This Day In Tar Heel Baseball History: May 24

The DBAP during the 2019 Miami game

Photo by: Joe Bray

May 24, 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 24
For today's version of 'This Day in Recent Carolina Baseball History' we go back to 2013 and 2019 for a pair of come from behind ACC Tournament wins that ultimately led to conference championships for the Diamond Heels. Plus quick hits from 2007, 2014, and 2017.

On May 24, 2013 the Heels took on Clemson in their second game of the ACC Tournament, looking for their 50th win of the season. They got it eventually- but it was May 25th by the time the game finally ended.

The Heels were the road team and got right to it. Chaz Frank and Colin Moran walked in the 1st and the red hot Cody Stubbs singled to bring in Chaz and give the Heels a 1-0 lead.

Benton Moss was on the hill for the Heels and threw a 1-2-3 1st and a 1-2-3 2nd. The Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the 3rd but Benton got a strikeout to end the threat, already his 5th K in the first 3 innings.

Clemson tied it up in the 4th and got a pair of runs to take a 3-1 lead in the 5th. The Heels got one back in the top of the 6th though when Skye Bolt made a double, Michael Russell singled to put runners on the corners, and Brian Holberton singled to center to bring home Skye and make it 3-2.

Clemson got another pair of runs in the 6th to go ahead 5-2 and still had an opportunity with the bases loaded and 1 out to blow the game open. But Chris McCue- one of the most under appreciated heroes of that 2013 team- came on and got a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat and keep the Heels within striking distance. Chris followed up with a 1-2-3 7th as well.

Clemson got another couple of runs in the 8th though and the game looked as good as over as the 9th started with the Tigers holding a 7-2 lead. What we didn't know at the time is that we were just about to enter a period of a few weeks in Carolina Baseball history where nothing was ever over.

Chaz Frank walked and Landon Lassiter singled to start the 9th. But then there was an out. Skye Bolt made a single to load the bases and on the next pitch Cody Stubbs singled to bring in a run and make it 7-3. Michael Russell hit a sac fly to bring another run in and cut the deficit to 7-4, but that was also the 2nd out of the inning, bringing the Heels to their last hitter.

Brian Holberton stepped to the plate. He made the All-ACC team his sophomore year in 2012 because he was an on base machine, hitting .297 with a .404 OBP and an .802 OPS. His junior year he improved a little on the batting average (.308) and the OBP (.419). But his OPS had a massive improvement to .923 because he really developed his power bat. He went from 5 doubles and 1 home run to 13 doubles and 12 home runs.

I remember when he hit his single sophomore year home run his parents hadn't made it to the game yet and I ran out behind the stadium to retrieve the ball for them because it was a bit of a novelty. His junior year he went deep so often the novelty was gone.

Brian got ahead in the count 3-1...and then parked it to right to tie the game at 7. His huge ACC Tournament home run started a postseason run of them- he had a huge one in Supers and a huge one in Omaha as well. One of the people who sat near me at the Bosh was so inspired by Holbie's run of clutch postseason bombs that when a female baby goat was born at his farm, he named it Holberta- you never know what kind of honors you'll get for getting hot at the right time!

The first Clemson batter of the 9th got hit and Reilly Hovis came on in relief. He retired the side, then threw a 1-2-3 10th.

The Tigers got runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 11th, but Reilly got a couple fly outs to end that threat.

The Tigers got runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 12th, but Reilly got a fly out and a groundout to end that threat.

The Tigers got runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 13th but a pop out and a line out ended that threat.

In those 3 innings Clemson had 6 different times where a hit would have given them a walkoff win. But Reilly just set them down every time. He ended up going 5 scoreless innings where he only allowed a couple hits to keep the Heels in the game.

While Clemson was threatening inning after inning between the 11th and 13th the Heels never got anyone in scoring position, and in both the 12th and 13th they went down 1-2-3.

