University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Duke
No. 11 Tar Heels Dispatch Duke 21-9
March 12, 2010 | Baseball
March 12, 2010
DURHAM, N.C. - Freshman Brian Goodwin registered a season-high four hits and five RBI to lead No. 11 North Carolina over Duke 21-9 on a rainy Friday night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Tar Heels 21 runs scored and 21 hits are both season highs. Junior Matt Harvey (3-0) earned the win as Carolina improves to 12-2 overall and 1-0 in ACC play. The loss snaps Duke's eight-game win streak as the Blue Devils fall to 9-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Eleven different Tar Heels posted at least one hit and eight different players recorded at least one RBI. The 21 runs on 21 hits are the most since an April 15, 2009 Carolina win over Wofford 20-4. Goodwin paced the Heels going 4-for-4 with five RBI and four runs scored. The freshman was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle en route to mashing his team-leading third home run of the season.
Tommy Coyle (1-for-5, 4 RBI), Levi Michael (2-for-4, 4 RBI), Ryan Graepel (2-for-5, 2 RBI) and Tarron Robinson (1-for-2, 2 RBI) all helped manufacture 21 Tar Heel runs. In addition, Ben Bunting, Jesse Wierzbicki and Dillon Hazlett all had multi-hit games. Graepel extends his hit streak to a career best eight games, while Goodwin stretches his streak to nine.
Junior Matt Harvey (3-0) earned his 17th career victory - allowing three earned runs on seven hits in five innings of work. Bryant Gaines, Cody Penny, Nate Striz and Zach Bernard combined to allow three runs, only one earned, in four innings of relief work.
Senior Michael Ness (1-1) suffers the loss for Duke after allowing eleven runs, six earned, on eight hits in 2.2 innings. Five Blue Devil relief pitchers combine to allow ten runs as Carolina scored in all but three innings.
Carolina darted out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first after a pair of RBI singles off the bat of Michael and Goodwin. Graepel then crushed his first home run of the year, a two-run run blast, down the left field line to push the Tar Heel lead to four runs.
Duke responded in the bottom of the inning after a pair of walks led to a two RBI double off the bat of Will Piwnica-Worms. An Eric Brady RBI groundout scored Piwnica-Worms to slice the Tar Heel lead to 4-3. Tar Heel starter Matt Harvey labored early, but still owned a one run lead.
Both teams exchanged runs in the second inning as Carolina maintained a one run lead at 5-4 after two frames.
The Tar Heels blew open the score in the third inning scoring a season-high nine runs in the frame. Carolina scored five runs early in the inning benefiting from a two-run Blue Devil error. Wierzbicki laced a two-RBI single down the left field on newly inserted pitcher Ben Grisz. Goodwin then took the 2-1 Grisz offering deep to right field to plate an additional three Tar Heel runs. After the long third inning Carolina led 14-4.
The Tar Heels added three more in the top of the fourth after an RBI single from Coyle, RBI sacrifice fly from Michael and RBI double from Goodwin. The Blue Devils scored two in the bottom of the frame as the score was 17-6 after just four frames.
Carolina added two in the seventh and two more in the eighth after a two-RBI pinch-hit single from Robinson. Duke added two in the seventh, but the Tar Heels proved too much winning by a margin of 11 runs.
Both teams left 13 runners on base in a game that featured 30 runs, 34 hits, four errors, five hit batsman, seven doubles, and two home runs in three hours and thirty-seven minutes of action.
The teams will resume the three-game set tomorrow at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
