University of North Carolina Athletics
The dugout erupts as the winning run scores in the 2017 Clemson game
Photo by: Joe Bray
This Day In Tar Heel Baseball History: April 30
April 30, 2020 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILLÂ - North Carolina will begin to look at "On This Day in Tar Heel History", as Tom Jensen will share his memories as an avid Tar Heel fan and regular at Boshamer Stadium.Â
April 30
For today's version of 'This Day in Recent Carolina Baseball History' we go back to 2006 and 2017 to complete a pair of ACC sweeps, one at Duke and one at the Bosh against a top 5 Clemson team. Plus a quick hit from 2019.
The Heels already had wins of 8-4 and 8-2 over Duke as they headed into the final game of the series on April 30, 2006. This game was a little closer- at least for a while. Daniel Bard was on the bump for the Heels and threw a scoreless 1st, a 1-2-3 2nd, and a scoreless 3rd.Â
Kyle Shelton doubled to lead off the 4th and with 1 out Josh Horton hit a double to left of his own to score Kyle and take a 1-0 lead. But Duke matched the run in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game back up.
Benji Johnson led off the 5th inning. When you think about the best catchers of the Omaha era of Carolina Baseball the first ones who come to mind are probably the guys who made it to the majors like Tim Federowicz and Jacob Stallings. And they were certainly amazing- but neither of them flashed the amount of power that Benji did. He hit 24 home runs in 407 college at bats compared to 21 home runs in 805 at bats for Tim and 10 home runs in 668 at bats for Jacob. That's a whole lot of power to get out of the catcher position.
And he really hit for power on that first Omaha team in 2006- his 14 home runs were second on the team, just 1 behind Jay Cox who led the team with 15.
At any rate Benji went deep to left to lead off the 5th and give the Heels the lead back at 2-1. It was already his 10th of the season.Â
Daniel threw a scoreless 5th. And then a 1-2-3 6th where he struck out the last 2 batters. Jonathan Hovis came on to replace him in the 7th. Daniel's final line was 6 innings, 6 strikeouts, 4 hits, and just the 1 run allowed.
Jonathan inherited a runner on 1st and set down the side in order. In the top of the 8th Josh Horton hit a solo shot to right for an insurance run to push the Heels lead to 3-1.
In the bottom of the 8th Duke, still very much in the game, hit a leadoff single. But after that Jonathan struck out future big leaguer Nate Freiman and coaxed a double play ball to get out of the inning. His 2 scoreless, only 1 base runner allowed innings were key while the score was still tight.
Finally in the 9th the Heels blew it open. Jay Cox singled and Benji Johnson got hit by a pitch. Reid Fronk bunted them over. With runners on 2nd and 3rd the first run of the inning came in on a balk, scoring Jay to make it 4-1.
Garrett Gore singled in Benji to make it 5-1. Mike Cavasinni hit his own single to put runners on the corners, then stole 2nd. Matt Iannetta drew a walk to load the bases. And Chad Flack hit a ball to 3rd that was so misplayed that Garrett and Cavi both came around to make it 7-1.
Matt Danford came in to pitch the 9th and got a strikeout and a couple of groundouts for a quick 1-2-3 frame to close it out. Not only did the Heels sweep Duke, they won every game by at least 4 runs for a cumulative weekend score of 23-7.
Josh Horton had 3 hits (including a home run and a double) and Benji Johnson had a pair of hits (including his go ahead home run) to lead the way for the Heels. The win pushed their overall season record to 39-8 and their ACC record to 18-6. It was also their third straight weekend sweep and gave them a 10 game conference winning streak overall as they headed into the exam break.
The Heels had already clinched the series in a top 5 matchup against Clemson at the Bosh thanks to a couple late come from behind wins and on April 30, 2017 they were going for the sweep.
Clemson drew a leadoff walk to start the game and after an out went deep to take a 2-0 lead.
That ended their scoring for the day. Jason Morgan settled in and got the last 2 hitters in the 1st and followed that up with a scoreless 2nd and a 1-2-3 3rd to end up with a solid outing other than one pitch.
Brett Daniels came in in the 4th and Clemson got back to back singles to put runners on the corners with 1 out, giving them a great chance to extend their lead. But Brett got a fly out too shallow to score the run and followed it up with a groundout to get out of the inning.
Brandon Riley drew a 1 out walk in the bottom of the inning and Cody Roberts hit a ground ball to 3rd that ended up being so mishandled at various points along the way that Cody and Brandon ended up on 2nd and 3rd. Tyler Lynn hit a ground ball to 2nd that allowed Brandon to come around and score and cut the deficit to 2-1.
Brett threw a scoreless 5th. In the 6th Clemson threatened again. They hit a leadoff double and got the runner to 3rd with 1 out. But Brett struck out the next batter and after allowing a 2 out walk that put runners on the corners, he got a fly out to right to end the threat. He finished his day with 3 scoreless innings.
