This Day In Tar Heel Baseball History: May 16

Cody Stubbs on Senior Day

Photo by: Joe Bray

May 16, 2020 | Baseball

By: Tom Jensen

CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina looks at "On This Day in Tar Heel History", as Tom Jensen shares his memories as an avid Tar Heel fan and regular at Boshamer Stadium.

May 16
For today's version of 'This Day in Recent Carolina Baseball History' we go back to 2008 and 2009 for a road win over the #1 team in the country and a Coastal Division championship that seemed impossible just 24 hours earlier. Plus quick hits from 2006, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019.

When the Heels went down to Coral Gables in 2008 they were #2 in the country. Miami was #1. The Canes dominated the first game of the series, winning 12-2. The Heels had not lost an ACC series yet that season and they were 6-0, including 4-0 on the road, in games they had to win to keep that conference weekend winning streak alive.

On May 16, 2008 they once again needed a win to avoid finally losing a conference series. Adam Warren threw a 1-2-3 1st and in the top of the 2nd the Heels pounced. With 2 outs Tim Federowicz fell behind 1-2 but then singled to keep the inning alive. Garrett Gore fell behind 0-2 and he singled to keep the inning alive as well.

That put runners on 1st and 2nd for Seth Williams. I think Seth sometimes gets lost in the shuffle because there was so much star power on his teams but he was an exceptional college baseball player. He stayed at UNC all 4 years and had a .298 batting average with an .891 OPS over that time, including 52 doubles, 33 home runs, and 144 RBI.

His best year was this, his senior year, when he hit .315 with a .942 OPS. On most teams that's going to make you the best hitter on the squad- but this particular team also had Dustin Ackley, Kyle Seager, and Tim Fedroff so Seth got less credit for his greatness than if he hadn't been surrounded by such amazing teammates

Seth ended up playing a few years in the Mets organization and i was lucky to be in the stands for his first professional home run, which he hit against the Burlington Royals.

Anyway Seth came up big here. He doubled down the left field line to bring Tim home and give the Heels a 1-0 lead. And both he and Garrett came around after Greg Holt hit a ball to short that the Canes fielder couldn't handle, putting the Heels up 3-0.

Adam threw a 1-2-3 2nd. And a scoreless 3rd. In the 4th Kyle Seager hit a leadoff single and Tim Federowicz hit a single of his own to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no one out. Garrett Gore laid down a bunt that moved them both into scoring position.

That again brought Seth to the plate and he did exactly what he'd done the previous time, doubling, bringing both Tim and Kyle home to make it 5-0. A Dustin Ackley single scored Seth and the Heels led 6-0.

Adam threw a 1-2-3 4th but one thing to note here is who he faced. He struck out Jemile Weeks and got a groundout from Yonder Alonso- both of those guys eventually became big league regulars. This was a very strong Miami team.

In the 5th Tim Fedroff and Chad Flack hit back to back singles within a span of 3 pitches to lead off the inning. Kyle Seager got hit by a pitch to load the bases and Tim Federowicz hit one deep enough to bring home the other Tim and make it 7-0.

Adam threw a scoreless 5th and in the 6th the Heels just kept pouring it on. Dustin Ackley singled and Tim Fedroff knocked one out to left to increase the Canes deficit to 9-0.

Over his first 5 innings Adam struck out 7 and only allowed 1 hit. Miami got 4 in the 6th after the game was well in hand but Adam had done more than enough by then to earn the win, getting him to 8-1 on the season.

Brian Moran came on and got the last couple outs of the 6th, then threw a scoreless 7th with a pair of strikeouts. In the 8th the Heels made one last rally. Kyle Shelton walked and Tim Fedroff singled to put runners on the corners with 1 out. Chad Flack brought Kyle home on a FC to get the lead back to 10-4.

The Canes scored a run in the 8th and another in the 9th to cut the deficit to 10-6, and had the bases loaded with 2 outs in the 9th, bringing the tying run to the plate. But Rob Wooten got a grounder to 1st to end the threat and the game.

