University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Maryland
No. 4 Tar Heels Take Series At Maryland, 9-5
March 17, 2012 | Baseball
March 17, 2012
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Lead off man Chaz Frank matched a career high with three RBI as No. 4 North Carolina won its second straight ACC road series and improved to 16-3 on the year, including a perfect 5-0 mark in ACC play with a 9-5 win at Maryland (13-6, 0-5 ACC) Saturday. Carolina will go for the sweep Sunday with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
Junior Chris Munnelly notched the win on the mound as the right-hander allowed three runs over six innings of work. Munnelly improved to 2-0 on the year with the win in his 50th career appearance as a Tar Heel.
Freshman second baseman Mike Zolk tallied three hits on the day and crossed the plate three times and drove in a run as well.
Colin Moran and Tom Zengel each contributed two hits apiece as Carolina erupted for nine runs on 12 hits.
For the second straight game the Tar Heels did not commit an error, while the Terps committed a pair of miscues to keep innings alive for the Tar Heels.
UNC jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the second thanks to a RBI single from Tom Zengel and a sacrifice fly by Parks Jordan.
Maryland pulled a run back in the fourth with a RBI single from KJ Hockaday to make it 2-1 after four complete.
Carolina tacked on two more runs in the sixth when the duo of Zengel and Jordan drove in two more runs. Zengel doubled home Michael Russell who reached on an error and stole second base before Jordan singled through the right side to plate Zengel and make the score 4-1 in favor of the Tar Heels.
Mike Zolk laid down a bunt with runners on second and third and Colin Moran scored from third to make it 5-1 before a Terapin error with two outs kept the inning alive. The throwing error allowed a run to score and a bases loaded walk by Chaz Frank gave Carolina a comfortable 7-1 advantage.
The Terps would not go quietly as they responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh as they chased Munnelly after allowing a pair of singles to open the inning. Matt Bossee delivered the big hit with a two-run double, while Maryland added a run later in the inning with a RBI groundout.
The Tar Heels put the game out of reach in the ninth thanks to a two-run single off the bat of Chaz Frank to make it a 9-3 game. Maryland tallied a single run in the ninth but it was not enough as Carolina won its second straight ACC series to open conference play.
Carolina will look for the sweep on Sunday as freshman right-hander Benton Moss will square off against Maryland right-hander Brett Harman. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and a live audio broadcast will be provided on TarHeelBlue.com
