellamy allowed one run on three hits over two innings to take his first loss, and Nathan Melendres was 2-for-4 for the Canes at the plate.
In a start reminiscent of last week's outing at Florida State, Carolina right-hander Adam Warren was hit for three runs in the first but kept the Hurricanes off the scoreboard over the next five frames. He scattered six hits and four walks over six innings and struck out seven.
Miami starter David Gutierrez lasted 5 1/3 and allowed three runs on four hits and five walks in a no-decision.
After getting shut out on one hit Friday, the Canes struck for three runs on three hits and an error in the first. Ryan Jackson walked and scored from second when Jason Hagerty singled to center and raced all the way around to third on a Mike Cavasinni fielding error. Chris Herrmann followed with an RBI single up the middle to drive in Hagerty, and Dave DiNatale closed the scoring with an RBI single to center to score Herrman from second for a 3-0 Hurricane lead.
Warren cruised after the first, and the Tar Heels rallied to knot the score at three in the fourth. Fleury drew a one-out walk and scored when Gore ripped his second triple of the season into the right field corner. Thomas then walked, Ryan Graepel put two in scoring position with a sacrifice bunt and Michael delivered his clutch two-out single through the right side to score both runners and tie the game.
Miami regained the lead in the seventh against the Carolina bullpen when Brian Moran, who pitched for the first time since April 7, allowed back-to-back one-out singles to put runners on the corners. Bates entered and forced a grounder to short off the bat of Jackson, but Carolina was unable to complete a potential double play, allowing Melendres to score the go-ahead run.
The Tar Heels rallied to tie the game in the eighth when Fleury roped just the second triple of his career into left center off Miami reliever Sam Robinson, and two-batters later Thomas lofted a sacrifice fly to center field off Bellamy to tie the score.
Neither team mustered much offense in the ninth, but the Canes threatened in the 10th when Patrick Johnson issued two walks, but Striz got Yasmani Grandal to ground to second to strand both runners and set up the dramatic finish.
The series concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday. The game will be televised by CSS and on ACCSelect.com, and will air on the Tar Heel Sports Network.
