University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Wright State
Tar Heels Roll To 17-3 Win Over Wright State
February 24, 2012 | Baseball
Feb. 24, 2012
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 6 North Carolina used the big inning to its advantage Friday night as the Tar Heels cruised to a 17-3 win over Wright State at Boshamer Stadium. Sophomore Kent Emanuel notched the win tossing six shutout innings to claim his second win of the year and ninth straight decision dating back to 2011. UNC will face Wright State in game two of the three game series Saturday at 2 p.m.
After a scoreless first inning the Tar Heels erupted to open the second inning thanks to three straight doubles by Cody Stubbs, Michael Russell and Tom Zengel made it 3-0 with nobody out. Carolina continued to pile up the runs as Parks Jordan slapped a double inside the third base bag to plate a run later in the frame.
Chaz Frank and Tommy Coyle tacked on a pair of runs with back-to-back singles through the right side that each scored a run for the Tar Heels. The six straight runs would chase Wright State starter Joey Hoelzel as the Raiders summoned Luke Mamer from the bullpen.
Sophomore Colin Moran turned on the first pitch he saw from Mamer and tallied a RBI single to left to make it 7-0 before Stubbs stepped into the box for the second time in the inning. Stubbs laced his second double in as many at bats into right center to score Moran and give Emanuel an 8-0 lead to work with.
Emanuel turned in another stellar performance as the sophomore southpaw threw six shutout innings and allowed just three hits. Emanuel racked up five strikeouts to earn his second win in as many starts to open 2012.
Carolina added a single run in the fourth when Michael Russell drew a walk and stole second base before Mike Zolk poked a RBI single to center to make it 9-0 in favor of the Tar Heels.
The offense would not stop there as the Tar Heels struck for four runs all with two outs in the fifth to add to their advantage. Jacob Stallings drew a two-out walk to start the rally and moved to second when Stubbs was issued a free pass of his own. Russell then notched his second double of the night to score Stallings.
Tom Zengel followed with a two-run single to make it 12-0 before Jordan added another run with a single up the middle.
Wright State finally broke into the scoring column in the seventh inning when the Raiders took advantage of a Tar Heel error to keep the inning alive before scoring a run on a wild pitch and a two-run single.
The Tar Heels answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning when Tommy Coyle drove in a pair with a single to right for his second and third RBI of the evening.
Carolina tacked on two more runs in the bottom half of the eighth taking advantage of a pair of walks and a hit by pitch. Chaz Frank added a RBI single in the inning to provide the final tally of 17-3.
Senior Jimmy Messer threw a pair of scoreless innings to close out the contest for the Tar Heels who improve to 3-1 on the year.
Tommy Coyle and Tom Zengel both finished with three hits on the night, while Coyle and Parks Jordan led the Tar Heels with three RBI apiece. Freshman Michael Russell continued his hot start to the year by crossing the plate a team-high three times.
Carolina will be going for its second straight series win of the season and 21st non-conference series win in a row on Saturday when the Tar Heels take on Wright State in game two. Junior Chris Munnelly will take the mound for Carolina, while the Raiders will counter with left-hander Cody Kopilchack.
