University of North Carolina Athletics
Cooper Criswell in the 2018 Va. Tech game
Photo by: Joe Bray
This Day In Tar Heel Baseball History: May 17
May 17, 2020 | Baseball
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 17
For today's version of 'This Day in Recent Carolina Baseball History' we go back to 2008 and 2013 for a high scoring series deciding game on the road at the #1 team in the country, and a Coastal Division clinching win starring Mike Zolk at the Bosh. Plus quick hits from 2011, 2012, and 2018.
On May 17, 2008 the #2 Heels faced off against #1 Miami in Coral Gables on the last day of the regular season. The Heels hadn't lost an ACC series all year and were trying to complete conference play with that run intact.
Things didn't get off to a great start. Miami put up a couple runs in the 1st. But Kyle Seager and Tim Federowicz hit back to back doubles in the 2nd to cut the deficit to 2-1. Miami came back with a couple more runs in the bottom half of the inning and led 4-1 after 2.
In the 3rd Kyle Shelton and Chad Flack singled to put runners on the corners with 2 outs. Kyle Seager singled to score the other Kyle and cut the deficit to 4-2, and an error moved both Kyle and Chad into scoring position. Tim Federowicz singled to bring them both in and just like that the game was tied at 4.
Colin Bates threw a scoreless 3rd and in the 4th Seth Williams singled, Mark Fleury reached on an error, and Dustin Ackley walked to load the bases with nobody out.
Kyle Shelton singled to bring in a run and put the Heels up 5-4, then Tim Fedroff doubled to left center to bring a pair around and make it 7-4. For the second inning in a row Kyle Seager drove in Kyle Shelton and the Heels led 8-4.
Colin threw a scoreless 4th and in the 5th the Heels were back for more. With 2 outs Mark Fleury doubled and Dustin Ackley worked a walk. Kyle Shelton singled to bring home Mark and make it 9-4.
That brought up Tim Fedroff. Tim was a monster during his 2 years in Chapel Hill. He hit .344 with an .894 OPS his freshman year...and that looked like chump change compared to his sophomore year when he hit .404 with an 1.110 OPS and had 39 extra base hits in 67 games.
Out of all our recent players, Tim is the one who most deserved to play in the majors and never got there. In 2012 he hit .325 with a .910 OPS for Cleveland in AAA and I was sure he would get the call but it never came. Baseball is a cruel business.
It was pretty special getting to see Tim play for 2 years for the Diamond Heels though. And here he delivered. He went deep to left for a 3 run blast that put the Heels ahead 12-4.
Colin threw a scoreless 5th. But this Hurricanes lineup was a run scoring machine and they weren't going to go down without a fight. They got 3 back in the 6th and another 3 back in the 7th to cut their deficit down to 12-10.
The place was rocking, and this is where it's good to have a senior who's experienced it all that you can bring in out of the bullpen to calm things down. Rob Wooten threw a 1-2-3 8th, capping it with a strikeout, to keep the lead at 2 runs.
In the 9th 3 of the first 4 Miami hitters reached base, bringing one of them around to score to make it 12-11, and leaving runners on 1st and 2nd with one down.
Tim Federowicz was on the mound for the Heels. He got the second out of the inning on a FC that moved the tying run up to 3rd, a wild pitch away. But he struck out the last hitter of the game swinging to earn his first save of the season in the last regular season game of his Tar Heel career.
The Heels had defeated the #1 team in the country on the road and done it after losing the opening game of the series. They'd made it through the entire ACC season without losing a series.
And perhaps most remarkably they finished the season 8-0- and 6-0 on the road- in games where the opposing team had a chance to clinch the series. 3 times the Heels had lost the series opener on a road trip, and every time they came back to win the last 2 games and the series. That's pretty clutch performing.
Colin Bates got the win for 3.2 innings of work, going to 6-0 on the season. Kyle Shelton led the way for the Heels with 4 hits, scoring 3 runs and driving in 2. Tim Fedroff (including a home run and a double and 5 RBI), Kyle Seager (including a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs), and Tim Federowicz (including a double and 3 RBI) each had a pair of hits. Mark Fleury had a double and scored a couple runs, Chad Flack singled and scored a run, and Seth Williams singled and scored a run.
On May 17, 2013 the Heels were playing the second game of their regular season closing series against Virginia and needed to win 1 of the last 2 games to clinch the Coastal Division title and cap the most remarkable regular season in recent program history.
Things got off to a slow start for the Heels. Virginia scored a run in the 3rd and then a pair of runs in the 4th to take an early 3-0 lead.
