This Day In Tar Heel Baseball History: May 26

The 2019 ACC Tournament Champions

Photo by: Joe Bray

May 26, 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 26
For today's version of 'This Day in Recent Carolina Baseball History' we go back to 2013 and 2019 to win a couple of ACC Tournaments. Plus quick hits from 2007, 2012, and 2017.

On May 26, 2013 the Heels had played 32 innings over the previous 2 days, had finished their game against State at 2 AM, and 11 hours later had to play in the championship game against Virginia Tech. As you can imagine the pitching was pretty much completely depleted so the Heels gave the ball to Taylore Cherry, who had thrown less than 5 innings all year, and basically took the approach of well I guess we'll see what happens.

And what happened is he rose to the occasion. He walked the first Hokie batter to lead off the game but after that he settled in and retired the side in order for a scoreless 1st. And he immediately got some support. Landon Lassiter hit a 1 out single, Colin Moran singled to put runners on the corners, and a Skye Bolt grounder brought Landon around to score and give the Heels a 1-0 lead.

In the 2nd Taylore again started out a little wild, hitting the first batter of the inning, who then stole second. But once again he set down the side in order after the Hokies got someone on base with no one out. He followed that up with a scoreless 3rd where he just gave up a 2 out single.

In the bottom of the third 3rd the Heels scored a run that was practically a replay of their run in the 1st. Landon Lassiter doubled, Colin Moran singled to put runners on the corners, and another Skye Bolt FC brought Landon in to make it 2-0.

Taylore threw a scoreless 4th where again the only trouble was a 2 out single. In the 5th the Hokies loaded the bases with 2 out, bringing up future big league regular Chad Pinder. Pinder worked a full count, then fouled off a pitch. And fouled off another pitch. And fouled off another pitch. It felt like surely Taylore would finally crack. But instead on the 9th pitch of the at bat he got a grounder to short that extinguished the threat.

Taylore came out after giving up a leadoff double in the 6th, and that runner finally did come around to score. But he gave the Heels 5 innings where he only allowed 5 hits and 2 walks. Taylore only ended up winning 3 games in his Tar Heel career. But no fan of the program is ever going to forget that first one when he came out of nowhere to help deliver an ACC title.

Trevor Kelley came on next and proceeded to give up a single and hit a batter to load the bases with nobody out. The Hokies really had a chance to get back in it- but then he coaxed a double play- it brought a run in but at that point you were going to happily trade 2 outs for a run. And he got a fly out to avoid any further damage and keep the Heels up 2-1.

After that rocky first couple of batters Trevor became dominant, flashing signs of the lights out pitcher we'd come to know in the second half of his Tar Heel career. He threw a 1-2-3 7th. And a 1-2-3 8th.

The Heels didn't do much offensively for most of the game either but in the bottom of the 8th they finally got a little insurance. Landon Lassiter reached on an error and Colin Moran drew a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd- the same Landon and Colin combo that ignited the Heels' other run scoring rallies getting things started again.

Skye Bolt dropped down a bunt and it was badly misplayed, allowing Landon to come home and putting Skye and Colin on 2nd and 3rd. A Brian Holberton sac fly added another run and gave the Heels a 4-1 advantage.

Trevor came back out for the 9th and just kept doing what he was doing. He struck out the leadoff hitter on 3 pitches. He got a ground out to short. And on a fly out to right the Heels became the 2013 ACC Champions, capping an incredible weekend in Durham. Trevor retired the last 12 Hokies in order in a remarkable performance that earned his second career save.

The next day the Heels were rewarded for their ACC run with the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Landon Lassiter (with a double and 3 runs) and Colin Moran each had a pair of hits for the Heels. Brian Holberton singled and drove in a run, Michael Russell had a single, and Skye Bolt drove in 2 runs and scored one.

Cody Stubbs got well deserved honors as ACC Tournament MVP for his offensive explosion in the Heels' first three games of the tournament and Chaz Frank and Kent Emanuel both made the all tournament team as well.

For the 2013 team an ACC Tournament win was icing on the cake of an incredible regular season. But they would have been hosting at the Bosh all the way to Omaha even if they lost all their games in Durham. It was a very different situation for the 2019 team. They had entered the ACC Tournament reeling after 2 rough weekends to finish conference play and needed to win the tournament if they wanted to host a regional.

They knocked off Virginia with a 10th inning walk off HBP in their first game. They came back from a 5-0 deficit to beat Miami in their second game. They blew out Boston College in the semifinal. And now on May 26, 2019 they had a date with Georgia Tech for the tournament championship.

Connor Ollio had the start for the Heels and immediately the Yellow Jackets threatened in the first inning, getting runners on the corners with only 1 out. But Connor got a double play to end the inning and the threat, then followed that up with a 1-2-3 2nd where he struck out the side.

Georgia Tech did get a run in the 3rd and Hansen Butler- who already had a save Friday and a win Saturday in the ACC Tournament- came on Sunday as well.