Things changed in the 14th. Cody Stubbs hit a leadoff single and Michael Russell bunted him to 2nd, then he went to 3rd on a passed ball. Brian Holberton walked and then stole 2nd to put 2 runners in scoring position with 1 out.

That brought up Mike Zolk. He hit the ball back to the pitcher who tried to get Cody at home but couldn't make the play in time. The Heels led 8-7. Zach Daly followed with a single that loaded the bases.

That brought up Chaz Frank, who had somewhat of a knack for playing at the DBAP. His offense when Kent Emanuel faced off against Marcus Stroman the year before had made the difference in giving the Heels the win. Here he came up big in Durham again- he tripled down the right field line to clear the bases and give the Heels an 11-7 lead. Landon Lassiter followed with a single to bring him home and all the sudden it was a 12-7 advantage.

Mason McCullough came in for the bottom of the 14th and threw a 1-2-3 inning to complete the win. The game lasted 5 hours and 16 minutes and at 12:24 AM it ended with the Heels getting win #50. And yet for all that this only ended up being the second most long and wild game of the weekend.

Cody Stubbs led the way for the Heels with 4 hits, driving in and scoring 2 runs each. It was his second straight day with 4 hits. Landon Lassiter had 3 hits and drove in and scored a run. Brian Holberton (including a home run, 4 RBI, and 2 runs), Chaz Frank (including a triple, 3 RBI, and 3 runs), Skye Bolt (including a double and 2 runs), Michael Russell (including an RBI), and Matt Roberts made it 7 Heels with multi hit games. Zach Daly singled and scored a run, Colin Moran had a single, and Mike Zolk drove in the game winning run.

The 2013 ACC Tournament was icing on the cake for the Heels- they could have lost all their games and still been a national seed in the NCAA Tournament. It was a very different story for the 2019 version of the team- they needed to win the ACC Tournament if they wanted to host a regional after a tough conclusion to the regular season.

They beat Virginia in extra innings on a walk off HBP in their first game and on May 24, 2019 against Miami they hoped to win and make it to the semifinals the next day.

Things did not start off well. Miami scored 3 runs in the 1st, another in the 2nd, and another in the 3rd and quickly had a 5-0 lead. It seemed pretty inevitable the Heels were going to have to head off to some SEC school for the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

But in the top of the 4th they started battling back. Dylan Harris hit a leadoff single and with one out Aaron Sabato got hit by a pitch. Danny Serretti singled to bring Dylan home and Ike Freeman singled to bring Aaron home and the deficit was suddenly a much more manageable 5-2.

Austin Love was pitching for the Heels now and he threw a scoreless 4th. Brandon Martorano hit a solo shot in the top of the 5th to pull the Heels within 5-3.

Austin threw a 1-2-3 5th. And a scoreless 6th. And a scoreless 7th. He was doing great, but the offense was struggling- in the 6th and 7th the Heels went 6 up and 6 down at the plate.

That changed in the 8th. Caleb Roberts pinch hit and got hit by a pitch to lead off the 8th, his second productive HBP in as many games. Michael Busch came up with 1 out and knocked the first pitch he saw out of the park to right to tie up the game and complete the comeback from the initial 5-0 deficit.

Austin got the first 2 outs of the 8th before coming out for Joey Lancellotti. He went 6.1 innings, allowed only 1 run on 3 hits, and struck out 6. Over the last 5.1 innings of his outing he allowed just a single hit. His incredible performance is what made it possible for the Heels to come back.

Joey got the last out of the 8th, then threw a scoreless 9th and 10th. The Heels only got one runner on base between the 9th and 10th, and he was erased on a double play.

Aaron Sabato doubled with 1 out in the 11th and Angel Zarate pinch ran for him. Danny Serretti hit the ball to short, and the Cane fielder went to 3rd to try to get the lead runner. It was an incredibly close play but Angel was ruled safe. After a review that felt like it lasted close to an hour the safe call was upheld. Danny quickly stole 2nd when play finally resumed to put a couple of runners in scoring position.

