University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Duke
Complete Effort Leads No. 4 Tar Heels Past Duke, 8-3
May 20, 2009 | Baseball
May 20, 2009
Box Score |
Quotes |
Notes
| Box Score 
DURHAM, N.C. - Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year Dustin Ackley homered twice and drove in four runs, and right-hander Adam Warren tossed a career-best 8 1/3 innings Wednesday as No. 4 North Carolina opened the 2009 ACC Baseball Championship with an 8-3 win over Duke at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Ackley, who grabbed a share of the conference lead with his 18th and 19th home runs, was 3-for-5 with his second four-RBI game in the last three outings. The Walnut Cove, N.C., product has seven multi-hit games in 10 chances in May to move within three base hits of Chad Flack's UNC career record with 325 in just three seasons.
With Ackley providing the offense, Warren (7-2) became just the third Tar Heel hurler to reach the 29-win mark with the longest start of his decorated career. The all-conference righty held the Blue Devils (34-23) to three runs on six hits, struck out seven and walked just one.
Kyle Seager was 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple and two walks, and Garrett Gore and Ben Bunting added two hits for the Tar Heels (42-14). Mike Cavasinni chipped in with an RBI triple and scored twice.
Duke lefty Christopher Manno (5-6) allowed four runs on seven hits and three walks over five innings. Jake Lemmerman was 3-for-4 with two RBI.
The Tar Heels' win evens the season series with the Blue Devils at two games apiece, regaining one-half point towards the Carlyle Cup, the all-sports competition between Carolina and Duke, for UNC. The Tar Heels had already clinched the Cup and now lead the competition by a 15.5-10.5 margin.
Ackley got Carolina out of the gates quickly in the first with a mammoth shot to right center on a 2-0 offering from Manno for the first of his two home runs. Seager followed with a double to right center, stole third and scored when Levi Michael legged out an infield single for his 50th RBI and a two-run Tar Heel lead.
Carolina was robbed of a chance to break things open in the third when Lemmerman saved what could have been two runs with an inning-ending, diving grab of a flare off the bat of Mark Fleury with the bases loaded.
Cavasinni made sure the Tar Heels found the scoring column in the fourth with an RBI triple off the wall in right to plate the first of two runs. Bunting led off the inning with a double to center and scored when Cavasinni just missed on his first career home run but wound up on third with his fourth three-bagger of the season. Ackley followed with an RBI fielder's choice to score Cavasinni from third for a 4-0 advantage.
The Blue Devils got on the board in the sixth when Alex Hassan doubled to right center and scored on a single up the middle by Matt Williams, trimming the UNC lead to 4-1. Michael quieted any thoughts of Duke rally in the frame with a diving catch in shallow right center on a pop up by Nate Freiman, and the Welcome, N.C., freshman quickly doubled Williams off first to clear the bases. Warren then got a foul out from Jeremy Gould to end the inning with a three-run lead.
Ackley struck again in the bottom of the inning with a two-run shot to right to extend the Carolina lead to 6-1. Cavasinni drew a one-out walk, took second on a wild pitch and Ackley drilled a 1-2 offering form Duke reliever Dennis O'Grady to right for his fifth multi-homer game this season and the seventh of his career.
Carolina added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings for an 8-1 advantage. Gore singled and scored from third on a squeeze bunt by Jacob Stallings in the seventh, and Ryan Graepel singled and crossed the plate on Seager's second double of the night in the eighth.
Duke added two in the ninth when Freiman walked, Gould doubled and Lemmerman singled up the middle off Colin Bates to score two for the 8-3 final margin.
Following an off day Thursday, the Tar Heels return to action at the DBAP Friday at 8 p.m. against Virginia and Saturday at 4 p.m. versus Clemson.