Hansen had a pretty one of a kind Tar Heel career. His freshman year in 2015 he showed some promise- striking out 25 in 21.1 innings. But he also allowed 2 base runners an inning. His sophomore year he showed the ability to become a major part of the pitching staff- he had a 3-0 record and a couple saves, an ERA of 2.00 and struck out 24 in 18 innings while significantly reducing the number of opponents he allowed to reach base.

But then he got hurt. And he missed the entire 2017 season. And when he came back in 2018 he wasn't effective- he walked 14 and allowed 9 hits in 9.2 innings and had a 6.52 ERA. At the same time he continued to show power pitching ability if he could harness it- he struck out 17 in those 9.2 innings.

For most of his senior year, his 5th in the program, he didn't get used much. But toward the end of the season he started getting used a lot in really important situations- and he rose to the occasion in a really inspiring way knowing everything he had been through.

Hansen got the last couple outs of the 3rd to keep Georgia Tech at 1 run. Then he threw a 1-2-3 4th. The Heels got no hits through their first 4 innings but they finally got things going in the 5th. Ike Freeman walked and Ashton McGee singled to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no one out. A couple outs ensued and it seemed like the opportunity might be squandered but Dallas Tessar delivered a single to left to bring in Ike and tie up the game.

Hansen followed up with a 1-2-3 5th, getting him up to 8 Jackets retired in a row. And in the 6th the Heels busted it open.

Michael Busch- first round draft pick slugger- led off the inning and...dropped down a bunt. That took Georgia Tech completely by surprise and he beat it out for a hit. Perhaps rattled by that unexpected set back the Jackets gave Aaron Sabato something hittable on the very next pitch and he knocked it out of the park to right center to give the Heels a 3-1 lead. Danny Serretti followed with a single and then Ashton McGee came up and he parked one too to extend the advantage to 5-1.

Joey Lancellotti came in with a runner on 1st and no one out and retired the side in order in the bottom of the 6th. In the top of the 7th Michael Busch reminded everyone that there was more to his game than bunting for singles and went deep to right to make it 6-1.

Joey followed up with a 1-2-3 7th. And a 1-2-3 8th. At this point he had retired 9 Yellow Jackets in a row.

The game was already pretty well in hand but in the 9th the Heels really put it away for good. Michael Busch and Aaron Sabato walked and Danny Serretti singled to load the bases with nobody out. Ike Freeman brought a run home with a grounder to make it 7-1. And then with 2 outs Brandon Martorano made it 4 Heels with blasts for the day with a 3 run homer to right that got the Heels up to a 10-1 advantage.

Joey came back out for the 9th and got the first 2 Georgia Tech hitters to make it 11 outs in a row in his outstanding relief outing. Finally the Jackets did string together a couple hits and got a run to make it 10-2.

Tyler Baum came in for a rare relief outing, got ahead 0-2, and got a grounder back to the mound that he fielded and threw to 1st to finish the game and officially make the Heels the 2019 ACC Champions.

Hansen Butler got the win- his second of the weekend along with a save- for his 2.2 innings of scoreless, hitless work. I probably would have given him Tournament MVP for that output, especially given the whole story of the journey he traveled to get there.

Instead Michael Busch was the also very worthy winner of Tournament MVP honors and Ike Freeman and Danny Serretti made the All-Tournament Team as well.

Most Heels fans came into the weekend wondering what hostile SEC outpost the team would get sent off to for regionals the following weekend. But the actual players had different ideas- after their incredible tournament run the team was picked as a regional host site and got to play in Chapel Hill.

Aaron Sabato (including a home run and a double, 3 walks, 2 RBI and a run), Michael Busch (including a home run, 3 runs, and an RBI), Ashton McGee (including a home run, 2 RBI, and a run), and Caleb Roberts (including a double) each had a pair of hits. Brandon Martorano had a 3 run home run and Dallas Tessar had an RBI single to round out the hits for the Heels, and Ike Freeman also contributed with 2 runs and an RBI.

And quick hits from 2007, 2012, and 2017:

-In 2007 the Heels faced off against Virginia for the right to play in the ACC Championship game the next day. Alex White ensured they did- he had one of the first truly dominant performances of his Carolina career, going 7 shoutout innings and allowing only 2 hits.

For most of the game the Hoos kept pace- the Heels only got 1 hit in the first 5 innings. But the Heels broke a scoreless tie in the 6th when Seth Williams singled, Kyle Shelton doubled, Reid Fronk singled to score Seth, and Garrett Gore hit a sac fly to bring in Kyle to make it 2-0

The Heels added to it in the 8th. Tim Fedroff singled, Seth Williams bunted him over, and he moved to 3rd on a wild pitch. Kyle Seager was issued an intentional pass and Reid Fronk squeezed so well that not only did it score Tim, he also got a single. Garrett Gore followed with a single to load the bases, Dustin Ackley singled to bring in another run, and a productive Tim Federowicz ground ball scored another and made it 5-0.

