No. 13 Tar Heels Drop Series Finale

Sunday, April 17

Charlottesville, Va.

12:00 PM

North Carolina

Virginia

April 17, 2016 | Baseball

By: UNC Athletic Communications

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. --- No. 25 Virginia grabbed a series-clinching 15-9 win over No. 13 North Carolina Sunday afternoon at Davenport Field. Matt Thaiss homered and drove in four runs to lead the Cavaliers to their fourth consecutive series win over the Tar Heels. Eli Sutherland drove in four and Brian Miller had a career-high five hits for Carolina, which could not overcome a season-high 13 walks from its pitching staff in the longest nine-inning game in Davenport Field history.

UNC (25-11, 9-9 ACC) had leads of 3-0 and 5-3 early before the Cavaliers (23-15, 9-9 ACC) scored 11 times in the middle three innings to pull away. Eight of the 13 Virginia batters to reach via the walk would eventually score on a day when both teams struggled to find the strike zone.

A pair of three-run doubles in the fourth were the key hits for the hosts, with all six runs in the inning coming with two outs. Daniel Pinero cleared the bases with a double inside third base off A.J. Bogucki (2-2) before Cameron Simmons repeated the feat against Spencer Trayner.

UVA padded its lead with four more in the fifth, an inning that featured Thaiss' two-run shot to right.

Tyler Ramirez and Sutherland had RBI hits in a three-run sixth for Carolina and Ramirez had a sac fly in the seventh, but the Tar Heels were unable to get any closer against the Virginia bullpen. Tommy Doyle worked the final two innings without allowing a run to end it.

Starters Jason Morgan and Alec Bettinger both struggled, combining for nine walks as neither pitcher lasted beyond the fourth. Kevin Doherty (1-0) got four outs in relief of Bettinger to get the victory.

Carolina returns to Chapel Hill for a pair of midweek games as the Tar Heels host Coastal Carolina and William & Mary before a trip to Wake Forest next weekend.