With 2 outs in the bottom though Michael Russell singled and Cody Stubbs walked to put a pair of runners on base. That brought up Mike Zolk with 2 runners on and he hit the first pitch he saw to right for a double that brought around both Michael and Cody and cut the deficit to 3-2.
A solo home run for Virginia in the 5th got their lead back up to 4-2. In the 6th the Hoos hit a double before Chris McCue came on and got a strikeout to end the inning. Chris threw a scoreless 7th but Virginia got another run in the 8th and led 5-2.
The Heels started ACC play 19-2 but at this point they had lost 4 of 5 conference games and it looked like it was going to be 5 of 6 and allow Virginia to take the lead in the division, something that would have been unimaginable for most of the season.
In the bottom of the 8th though the Heels fought back. With 1 out Brian Holberton reached on an error and Michael Russell tripled to bring him around. 5-3. Cody Stubbs got hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners.
That brought up Mike Zolk. He already had a double to right that brought in a couple runs. This time he one upped himself with a triple to right that scored a couple runs. 5-5.
Parks Jordan walked and then Chaz Frank singled to bring in Zoom. 6-5. Landon Lassiter singled to score Parks and move Chaz to 3rd. 7-5. And Colin Moran hit into a FC that allowed Chaz to come home. 8-5. It was a 6 run 8th to go from a 3 run deficit to a 3 run lead.
Trent Thornton came on for the 9th. He struck out the first Virginia batter swinging . He got the second one looking. And he got the third one swinging to earn his 6th save of the season but more importantly to give the Heels the Coastal Division championship. Chris McCue got the win for 2.1 innings of sold relief work, making his record 6-0 for the season.
Michael Russell had 4 hits on the day, including a triple, scoring twice and driving in a run. Landon Lassiter had 3 hits and drove in a run. Mike Zolk's triple and double were the biggest hits of the day and drove in a total of 4 runs. Chaz Frank singled and drove in and scored a run and Matt Roberts had a single to round out the hitting for the Heels. The win pushed their record for the season to an amazing 47-7.
And quick hits from 2011, 2012, and 2018:
-In 2011 the Heels beat Appalachian State at the Bosh, 7-2. Greg Holt struck out 7 and only allowed a couple hits in relief to push his record for the season to 7-1. Shane Taylor threw 2.1 scoreless innings, Andrew Smith got the last 2 outs in the 8th, Coach Bryant Gaines got the first couple outs in the 9th, and Cody Penny got the final out to finish the win.
Seth Baldwin hit a home run and drove in a couple runs, Jacob Stallings had a single and drove in and scored a run, Levi Michael singled and drove in a pair of runs, Chaz Frank singled and scored a couple of runs, Tommy Coyle singled and scored a run, and in addition to his big day on the mound Greg Holt also singled and scored a run.
-In 2012 the Heels opened up their regular season closing series against Virginia Tech at the Bosh and clinched the Coastal Division with a 13-2 win. Cody Stubbs (including 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and 2 runs) and Colin Moran (including a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs) each had 3 hits for the Heels. Chaz Frank (including a triple, 3 RBI, and a run) and Brian Holberton (including a run) each had a pair of hits. Jacob Stallings hit a double and drove in and scored a run, Michael Russell hit a double and scored 2 runs, Adam Griffin singled and scored a couple runs, Grayson Atwood singled and scored a run, and Parks Jordan drove in a pair of runs and scored one.
Kent Emanuel started and went 7 innings, striking out 7 while allowing a couple of runs. Cody Penny threw a scoreless 8th and Chris Munnelly threw a 1-2-3 9th to close it out. The win gave the Heels their 40th of the season and kept them 3 games ahead of Virginia in the division with only 2 games left in the season, giving them their first division title since 2009.
-In 2018 the Heels entered the day with a 1.5 game lead over Duke in the Coastal Division and a magic number of 2 for clinching it. In the afternoon at the Bosh the Heels did their part, beating Virginia Tech 9-1. Cooper Criswell started and threw 7 scoreless innings, striking out 6. Josh Hiatt came in with runners on 1st and 2nd and no one out in the 9th and got a double play and a fly out to finish the game.
Brandon Martorano led the way for the Heels with 3 hits, including a home run, and drove in 4 runs. Zack Gahagan (including an RBI and a run), Ike Freeman (including an RBI and a run), Brandon Riley (including a run), and Ashton McGee (including a run) each had a pair of hits. Kyle Datres also singled and drove in a run.