Andrew Carignan threw 2 scoreless innings to close it out, earn his 12th save of the season, and set up the Heels for a faceoff against Wake Forest for the ACC title the next day. The win gave the Heels a 47–12 record for the season.

Reid Fronk (including 2 RBI and a run) and Dustin Ackley (including an RBI) each had a pair of hits. Kyle Shelton doubled and scored a run, Garrett Gore singled and drove in a run, and Tim Fedroff and Seth Williams each singled and scored a run to round out the hitting for the Heels.

-In 2012 the Heels and the Wolfpack played the first of what would end up being 3 years in a row of epic ACC Tournament games against each other. Benton Moss started and threw 5.1 excellent shutout innings, striking out 5 while allowing only a pair of hits and a walk.

Hobbs Johnson threw 1.1 scoreless innings and Luis Paula came in with runners on 1st and 2nd and 2 out in the 7th. State star Trea Turner was at the plate and the game was in Luis' home town of Greensboro so this was one of the biggest moments of his career. He struck out Trea to end the threat.

Michael Morin came on for the 8th. There's a lot of numbers that show how great Michael was. His junior year he had a program record 19 saves with a 1.40 ERA in 58 innings where he allowed only 38 hits. It was about as dominant of a season in relief as any Heel has ever had, and he's had a solid 6 year big league career now.

But I'd rather tell you a story that says a lot about Michael. After being totally dominant for all of 2012 he gave up a home run that caused us to lose a game in regionals that year. The next time I saw him he *apologized* to me and said he was really bummed because that was all the fans were going to remember him for now.

No baseball player ever owes the fans an apology for anything- and Michael Morin *really* didn't owe anyone an apology for anything. But it said a lot about how much this program meant to him and what kind of person he is that he felt the need to say that. And he can rest assured that the other fans and I remember him as one of the most tenacious relievers in program history and that he is certainly not defined by one pitch.

No one was doing anything against Michael on this night against State. He threw a scoreless 8th. Then a 1-2-3 9th with a pair of strikeouts. And a 1-2-3 10th with another pair of strikeouts. And a 1-2-3 11th.

Of course the Heels weren't doing anything offensively over this whole period of time either. Carlos Rodon went 9 innings, struck out 12, and allowed only 4 hits. His dominant performance was a hallmark of his career outings against the Heels. And so was the fact that his team lost anyway, as they did 4 of 6 times he pitched against UNC.

Finally the Heels got something going in the 12th. Colin Moran and Jacob Stallings singled to lead off the inning and Cody Stubbs drew a walk to load the bases. Adam Griffin singled to score a run. Mike Zolk singled to score a run. Parks Jordan singled to score a run. And Chaz Frank hit a sac fly to score one more and make it 4-0.

Michael would have been just fine with one though. He finished the game with a 1-2-3 inning. After allowing a hit to the first State batter he faced he retired 15 in a row in a scoreless 8th to 12th, striking out 5 and earning his 6th win of the season.

The win made the Heels 44–14 and helped ensure they got a national seed when the brackets came out on Monday. And it also gave the Heels a win in the first of their three straight epic NC State match ups in the ACC Tournament- all of which ended with wins of course.

Cody Stubbs (scoring a run) and Parks Jordan (driving in a run) were the only Heels with multiple hits. Michael Russell had a triple, Mike Zolk and Adam Griffin each singled and drove in a run, and Jacob Stallings and Colin Moran each singled and scored a run. The Heels had 4 hits over the first 11 innings and 5 hits in the 12th.

-The Heels also played an ACC Tournament game against N.C. State in 2017 but that was a very different sort of contest.

Brian Miller went deep to lead off the game. 1-0. Logan Warmoth and Ashton McGee singled. Brandon Riley doubled. 2-0. Tyler Lynn singled. 4-0. Cody Roberts singled. 5-0. Ike Freeman doubled. Brian Miller walked in his second appearance of the inning. A wild pitch. 6-0. Logan Warmoth's second single of the inning. 8-0. Kyle Datres got hit by a pitch. Brandon Riley singled. 10-0. All in the first inning. If the 10 run mercy rule didn't apply only after 7 innings we could have just gone home right then and there!

The final score ended up being 12-4. JB Bukauskas threw 7 strong innings, allowing only 4 hits, to make his record 9-0 on the season. Brett Daniels threw the 8th and Cole Aker had a 1-2-3 9th with a couple of strikeouts to close it out. The win made the Heels 46–11 for the season.

Tyler Lynn led the way for the Heels with 3 hits, including a triple, and drove in and scored a pair of runs each. Brandon Riley (including a double, 3 RBI, and a run), Logan Warmoth (including 2 RBI and 2 runs), and Ashton McGee (including 2 runs) each had a pair of hits. Brian Miller homered and scored twice, Ike Freeman doubled and scored a run, and Cody Roberts singled and drove in a pair of runs and scored one to round out the hitting for the Heels.