The win on the road over the #1 team in the country meant that the Heels were now 7-0 in games where a loss meant losing an ACC series. They would have one final showdown the next day to see if they could run the table on ACC weekends for the season.

Tim Fedroff (including a home run, a pair of RBI, and a pair of runs), Dustin Ackley (including an RBI and a run), and Kyle Seager (including a run) each had 3 hits for the Heels. Seth Williams (including 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and 2 runs), Tim Federowicz (including 2 runs and an RBI), and Garrett Gore (including a run) each had a pair of hits for the Heels. Chad Flack also had a single and drove in a run.

May 16, 2009 was the last day of the regular season and the Heels came into it tied with Georgia Tech for the lead in the Coastal Division. They had been down a game the day before but the Heels won at Boston College and the Jackets lost at Duke to bring it back to a tie.

I wasn't with the Heels in Boston so I did the next best thing I could think of which was to drive over to Durham and listen to Jones Angell and Adam Lucas call the game on WCHL while attending the Duke-Georgia Tech game and...on this day, rooting for Duke. Sometimes you have to take one for the team.

The games started at the same time. It was clear pretty early the Heels were going to hold up their end of the deal. With 2 outs in the 1st Kyle Seager worked a full count and drew a walk, then Levi Michael got hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Garrett Gore hit the first pitch he saw to left to score Kyle and give the Heels a 1-0 lead.

Matt Harvey threw a 1-2-3 1st to kick off his New England homecoming start. Mike Cavasinni walked to lead off the 2nd and Jacob Stallings bunted so well he got a hit, putting runners on 1st and 2nd. With 1 out Ryan Graepel singled to score one and with 2 outs Kyle Seager singled to score another one and give the Heels a 3-0 lead.

Meanwhile I watched Georgia Tech take a 1-0 lead back in Durham.

Matt threw a scoreless 2nd and a scoreless 3rd and as he was taking care of the Eagles, Duke pushed one across to tie the Jackets.

The Heels continued to add to their lead in the 4th. Ben Bunting singled and Ryan Graepel doubled to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. The Eagles intentionally walked Kyle Seager to load the bases because they decided they would rather deal with Levi Michael. That did not work out for them. Levi singled to bring in Ben and Ryan and make it 5-0.

Matt struck out the side in the 4th. And good things were starting to happen in Durham- but most Diamond Heels fans had no way of knowing. I'm not sure if Duke in 2009 never had a good way of updating the world on what was happening in its home games, or if something just went awry that particular day, but listening to Jones and Adam on the broadcast they were frustrated because they had no way of knowing what was happening in Durham.

Jones and Adam- whose tremendous baseball broadcasting partnership really added to the popularity of the program and helped build up fan support- interacted a lot with listeners back then through the 'Bowen Law Firm Email Inbox,' what passed for social media in those days.

So I just started emailing them updates from the stands at the Duke-Georgia Tech game. And in the 4th I had good news to report- the Devils had scored a pair to take a 3-1 lead. They read my on the ground update on the air and from then on people listening to the Heels could also know what was happening in the other important game of the day.

Mark Fleury singled to lead off the 5th, Mike Cavasinni bunted him over, and Ben Bunting singled to bring him home and make it 6-0.

Matt threw a scoreless 5th and 6th and in the 7th Garrett Gore doubled and Mark Fleury walked, Mike Cavasinni bunted them over, and another Ben Bunting single brought home a run to give the Heels a 7-0 edge.

Back in Durham the 7th inning was a little bit of a roller coaster ride. Georgia Tech scored 2 runs in the top of the inning to tie the game up at 3. But then Duke came right back with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning to go back up 5-3.

Matt threw a 1-2-3 7th and a scoreless 8th. No one scored in the 8th in Durham. Mark Fleury hit a solo shot in the 9th to put the Heels up 8-0.