Ike Freeman worked a full count before hitting a ball deep enough to let Angel come in and score and give the Heels a 6-5 lead. On the next pitch Ashton McGee singled too to bring home the other runner on base and make the advantage 7-5.

Hansen Butler came on to close it out in the 11th. Joey had gone 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing only 1 hit and no walks. The game had had plenty of drama so far but Hansen was done with that. He struck out the first Cane, he struck out the second Cane, and he finished his 1-2-3 inning with a groundout to earn the save. Over the last 8 innings the bullpen pitched a shutout and allowed only 2 hits.

The dramatic comeback win gave the Heels their 40th victory of the season and set them up for a semifinal matchup against Boston College the next day. There was still a lot more work to do but the prospects for hosting- which had once looked dead- were getting more and more encouraging.

The Heels had 8 hits on the day and they came from 8 different players. Michael Busch (with a pair of RBI) and Brandon Martorano each hit home runs. Aaron Sabato doubled and scored a run. Ike Freeman singled and drove in a pair of runs, Danny Serretti and Ashton McGee each singled and drove in a run, Dylan Harris singled and scored a run, and Dallas Tessar also had a single.

And quick hits from 2007, 2014, and 2017:

-The 2007 Heels lost their first game of pool play in the ACC Tournament so that made their next game against NC State a must win. And o did they win it, 14-5.

Tim Fedroff led the way for the Heels with 4 hits, including a double, scoring 3 runs and driving in 2. Chad Flack (including a double, 3 runs and 2 RBI), Dustin Ackley (including a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs), and Josh Horton (including a double, 3 runs, and an RBI) each had 3 hits. Reid Fronk had a pair of hits, including a double, and drove in 2 runs and scored one. Garrett Gore had a double and drove in and scored a run, Kyle Seager had a double and scored a run, Seth Williams singled and drove in a run, and Tim Federowicz singled to round out the entire starting lineup getting at least one hit against the Pack.

Robert Woodard went 7.2 innings and got the win to improve his record for the season to 9-2. Andrew Carignan closed out the game with a scoreless 9th and set up a de facto semifinal game with Virginia to determine who from the pool would play in the ACC Championship game.

-In 2014 the Heels were on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and had one last chance to make their case in the ACC Tournament against Maryland. They did so emphatically, with a 13-7 win thanks to a 6 run 8th inning. Reilly Hovis got the win for 1.2 innings of scoreless relief where he allowed only 1 hit, pushing his record for the season to 8-1.

Skye Bolt made 3 hits for the Heels, including a double, and drove in and scored 2 runs. Parks Jordan (including a double, 2 runs, and an RBI), Landon Lassiter (including a double, 2 runs, and an RBI), Tyler Ramirez (including 2 runs and an RBI), and Michael Russell (including 2 RBI) each had a pair of hits for the Heels. Zach Daly singled and drove in a couple runs, Wood Myers singled and drove in and scored a run, Adam Pate singled and scored a run, and Joe Dudek had the other hit for the Heels.

-In 2017 the Heels kicked off their ACC Tournament by dropping the mercy rule on Boston College, winning 10-0 in 7 innings.

Logan Warmoth led the way for the Heels with 4 hits, including a double, and scored a pair of runs. Brian Miller had 3 hits and scored a pair of runs and drove one in. Ashton McGee (including a triple, 2 RBI, and 2 runs) and Zack Gahagan (including a double, 2 RBI, and a run) each had a pair of hits. Michael Busch doubled and scored a run, Kyle Datres singled and drove in and scored 2 runs each, and Tyler Lynn singled and drove in a run to round out the hitting for the Heels.

It was a staff day on the mound. Tyler Baum started and threw 3 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits. Those ended up being the only hits the Eagles got. Taylor Sugg, Austin Bergner, Bo Weiss, and Rodney Hutchison each threw a 1-2-3 inning between the 4th and 7th to complete the combined 2 hit, no walk shutout. Tyler got the win to make his record 6-0 for the season and the team's record 45-11.