University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Clemson
No. 6 Tar Heels Rout No. 16 Tigers, 13-3
April 1, 2011 | Baseball
April 1, 2011
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 6 North Carolina (24-4, 8-2 ACC) spotted Clemson (14-10, 4-6 ACC) a 3-0 lead after one half of an inning but stormed back with 13 unanswered runs to claim a 13-3 series opening win over the visiting Tigers. Four different Tar Heels drove in at least two runs apiece on the night as starter Patrick Johnson equaled a career high with 11 strikeouts en route to his sixth win of the year.
The Tigers struck for three quick runs in the top of the first two walks, including a lead off free pass, and three singles to jump out to a 3-0 lead.
Carolina answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the first on the at bat of the year from Tommy Coyle. Ben Bunting led off with a single off of pitcher Scott Weismann then stole second putting himself in scoring position.
Following a strikeout Coyle battled Weismann through an epic 11-pitch at bat fouling off pitches left and right before turning on a 2-2 offering and blasting his second home run in as many games, a two-run blast to pull Carolina within one at 3-2.
Johnson settled down after the shaky first working a 1-2-3 second inning followed by a scoreless third inning keeping the Tar Heels in the game.
Levi Michael started a one-out rally in the bottom of the third by working a full count before drawing a walk. Showing no ill effects of an ankle injury suffered last week, Michael swiped second base, his ninth of the year, before Jacob Stallings drew a walk of his own.
Colin Moran came through with the game-tying hit when he hit a sinking ball in front of the left fielder to score Michael and tie the game at 3-3. Jesse Wierzbicki followed with a hard hit single through the left side to score Stallings and give Carolina a 4-3 lead.
Another scoreless frame by Johnson in the fourth put the Tar Heel bats back up to bat. Seth Baldwin quickly made it 5-3 in the bottom half of the fourth when he connected on his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to right field.
Clemson managed its first hit since the first inning with two down in the fifth but a fly ball to Baldwin in right would end the threat before Carolina exploded for six runs on four hits in the fifth inning to blow the game open.
Tommy Coyle led things off with a single back up the middle then swiped his 11th base of the year before moving to third when Stallings singled through the right side to put runners on the corners.
Colin Moran hit a chopper up the middle but Clemson's Jason Stolz flipped the ball past John Hinson at second allowing Stallings to reach second safely and Coyle to score from third.
Head Coach Mike Fox called for a sacrifice bunt with Jesse Wierzbicki at the plate but his bunt was mishandled by reliever David Haselden allowing the Tar Heels to load the bases. Chaz Frank hit a routine grounder ball to second for the first out of the inning but not before Stallings trotted home to make it 6-3.
Tom Zengel drew a walk before Baldwin made it two straight innings with a RBI when he hit a high chopper of Phil Pohl at first base allowing Moran and Wierzbicki to score.
Ben Bunting came up with the hardest hit ball of the inning, a single to right field putting runners on the corners before Levi Michael lifted a fly ball to center field for a sacrifice fly to cap off the six-run fifth and extend the lead to 11-3.
Johnson struck out a pair of batters in both the sixth and seventh innings to set a season high with 11 strikeouts in the contest. The 11 punch outs equaled a career high for Johnson who became the first Tar Heel to strike out 10 this year and first since Matt Harvey struck out 15 batters at Clemson a year ago.
The Tar Heels tacked on a pair of insurance runs in bottom of the seventh to provide the final margin of 13-3.
Jimmy Messer threw an inning and a third of no hit ball before making way for senior Bryant Gaines in the ninth who recorded a pair of punch outs to cap off the series opening win.
Coyle, Michael and Moran each finished the night with two RBI, while Baldwin set a season high with three RBI in the win. Baldwin also equaled a season high with two hits and set another season high by scoring three times in the rout.
The Tar Heels will celebrate the culmination of the BaseBald For The Cure event on Saturday when the team shaves their heads following the 2 p.m. contest. Bullpen catcher Chase Jones has already eclipsed his goal of $10,000 as he has helped raise over $12,000 for the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center.
