University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia Tech
Tar Heels Ride Bullpen To 7-6 Win
March 20, 2011 | Baseball
March 20, 2011
BLACKSBURG, Va. - No. 15 North Carolina used eight different pitchers who combined for five innings of two-run baseball en route to a 7-6 win over Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon in Blacksburg, Va. The win capped off a three-game sweep for the Tar Heels and Carolina has now won 12 straight games against the Hokies.
The Tar Heels jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a RBI single from Seth Baldwin and a well executed double steal with men at first and third.
The lead would not last long as the Hokies responded with three runs in the bottom of the second as they sent seven batters to the plate.
Jacob Stallings started another two-out rally in the top of the third when he was hit by a pitch. Colin Moran drew a walk before Jesse Wierzbicki came up with a slow roller back up the middle to score Stallings and knot the game at 3-3.
Starter Michael Morin settled down after the shaky second inning and retired the Hokies 1-2-3 in the third before his offense erupted for two more runs in the fourth.
Tom Zengel started things off with a double in the left center gap before Seth Baldwin walked to put a pair of runners on, Ben Bunting dropped down an unsuccessful sacrifice bunt as the Hokies cut down Zengel at third.
Tommy Coyle came up with the big blow for Carolina as he inside-outted a ball down the left field line for a two-run double as Carolina regained the lead 5-3.
Virginia Tech fought back with a run in the bottom of the fifth as the Hokies knocked Morin out of the game. Back-to-back singles led off the fifth inning before Johnny Morales dropped down a sacrifice bunt back to Morin. The sophomore sprinted off the mound but his cleats caught in the ground and he hit the dirt as soon as he fielded the ball. Morin attempted a throw to first but it rolled past Wierzbicki at first and allowed the lead runner to score.
The injury would end Morin's day as Greg Holt came on in relief to strike out the only batter he would face. Tate Parrish forced left-handed hitting Ronnie Shaban to ground out weakly to Colin Moran at third before departing for Andrew Smith who struck out Michael Seaborn for the last out.
Seth Baldwin led off the sixth with a single through the left side and looked to be cut down on a ground ball up the middle by Ben Bunting by shortstop Tim Smalling misplayed a double play ball allowing Baldwin to get to third.
Coyle followed with a ground ball up the middle that Smalling was able to make a play on and turn a double play but Baldwin was able to score extending the lead to 6-4.
The Hokies loaded the bases off of Smith in the sixth with two down but freshman hurler Shane Taylor came out of the pen to get Morales swinging to kill the Virginia Tech threat.
Virginia Tech was threatening again in the seventh with a pair of singles after a punch out by Taylor to open the inning. Cody Stiles came on and made a nice defensive play on a sacrifice bunt from Gabe Ortiz. Stiles bounced off the mound and grabbed the ball along the third base line before firing to first for the second out of the inning. Levi Michael came up with the final out of the inning as he ranged behind second base for a grounder before firing to first for the final out.
Stiles helped himself out in the eighth with perhaps the defensive play of the game. The Hokies put the lead off man on thanks to a Tar Heel error before a fly out to right field. A walk put a pair of runners on but Stiles got Morale to hit a high chopper back to him at the mound and fired to Michael at second who completed the inning-ending double play with a throw to first.
Wierzbicki led off the top of the ninth with a single up the middle, his third of the afternoon, and moved to second on a ground out to second. Pinch hitter Brian Holberton came up with a crucial hit for the Tar Heels as he hit a ball off the second baseman's glove and in to center field allowing Wierzbicki to score and extend the lead to 7-6.
Cody Penny came on for the bottom of the ninth but allowed three consecutive singles to open the inning as Virginia Tech cut the lead to 7-6. Chris Munnelly became the eighth pitcher of the afternoon for the Tar Heels as he came out looking for his first career save.
Wierzbicki picked up the first out of the inning with a tremendous running catch in foul territory just before the Hokies loaded the bases on a single just inside the right field line.
Munnelly struck out Chad Morgan for out number two but issued a free pass to Jake Atwell cutting the Carolina lead to 7-6. The Tar Heel coaches brought the outfielders in a few steps as Tony Balisteri stepped to the plate and it worked out perfectly as Balisteri lined a ball directly at Ben Bunting in center field for the third and final out.
The win improved Carolina to 18-3 on the year and 5-2 in ACC play, while Virginia Tech dropped to 12-10 on the year and 0-6 in conference play.
Up next for the Tar Heels are a pair of midweek games against in-state foes UNC Wilmington (Tue.) and High Point (Wed.) before hosting Duke in a three-game set starting on Friday.