The Heels had done their part and that night in Atlanta Georgia Tech beat Duke 9-6 to give the Heels a 2.5 game lead with only 2 games left in the season, clinching their second Coastal Division title in a row.
May 17
For today's version of 'This Day in Recent Carolina Baseball History' we go back to 2008 and 2013 for a high scoring series deciding game on the road at the #1 team in the country, and a Coastal Division clinching win starring Mike Zolk at the Bosh. Plus quick hits from 2011, 2012, and 2018.
On May 17, 2008 the #2 Heels faced off against #1 Miami in Coral Gables on the last day of the regular season. The Heels hadn't lost an ACC series all year and were trying to complete conference play with that run intact.
Things didn't get off to a great start. Miami put up a couple runs in the 1st. But Kyle Seager and Tim Federowicz hit back to back doubles in the 2nd to cut the deficit to 2-1. Miami came back with a couple more runs in the bottom half of the inning and led 4-1 after 2.
In the 3rd Kyle Shelton and Chad Flack singled to put runners on the corners with 2 outs. Kyle Seager singled to score the other Kyle and cut the deficit to 4-2, and an error moved both Kyle and Chad into scoring position. Tim Federowicz singled to bring them both in and just like that the game was tied at 4.
Colin Bates threw a scoreless 3rd and in the 4th Seth Williams singled, Mark Fleury reached on an error, and Dustin Ackley walked to load the bases with nobody out.
Kyle Shelton singled to bring in a run and put the Heels up 5-4, then Tim Fedroff doubled to left center to bring a pair around and make it 7-4. For the second inning in a row Kyle Seager drove in Kyle Shelton and the Heels led 8-4.
Colin threw a scoreless 4th and in the 5th the Heels were back for more. With 2 outs Mark Fleury doubled and Dustin Ackley worked a walk. Kyle Shelton singled to bring home Mark and make it 9-4.
That brought up Tim Fedroff. Tim was a monster during his 2 years in Chapel Hill. He hit .344 with an .894 OPS his freshman year...and that looked like chump change compared to his sophomore year when he hit .404 with an 1.110 OPS and had 39 extra base hits in 67 games.
Out of all our recent players, Tim is the one who most deserved to play in the majors and never got there. In 2012 he hit .325 with a .910 OPS for Cleveland in AAA and I was sure he would get the call but it never came. Baseball is a cruel business.
It was pretty special getting to see Tim play for 2 years for the Diamond Heels though. And here he delivered. He went deep to left for a 3 run blast that put the Heels ahead 12-4.
Colin threw a scoreless 5th. But this Hurricanes lineup was a run scoring machine and they weren't going to go down without a fight. They got 3 back in the 6th and another 3 back in the 7th to cut their deficit down to 12-10.
The place was rocking, and this is where it's good to have a senior who's experienced it all that you can bring in out of the bullpen to calm things down. Rob Wooten threw a 1-2-3 8th, capping it with a strikeout, to keep the lead at 2 runs.
In the 9th 3 of the first 4 Miami hitters reached base, bringing one of them around to score to make it 12-11, and leaving runners on 1st and 2nd with one down.
Tim Federowicz was on the mound for the Heels. He got the second out of the inning on a FC that moved the tying run up to 3rd, a wild pitch away. But he struck out the last hitter of the game swinging to earn his first save of the season in the last regular season game of his Tar Heel career.
The Heels had defeated the #1 team in the country on the road and done it after losing the opening game of the series. They'd made it through the entire ACC season without losing a series.
And perhaps most remarkably they finished the season 8-0- and 6-0 on the road- in games where the opposing team had a chance to clinch the series. 3 times the Heels had lost the series opener on a road trip, and every time they came back to win the last 2 games and the series. That's pretty clutch performing.
Colin Bates got the win for 3.2 innings of work, going to 6-0 on the season. Kyle Shelton led the way for the Heels with 4 hits, scoring 3 runs and driving in 2. Tim Fedroff (including a home run and a double and 5 RBI), Kyle Seager (including a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs), and Tim Federowicz (including a double and 3 RBI) each had a pair of hits. Mark Fleury had a double and scored a couple runs, Chad Flack singled and scored a run, and Seth Williams singled and scored a run.
On May 17, 2013 the Heels were playing the second game of their regular season closing series against Virginia and needed to win 1 of the last 2 games to clinch the Coastal Division title and cap the most remarkable regular season in recent program history.
Things got off to a slow start for the Heels. Virginia scored a run in the 3rd and then a pair of runs in the 4th to take an early 3-0 lead.
