Tar Heels Roll Past Coastal Carolina, 14-5

Saturday, May 30

Chapel Hill, N.C.

5:00 PM

North Carolina

Coastal Carolina

May 30, 2009 | Baseball

By: UNC Athletic Communications

May 30, 2009

Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Levi Michael and Dustin Ackley had four hits apiece, and Colin Bates allowed just one hit over 3 1/3 innings out of the bullpen to send No. 4 national seed North Carolina past Coastal Carolina, 14-5, in the winner's bracket of the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional Saturday at Boshamer Stadium. The Chanticleers (47-15) will face Kansas in an elimination game at 1 p.m. Sunday, and the Tar Heels (44-16) will meet the winner at 5 p.m. with a chance to claim the regional title.

Michael, who posted his third career four-hit game, and Ackley, who recorded his 15th career game with at least four hits, spearheaded a balanced attack for Carolina, which pounded out 17 hits. Michael, Ben Bunting and Kyle Seager each drove in a game-high three runs.

Michael singled home a run in the first, singled in the third and sixth innings and belted a key two-run double in the seventh. Ackley was 4-for-4 with two walks and is now 7-for-9 in the regional. He singled and scored in the first, doubled home a run in the eighth and picked up a second school record in as many nights with career runs 220 and 221.

Seager 2-for-4 with a big two-run single in the fifth among his three RBI, and Bunting, who was 2-for-5 with two runs, matched a career-best RBI total with a bases-loaded double in the third to give Carolina a lead it would not relinquish.

Bates (4-2) was brilliant for the Tar Heels, holding the hard-hitting Chanticleers to just one hit over 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He did not issue a walk and struck out five en route to his first career postseason win.

UNC starter Alex White did not figure into the decision after allowing five runs on four hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five to move into second on the Tar Heels' career list with 293, behind only Andrew Miller's 325. Greg Holt and Nate Striz worked the ninth inning of the combined five-hitter.

Coastal Carolina starter Cody Wheeler (10-1) lasted just 2 2/3 innings and was charged with six runs on four hits and six walks to suffer his first career loss. The Chanticleer southpaw entered Saturday's start with a 16-0 career record.

The Tar Heels got off to a shaky start with a pair of first-inning errors, but White buckled down to strand two without any damage, and the bats delivered a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.

Two walks sandwiched around an Ackley single loaded the bases, and Ryan Graepel reached on a fielder's choice to drive in the first run. Michael followed with a single through the left side for his first career NCAA Tournament base hit and a 2-0 Carolina lead.

Coastal took advantage of a rocky third inning for White to grab a 3-2 advantage. Adam Rice started things with a one-out single, and Tyler Bortnick was hit by a pitch before back-to-back wild pitches put Coastal on the board. Rice scored from third on the second miscue, and Jose Iglesias followed with a two-run double off the glove of a diving Mike Cavasinni in right center to put the Chants in front for the first time.

The Tar Heels came right back in the bottom of inning to regain the lead, chasing Wheeler from the game in the process. Michael's second single and walks to Mark Fleury and Cavasinni loaded the bases. Reliever Matt Rein entered with a 2-0 count on Jacob Stallings, who went on to draw a bases-loaded walk to knot the score at three.

Bunting then matched his career high with three RBI with one swing of the bat, as he sent his 11th double to right center to clear the bases and regain the lead for Carolina at 6-3.

After Rico Noel brought the Chants within two with a solo home run in the fourth, Daniel Bowman hit one of his own in the fifth to trim the lead to a single run at 6-5. After White fanned the first two in the inning, Bowman drilled a 3-2 offering to right for his 13th homer of the season.

The Tar Heels answered again in the fifth thanks to a two-run single by Seager. Gore singled, Cavasinni was hit by a pitch and - after a wild pitch opened up first base - Ackley was intentionally walked to load the bases before Seager lofted a two-run single to shallow center for an 8-5 lead.

Carolina opened the sixth with three straight singles to add to the lead. Michael beat out an infield single for his third hit, Fleury singled to center to put runners on the corners and Gore delivered an RBI single up the middle for a 9-5 cushion. The Tar Heels missed on a chance to break things open, as they had runners on second and third with just one out but could not push across any more runs.

Michael took care of that in the seventh with a two-run double to score Seager, who started the rally with a one-out single, and Graepel, who reached on a fielder's choice.

The Tar Heels closed the scoring with three in the ninth for the 14-5 final margin. Pinch hitter Seth Baldwin singled, and pinch runner Ryan Norton scored on an RBI double to right by Ackley. Seager followed with a sacrifice fly, and Grapel added a run-scoring single down the right field line.

Carolina will start senior right-hander Adam Warren Sunday against Kansas or Coastal Carolina.