University of North Carolina Athletics
Dallas Tessar homered in the 2019 UNC-W game
Photo by: Joe Bray
This Day In Tar Heel Baseball History: May 31
May 31, 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 31
For today's version of 'This Day in Recent Carolina Baseball History' we go back to 2008 and 2019 for a pair of regional wins against UNC-Wilmington, one in the winners bracket in Cary and the other in a hard fought and long regional opener at the Bosh. Plus quick hits from 2009, 2013, and 2014.
On May 31, 2008 the Heels hosted the Seahawks in Cary coming off an offensive explosion against Mt. St. Mary's the night before in their opener. They were the 'road team' and Dustin Ackley singled to lead off the game and moved to 2nd on an error. Kyle Shelton followed with a single to put runners on the corners and Tim Fedroff hit into a productive double play to give the Heels a 1-0 lead.
Alex White started for the Heels. If you ask me, off the top of your head, don't go and look up any statistics or anything, who had the best postseason ever pitching for UNC, what comes to mind is Alex in 2008. And that certainly began with his start in regionals, right from the first inning. Not only did he set them down 1-2-3, he struck them all out.
Then he got a couple more strike outs in a 1-2-3 2nd. He gave up a single in the 3rd but he still faced the minimum because he promptly picked the guy off.
In the top of the 4th Tim Fedroff singled with 1 out and then Kyle Seager went deep to give the Heels a 3-0 lead. Tim Federowicz was up next and he went yard too to make it 4-0.
The Seahawks got a 2 out double in the 4th but Alex stranded him there. In the 5th they hit a leadoff double and that guy did come around to score to cut the lead to 4-1. That also marked the end of Wilmington hitting for the day.
In the 6th the Heels got the run right back. Tim Fedroff hit a leadoff double, Chad Flack hit a deep flyball that moved him to 3rd, and Kyle Seager followed up with another deep flyball that brought him home and made it 5–1.
Alex allowed a 1 out walk in the 6th and immediately erased him on a double play. The Seahawks got a 2 out HBP in the 7th but Alex retired the next hitter and that marked the end of UNCW base runners for the day.
The Seahawks went down 1-2-3 in the 8th. Alex came back out for the 9th and finished what he started, getting a groundout, a fly out, and another groundout to complete a 5-1 win and send the Heels into the regional championship.
Alex's day was incredible. He went 9 innings, allowed only 3 hits and a walk, and struck out 8. And the truth is even though I think of Alex in 2008 as the best postseason pitching we've ever received, this game doesn't even factor into my assessment, it's what happened in Omaha. So that shows this start was just the beginning of things to come.
Tim Fedroff (including a double and 2 runs) was the only Heel with multiple hits. Kyle Seager homered and drove in 3 runs and Tim Federowicz went deep as well. Dustin Ackley singled and scored a run and Kyle Shelton and Seth Williams also had hits. The win made the Heels 48–12 for the season.
On May 31, 2019 the Heels faced UNC-W in the regional opener and for several reasons the Seahawks were not who you wanted as your #4 seed that year. They were hot, coming off a surprise win in the CAA Tournament to storm into regionals.
And they had a lot to play for- it was legendary and universally well respected Coach Mark Scalf's final season. He was a Tar Heel assistant early in his career and he'd been honored on the occasion of what was supposed to be his last game at the Bosh in February. But it turned out that day wasn't his last game at the Bosh after all!
Tyler Baum started for the Heels and the Seahawks threatened right out of the gate, getting runners to 2nd and 3rd. But Tyler got a fly out to left to end the threat.
In the bottom half Michael Busch hit a leadoff double but the next hitter struck out. A deep flyball by Danny Serretti moved him up to 3rd. That brought up Ike Freeman and he worked a full count, fouled a pitch off after there were 2 strikes, and on the 7th pitch of the at bat came through with a 2 out single to center to give the Heels a 1-0 lead.
Wilmington threatened again in the 2nd. They got runners on the corners with 1 out and attempted to squeeze the runner home. Tyler made a good play on the ball though and went home in time to get the lead runner. Then he struck the next guy out to end the threat.