With 2 outs in the bottom though Michael Russell singled and Cody Stubbs walked to put a pair of runners on base. That brought up Mike Zolk with 2 runners on and he hit the first pitch he saw to right for a double that brought around both Michael and Cody and cut the deficit to 3-2.
A solo home run for Virginia in the 5th got their lead back up to 4-2. In the 6th the Hoos hit a double before Chris McCue came on and got a strikeout to end the inning. Chris threw a scoreless 7th but Virginia got another run in the 8th and led 5-2.
The Heels started ACC play 19-2 but at this point they had lost 4 of 5 conference games and it looked like it was going to be 5 of 6 and allow Virginia to take the lead in the division, something that would have been unimaginable for most of the season.
In the bottom of the 8th though the Heels fought back. With 1 out Brian Holberton reached on an error and Michael Russell tripled to bring him around. 5-3. Cody Stubbs got hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners.
That brought up Mike Zolk. He already had a double to right that brought in a couple runs. This time he one upped himself with a triple to right that scored a couple runs. 5-5.
Parks Jordan walked and then Chaz Frank singled to bring in Zoom. 6-5. Landon Lassiter singled to score Parks and move Chaz to 3rd. 7-5. And Colin Moran hit into a FC that allowed Chaz to come home. 8-5. It was a 6 run 8th to go from a 3 run deficit to a 3 run lead.
Trent Thornton came on for the 9th. He struck out the first Virginia batter swinging . He got the second one looking. And he got the third one swinging to earn his 6th save of the season but more importantly to give the Heels the Coastal Division championship. Chris McCue got the win for 2.1 innings of sold relief work, making his record 6-0 for the season.
Michael Russell had 4 hits on the day, including a triple, scoring twice and driving in a run. Landon Lassiter had 3 hits and drove in a run. Mike Zolk's triple and double were the biggest hits of the day and drove in a total of 4 runs. Chaz Frank singled and drove in and scored a run and Matt Roberts had a single to round out the hitting for the Heels. The win pushed their record for the season to an amazing 47-7.
And quick hits from 2011, 2012, and 2018:
-In 2011 the Heels beat Appalachian State at the Bosh, 7-2. Greg Holt struck out 7 and only allowed a couple hits in relief to push his record for the season to 7-1. Shane Taylor threw 2.1 scoreless innings, Andrew Smith got the last 2 outs in the 8th, Coach Bryant Gaines got the first couple outs in the 9th, and Cody Penny got the final out to finish the win.
Seth Baldwin hit a home run and drove in a couple runs, Jacob Stallings had a single and drove in and scored a run, Levi Michael singled and drove in a pair of runs, Chaz Frank singled and scored a couple of runs, Tommy Coyle singled and scored a run, and in addition to his big day on the mound Greg Holt also singled and scored a run.
-In 2012 the Heels opened up their regular season closing series against Virginia Tech at the Bosh and clinched the Coastal Division with a 13-2 win. Cody Stubbs (including 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and 2 runs) and Colin Moran (including a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs) each had 3 hits for the Heels. Chaz Frank (including a triple, 3 RBI, and a run) and Brian Holberton (including a run) each had a pair of hits. Jacob Stallings hit a double and drove in and scored a run, Michael Russell hit a double and scored 2 runs, Adam Griffin singled and scored a couple runs, Grayson Atwood singled and scored a run, and Parks Jordan drove in a pair of runs and scored one.
Kent Emanuel started and went 7 innings, striking out 7 while allowing a couple of runs. Cody Penny threw a scoreless 8th and Chris Munnelly threw a 1-2-3 9th to close it out. The win gave the Heels their 40th of the season and kept them 3 games ahead of Virginia in the division with only 2 games left in the season, giving them their first division title since 2009.
-In 2018 the Heels entered the day with a 1.5 game lead over Duke in the Coastal Division and a magic number of 2 for clinching it. In the afternoon at the Bosh the Heels did their part, beating Virginia Tech 9-1. Cooper Criswell started and threw 7 scoreless innings, striking out 6. Josh Hiatt came in with runners on 1st and 2nd and no one out in the 9th and got a double play and a fly out to finish the game.
Brandon Martorano led the way for the Heels with 3 hits, including a home run, and drove in 4 runs. Zack Gahagan (including an RBI and a run), Ike Freeman (including an RBI and a run), Brandon Riley (including a run), and Ashton McGee (including a run) each had a pair of hits. Kyle Datres also singled and drove in a run.
The Heels had done their part and that night in Atlanta Georgia Tech beat Duke 9-6 to give the Heels a 2.5 game lead with only 2 games left in the season, clinching their second Coastal Division title in a row.
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