Matt came back out for the 9th and got a pair of strikeouts but finally gave up a run and came out of the game one batter shy of completing it. Matt's sophomore year wasn't easy a lot of the time, but he had an incredible outing this day in front of tons of friends and family and with the division on the line. He struck out 8 in his 8.2 innings of work.

At 4:07 Colin Bates got a strikeout to end the game and ensure at least a tie for the Coastal Division. There were 2 outs in the 9th in Durham with the Devils holding a 5-3 lead but things started to get dicey. The Jackets got a pair of hits to bring Luke Murton to the plate with a chance to give them the lead. He'd gone deep on his previous at bat to tie the game.

The Devils changed pitchers. The tension was building. But on the first pitch, at 4:14, Murton flew out to center to give Duke the win in the game but more importantly to give the Heels the outright win in the Coastal Divison. I immediately wrote Jones and Adam to give them the news, and they were able to break it in the postgame show before they went off the air.

When the Heels woke up Friday morning they needed 4 things to go their way over the next 24 hours- 2 wins for them and 2 losses for Georgia Tech- to win the division. It was not likely to happen, but everything fell into place.

Ben Bunting led the way for the Heels with 3 hits, driving in and scoring 2. Mark Fleury (including a home run and 3 runs), Ryan Graepel (including a double, an RBI and a run), Garrett Gore (including a double and an RBI), and Kyle Seager (including an RBI and a run) each had a pair of hits. Levi Michael hit a single and drove in a pair of runs, Jacob Stallings hit a single and scored a run, and Dustin Ackley had a single to round out the hits for the Heels.

And quick hits from 2006, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019:

-In 2006 the Heels beat UNC-Greensboro 7-0 thanks to an incredible outing by Luke Putkonen. He threw a no hitter for 7 innings before the Spartans finally got a hit to lead off the 8th. He finished his day going 8.1 shutout innings while allowing only 2 hits, pretty incredible from your midweek starter. Adam Warren came on with runners on 1st and 2nd in the 9th and got the last 2 outs to preserve the shutout.

Bryan Steed led the way for the Heels with 3 hits, scoring a couple times and driving in one. Josh Horton (driving in 3 runs) and Mike Cavasinni each had a pair of hits. Chad Flack went deep and drove in and scored a pair of runs, and Benji Johnson had a solo shot.

-In 2014 Benton Moss went 7 innings, struck out 9, and only allowed 4 hits and 1 run while leading the Heels to an 11-2 victory over Miami in Coral Gables. It was the second game of a doubleheader and the first one had been a bit of a soul crushing loss so Benton's outing was huge, especially because it was the last weekend of the regular season and the Heels were right on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. AJ Bogucki threw the last couple innings to close it out.

There was a lot of interesting stuff off the field that night. Mike Piazza and Alex Rodríguez were both on hand to witness Benton's dominant performance.

My unique experience was that a Miami fan came over and sat right in front of me and just mimicked everything I did for 2 innings, trying to mock me and get me to stop cheering for the Heels. I completely ignored him and went about my business as I usually would and finally he declared with exasperation, 'man, you're not going to crack!' and went back over to the Miami side of the stadium. He was correct that I was not going to crack but I did appreciate Benton doing his part on the mound to shut down my 'friend' too!

Landon Lassiter led the way for the Heels with 3 hits, including a double, driving in and scoring 2. Michael Russell (including a double and 3 runs), Alex Raburn (including a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs), Wood Myers (including a double, 3 RBI, and a run), and Tyler Ramirez (including an RBI) each had a pair of hits. Adrian Chacon had a double and a run, Parks Jordan singled and drove in and scored a run, and Colby Barnette singled and scored a run.

-In 2016 the Heels beat Notre Dame 8-1 in their final game of the year at the Bosh. AJ Bogucki had quite a performance in his final career home game. He came on with runners on 1st and 2nd and no one out in the 4th and proceeded to throw 5 shutout, hitless innings. He got his 5th win of the season for the effort. Jason Morgan threw 3 scoreless innings to begin the game, and Hansen Butler got the last 2 outs in the 9th to close it out.

