University of North Carolina Athletics
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NC State
No. 22 Carolina Falls In Series Finale, 6-3
April 12, 2015 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL --- Preston Palmeiro drove in two runs and Ryne Willard scored twice as North Carolina State topped No. 22 North Carolina 6-3 Sunday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium. Trent Thornton matched a career high with 10 strikeouts in six innings of relief but the Tar Heels were unable to rally against the Wolfpack bullpen. Joe Dudek had three hits to lead UNC, which opens another five-game week Tuesday against High Point.
Neither Benton Moss nor Johnny Piedmonte made it out of the third, as both teams got strong efforts from long relievers. Thornton (1-4) was dominant at times but allowed five runs on six hits in his longest outing of the year. Lefty Ryan Williamson took over for Piedmonte in the third and allowed just one run over four innings while striking out five.
Carolina (22-14, 9-9 ACC) took its only lead of the game in the third on back-to-back two-out singles by Zack Gahagan and Dudek. But NC State (20-14, 8-9) immediately pulled even in the fourth and took a 4-2 lead in the fifth. Jake Fincher and Logan Ratledge led off the inning with hits off Thornton and Palmeiro's RBI single broke the tie ahead of Andrew Knizner's RBI fielder's choice.
Landon Lassiter doubled on the first pitch from Joe O'Donnell in the seventh to make it 4-3, but the Wolfpack added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth. Will Gilbert got Ramirez to fly out to left with two on for his second save, and Williamson improved to 3-1 with the relief win.
Moss was sharp through two scoreless frames before losing the strike zone in the third. The senior right-hander walked the bases loaded and fell behind Ratledge 2-0 before Thornton took over. Piedmonte allowed two runs on four hits in 2.2 innings for NC State.
UNC concludes its seven-game homestand with a pair of midweek games. The Tar Heels host High Point on Tuesday before a visit from UNC Asheville on Wednesday. Both contests are set to begin at 6 p.m.