With 2 outs in the 6th it was again Brandon Riley who got something started. After falling behind 0-2, he singled to left. Cody Roberts fell behind 0-2 as well and then just like in the Heels previous scoring rally he hit a ball to 3rd that was booted and let Brandon get to 3rd. Tyler Lynn singled to right on the first pitch he saw and brought Brandon home to tie the game at 2.
Rodney Hutchison came in for the 7th and threw a 1-2-3 inning, then got the first batter of the 8th before giving way to Josh Hiatt. He retired all 4 hitters he faced.
Josh got the last 2 guys in the 8th, then threw a 1-2-3 9th. The Heels got a couple runners on in the 9th with 1 out but couldn't get one home and the game moved on to extra innings.
The Tigers got a runner to 3rd with 2 outs in the 10th but Josh got a popout from the next batter to end the threat.
Ashton McGee singled to lead off the 10th and Kyle Datres bunted him over to 2nd. After seeing him instigate the previous 2 Heels runs the Tigers decided they didn't want to have anything to do with Brandon Riley this time and gave him an intentional pass. A FC put runners on the corners with 2 out for Tyler Lynn.
Tyler had already driven in the first 2 runs of the day for the Heels. And he did it again here- singling to bring home Ashton to give the Heels the sweep in a huge weekend where all 3 games involved coming from behind and winning it late.
Josh got a well earned win for his 2.2 scoreless innings of work where he didn't allow any hits or walk anyone. Tyler Lynn had 3 hits and drove in all 3 runs and Ashton McGee had a pair of hits as well, including the one that led to the game winning run. Brandon Riley reached base in a variety of different ways and contributed to all 3 run scoring rallies.
Sweeping a top 5 team pushed the season record for the Heels to 36-9, including a remarkable 19-5 record in ACC play. The weekend put the Heels firmly in the picture for getting a national seed and returning June baseball to the Bosh for the first time in 4 years.
And a quick hit from 2019:
The Heels beat a very good Liberty team 11-5 at the Bosh after the Flames had won in a pitching duel in Lynchburg the month before. Aaron Sabato led the way with 3 doubles that drove in 4 runs and Dylan Enwiller had 3 hits as well, including a double, and came around to score 3 times. Ashton McGee's pair of hits included a grand slam, giving him 4 RBI for the day. Danny Serretti got the scoring started with a 2 run double in the 1st.
Connor Ollio started and threw 5.2 solid innings where he allowed only 4 hits and didn't walk anybody to earn the 2nd win of his Tar Heel career. Austin Love threw 3.1 scoreless innings to finish the game and got the save.
April 30
For today's version of 'This Day in Recent Carolina Baseball History' we go back to 2006 and 2017 to complete a pair of ACC sweeps, one at Duke and one at the Bosh against a top 5 Clemson team. Plus a quick hit from 2019.
The Heels already had wins of 8-4 and 8-2 over Duke as they headed into the final game of the series on April 30, 2006. This game was a little closer- at least for a while. Daniel Bard was on the bump for the Heels and threw a scoreless 1st, a 1-2-3 2nd, and a scoreless 3rd.Â
Kyle Shelton doubled to lead off the 4th and with 1 out Josh Horton hit a double to left of his own to score Kyle and take a 1-0 lead. But Duke matched the run in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game back up.
Benji Johnson led off the 5th inning. When you think about the best catchers of the Omaha era of Carolina Baseball the first ones who come to mind are probably the guys who made it to the majors like Tim Federowicz and Jacob Stallings. And they were certainly amazing- but neither of them flashed the amount of power that Benji did. He hit 24 home runs in 407 college at bats compared to 21 home runs in 805 at bats for Tim and 10 home runs in 668 at bats for Jacob. That's a whole lot of power to get out of the catcher position.
And he really hit for power on that first Omaha team in 2006- his 14 home runs were second on the team, just 1 behind Jay Cox who led the team with 15.
At any rate Benji went deep to left to lead off the 5th and give the Heels the lead back at 2-1. It was already his 10th of the season.Â
Daniel threw a scoreless 5th. And then a 1-2-3 6th where he struck out the last 2 batters. Jonathan Hovis came on to replace him in the 7th. Daniel's final line was 6 innings, 6 strikeouts, 4 hits, and just the 1 run allowed.
Jonathan inherited a runner on 1st and set down the side in order. In the top of the 8th Josh Horton hit a solo shot to right for an insurance run to push the Heels lead to 3-1.
In the bottom of the 8th Duke, still very much in the game, hit a leadoff single. But after that Jonathan struck out future big leaguer Nate Freiman and coaxed a double play ball to get out of the inning. His 2 scoreless, only 1 base runner allowed innings were key while the score was still tight.
Finally in the 9th the Heels blew it open. Jay Cox singled and Benji Johnson got hit by a pitch. Reid Fronk bunted them over. With runners on 2nd and 3rd the first run of the inning came in on a balk, scoring Jay to make it 4-1.