Kyle Datres (including a home run and 2 runs scored) and Brian Miller (including a double and a pair of RBI) each had 3 hits for the Heels. Brandon Riley (including a double and a pair of RBI) and Logan Warmoth (including an RBI and a run) each had a pair of hits. Zack Gahagan had a double and drove in a pair of runs and Cody Roberts singled and scored a run.

There's a lot from off the field I remember about this day. It ended up being the final home game of Coach Scott Jackson's 8 amazing years on our staff. He and his wife Sara and boys Ryan and Tyler were a huge part of the positive culture around our program and I don't think anyone lucky enough to know them will ever stop missing them, even as we are incredibly proud of the success Coach Jackson is having at Liberty.

I ran the base race that night for the second year in a row against Ryan, who was 9 at the time. The year before when we did it the first time I set 2 ground rules for myself: 1) I would make sure Ryan did not get hurt in a race with a then 31 year old and 2) I would let him win.

Well he won alright, the problem is he would have won whether I let him win or not, which I had not anticipated. And because I had not anticipated that he would be as fast or faster than me, we arrived at 2nd base at the exact same time and had a violent collision. But fortunately everyone was ok and when we had the rematch the next year Ryan beat me again (once again without me having to lose on purpose) but this time there were no collisions.

I also threw the first pitch at this game, the only time I've ever done that, and it truly was a perfect strike. It also was so slow that if one of our guys had been in the box he would have hit the ball to the 6th floor of Ehringhaus where I lived my freshman year. But it was still a strike!

The most memorable thing about that memorable night came after the game though when Diane Moran, Brian and Colin's mom, sent me a message to tell me Colin had gotten the call up to the Astros for the first time.

They were playing in Chicago and it happened that I had to fly to Milwaukee for work Thursday. I quickly changed to flying to Chicago Wednesday and got a train ticket to Milwaukee Thursday.

Our coaches went up to Chicago Tuesday to see him on his first day in the big leagues and then they had to go back and get ready to play N.C. State over the weekend and I was able to be there to represent the program for his first time actually playing Wednesday, which was a very special experience I was grateful to be included in.

-In 2017 the Heels beat UNC-Wilmington 7-2 at the Bosh. 5 pitchers combined for a 3 hitter. Tyler Baum started and went 6 innings, striking out 5 while allowing only 1 hit. He got the win to go to 5-0 on the season. Austin Bergner threw a scoreless 6th, Bo Weiss threw a scoreless 7th, and Rodney Hutchison came in with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 9th and got a double play to end the game on the only pitch he threw.

Tyler Lynn led the way for the Heels with 3 hits, driving in a pair and scoring a run. Brandon Riley (including a home run), Kyle Datres (including 2 runs and an RBI), Brian Miller (including a run), and Ashton McGee (including a run) each had a pair of hits. Logan Warmoth doubled and drove in and scored a run, and Zack Gahagan and Brendan Illies each had an RBI.

-In 2019 the Heels opened up their series against State with a 5-3 win at the Bosh, thanks largely to Aaron Sabato hitting for the cycle. He hit the home run in the 1st to give the Heels a 2-0 lead. He singled in the 3rd and doubled in the 5th. The biggest hit was the triple- he came up in the 7th with the Pack leading 3-2 and a couple runners on base and the triple brought them both home to put the Heels back up 4-3.

The Heels only had one other hit- an Ike Freeman solo shot that provided insurance in the 8th. Michael Busch walked a couple times and scored a couple runs, and Dylan Harris also scored a run.

Hansen Butler came in with 2 runners on base in the 7th and the Wolfpack trying to expand their lead, and struck out the only batter he faced. When the Heels took the lead in the bottom half of the inning he got the win. Joey Lancellotti threw 2 scoreless innings and struck out 4 to close it out and earn the save. Tyler Baum started and threw 6.2 solid innings, striking out 7 and only allowing 2 earned runs, before exiting the game.