University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
George Washington
No. 11 Tar Heels Top Colonials 6-3
February 21, 2010 | Baseball
Feb. 21, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Junior Colin Bates pitched a career-high seven effective innings to lead No. 11 North Carolina over George Washington 6-3 Sunday in front of 1205 fans at Boshamer Stadium. North Carolina improves to 3-0 with their series sweep of George Washington, who falls to 0-3 on the young season.
Bates (1-0) earned his eleventh career victory in his first career start. The junior allowed three runs on six hits while striking out five Colonial batters. Jimmy Messer earned his first career save with two innings of no-hit ball. The Colonials Ryan LaPointe (0-1) suffered the loss allowing five earned runs on ten Tar Heel hits.
Junior Ben Bunting led the Tar Heels at the plate, with a 3-for-3 performance with two walks en route to scoring one run. Freshman Brian Goodwin registered his first career hit, a triple, and first career RBIs Sunday.
Senior Mike Cavasinni extended his hit-streak to nine games dating back to last season, with a 1-for-4 day at the plate. Junior Dillon Hazlett also had a productive day going 2-for-3 at the plate, raising his season average to a team-leading .444 clip. Freshman Tommy Coyle also registered two hits and two runs scored.
The Tar Heels got off to fast start in the bottom of the first. Bunting laced a single up the middle followed by a well-executed hit and run by Coyle. Coyle ripped his first collegiate hit to right field to advance Bunting to third. Coyle then registered his first career-stolen base to put runners at second and third.
Levi Michael hit a long sacrifice fly to plate Bunting and move Coyle to third, giving the Heels a 1-0 lead. Jesse Wierzbicki then knocked in Coyle on a RBI groundout to short. Goodwin ended the inning with another groundout to short.
Bates stymied the Colonials early with a slew of groundouts as the Tar Heels added more support in the third. A two-out, two-strike, triple to right field off the bat of Goodwin scored two Tar Heels to extend the lead to 4-0. Coyle scored his second run of the game and Michael his first, as Goodwin recorded his first two career RBIs.
The Colonials responded in the top of the fourth with a single followed by two back-to-back doubles to slice the Carolina lead in half. Chris Holland's double scored Tom Zebroski and then a Chris Luick double that Bunting nearly corralled in left center, scored Holland. Bates then struck out two consecutive George Washington batters, but a two-out RBI single from Tyler McCarthy cut the Tar Heel lead to one. McCarthy laced a single just out of the reach of Graepel at short to score Luick. Bates registered his third strikeout to get out of the inning rendering three runs.
The Colonials threatened again the top of fifth after a lead off double from Ollie Mittag. Bates retired two George Washington hitters in a row and then Jacob Stallings rifled a throw to gun down Mittag on a stolen base attempt at third, ending the threat.
Carolina added another run in the bottom of the sixth, after a Cavasinni single and error by the center field advanced him to second. Stallings ripped a RBI single up the middle to score Cavasinni and push the Heels in front 5-3. Two pitching changes later, the Colonials escaped a bases loaded jam only allowing one run.
North Carolina added another run in the eighth, after Wierzbicki reached on a hit-by-pitch and then stole second. A walk to Goodwin and a sacrifice but from Ryan Graepel put runners at second and third. Hazlett hit a high fly ball to center for a RBI sacrifice fly to score Wierzbicki.
Jimmy Messer relieved Colin Bates after seven innings, to retire all three Colonial batters in the top of the eighth and ninth en route to his first career save.
North Carolina will be back in action Tuesday at 3 p.m. against UNC Greensboro at Boshamer Stadium.