Garrett Gore singled in Benji to make it 5-1. Mike Cavasinni hit his own single to put runners on the corners, then stole 2nd. Matt Iannetta drew a walk to load the bases. And Chad Flack hit a ball to 3rd that was so misplayed that Garrett and Cavi both came around to make it 7-1.
Matt Danford came in to pitch the 9th and got a strikeout and a couple of groundouts for a quick 1-2-3 frame to close it out. Not only did the Heels sweep Duke, they won every game by at least 4 runs for a cumulative weekend score of 23-7.
Josh Horton had 3 hits (including a home run and a double) and Benji Johnson had a pair of hits (including his go ahead home run) to lead the way for the Heels. The win pushed their overall season record to 39-8 and their ACC record to 18-6. It was also their third straight weekend sweep and gave them a 10 game conference winning streak overall as they headed into the exam break.
The Heels had already clinched the series in a top 5 matchup against Clemson at the Bosh thanks to a couple late come from behind wins and on April 30, 2017 they were going for the sweep.
Clemson drew a leadoff walk to start the game and after an out went deep to take a 2-0 lead.
That ended their scoring for the day. Jason Morgan settled in and got the last 2 hitters in the 1st and followed that up with a scoreless 2nd and a 1-2-3 3rd to end up with a solid outing other than one pitch.
Brett Daniels came in in the 4th and Clemson got back to back singles to put runners on the corners with 1 out, giving them a great chance to extend their lead. But Brett got a fly out too shallow to score the run and followed it up with a groundout to get out of the inning.
Brandon Riley drew a 1 out walk in the bottom of the inning and Cody Roberts hit a ground ball to 3rd that ended up being so mishandled at various points along the way that Cody and Brandon ended up on 2nd and 3rd. Tyler Lynn hit a ground ball to 2nd that allowed Brandon to come around and score and cut the deficit to 2-1.
Brett threw a scoreless 5th. In the 6th Clemson threatened again. They hit a leadoff double and got the runner to 3rd with 1 out. But Brett struck out the next batter and after allowing a 2 out walk that put runners on the corners, he got a fly out to right to end the threat. He finished his day with 3 scoreless innings.
With 2 outs in the 6th it was again Brandon Riley who got something started. After falling behind 0-2, he singled to left. Cody Roberts fell behind 0-2 as well and then just like in the Heels previous scoring rally he hit a ball to 3rd that was booted and let Brandon get to 3rd. Tyler Lynn singled to right on the first pitch he saw and brought Brandon home to tie the game at 2.
Rodney Hutchison came in for the 7th and threw a 1-2-3 inning, then got the first batter of the 8th before giving way to Josh Hiatt. He retired all 4 hitters he faced.
Josh got the last 2 guys in the 8th, then threw a 1-2-3 9th. The Heels got a couple runners on in the 9th with 1 out but couldn't get one home and the game moved on to extra innings.
The Tigers got a runner to 3rd with 2 outs in the 10th but Josh got a popout from the next batter to end the threat.
Ashton McGee singled to lead off the 10th and Kyle Datres bunted him over to 2nd. After seeing him instigate the previous 2 Heels runs the Tigers decided they didn't want to have anything to do with Brandon Riley this time and gave him an intentional pass. A FC put runners on the corners with 2 out for Tyler Lynn.
Tyler had already driven in the first 2 runs of the day for the Heels. And he did it again here- singling to bring home Ashton to give the Heels the sweep in a huge weekend where all 3 games involved coming from behind and winning it late.
Josh got a well earned win for his 2.2 scoreless innings of work where he didn't allow any hits or walk anyone. Tyler Lynn had 3 hits and drove in all 3 runs and Ashton McGee had a pair of hits as well, including the one that led to the game winning run. Brandon Riley reached base in a variety of different ways and contributed to all 3 run scoring rallies.
Sweeping a top 5 team pushed the season record for the Heels to 36-9, including a remarkable 19-5 record in ACC play. The weekend put the Heels firmly in the picture for getting a national seed and returning June baseball to the Bosh for the first time in 4 years.
And a quick hit from 2019:
The Heels beat a very good Liberty team 11-5 at the Bosh after the Flames had won in a pitching duel in Lynchburg the month before. Aaron Sabato led the way with 3 doubles that drove in 4 runs and Dylan Enwiller had 3 hits as well, including a double, and came around to score 3 times. Ashton McGee's pair of hits included a grand slam, giving him 4 RBI for the day. Danny Serretti got the scoring started with a 2 run double in the 1st.
Connor Ollio started and threw 5.2 solid innings where he allowed only 4 hits and didn't walk anybody to earn the 2nd win of his Tar Heel career. Austin Love threw 3.1 scoreless innings to finish the game and got the save.
Players Mentioned
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