In the bottom of the inning Dylan Harris hit a 1 out double and moved to 3rd on a groundout by Dylan Enwiller. That brought up Dallas Tessar with 2 down and he knocked one out of the park to left to give the Heels an early 3-0 advantage.
Tyler threw a 1-2-3 3rd. The Seahawks did finally get one back in the 4th, but Tyler followed up that setback with another 1-2-3 inning in the 5th.
In the 6th the Seahawks scored 3 runs to go ahead 4-3 and still had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 out and the opportunity to take a good sized lead. But Hansen Butler- who more and more had been coming in in big situations and taking care of them- got a grounder to prevent any further damage. He followed that up with a scoreless 7th as well.
In the bottom of the inning the Heels battled back. Aaron Sabato drew a leadoff walk and went to 2nd on a wild pitch. With 1 out Ike Freeman came through with his second big hit of the day, singling through the left side to bring Aaron home and tie the game up at 4.
Ike moved into scoring position on a wild pitch but the next hitter struck out. That brought up Brandon Martorano with a runner on 2nd and 2 out. He fell behind 1-2, took a pitch, and then singled up the middle to bring Ike around and put the Heels back ahead 5-4.
Austin Love threw a scoreless 8th with a pair of strikeouts. But things took a bad turn in the 9th. Wilmington's first hitter of the inning got hit. After a fly out he stole second. The next hitter struck out...but the ball got away and he reached base while the other runner advanced, putting runners on the corners with 1 out instead of a runner on 2nd and 2 out.
The next hitter sent a groundball to 2nd that possibly could have ended up as a game ending double play but instead no one was retired- the tying run came in on the error to make it 5-5 and the Seahawks still had runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out.
The next hitter hit a harmless flyball for the second out of the inning and the guy after that fell behind 0-2...but then he singled to left. There was a close play at the plate and the runner was called out...but the decision was reversed on review, giving the Seahawks a 6-5 lead. A strikeout finally ended the inning.
Storm clouds were building on the field figuratively for the Heels...and they were also building literally in the sky. There was no doubt a storm was coming, the question was just whether or not the game could be finished first.
The Heels didn't have to live with the question of whether their losing was imminent for very long. Aaron Sabato went deep on the very first pitch of the bottom of the 9th to tie the game back up at 6. Danny Serretti followed that up with a walk.
And then the tarp came out and a 3 hour rain delay ensued. A lot of fans didn't come back when the game resumed. But the ones who did come back were lit. I feel very strongly that the most important thing for fans to do to support their team is *not* to cheer for things that already happened like a home run or a big strikeout. Cheering loud for those things is fine, but those things already happened. If fans really want to help their team they have to cheer really loud to help *make* something happen.
That's what happened with the fans who returned after the long rain delay. They were all up on their feet and screaming when the game finally resumed. And I think that- along with the inherent gravity of the situation- helped to intimidate the Seahawk pitcher. Ike Freeman immediately went ahead 3-0 and got a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd.
Even after a failed bunt attempt the crowd kept up its raucousness, and a wild pitch moved both the runners into scoring position. At that point the Seahawks decided to just intentionally walk Brandon Martorano to load the bases and hope they could get a double play.
Then the game ended in about the weirdest way imaginable. Danny Serretti got caught off 3B and found himself in a rundown that should have given Wilmington its second out of the inning and significantly improved its chances of getting the game into extra innings still tied...but they threw the ball away and Danny came in to score the winning run for a 7-6 victory.
We had 3 super long rain delays in the postseason at the Bosh last decade- 2011 super, 2018 regional, and 2019 regional- and all three times the fans who came back provided a level of home field advantage unusual for the Bosh and all three times the players fed off it and delivered a victory. It would be nice to have that dynamic more often but at any rate it helped make the difference this day.
Austin got his 7th win of the season. Ike Freeman led the way for the Heels with a pair of hits, driving in 2, and scoring a run. Dallas Tessar homered and drove in a pair of runs and Aaron Sabato went deep as well and scored a pair of runs. Michael Busch and Dylan Harris each doubled and scored a run and Brandon Martorano singled and scored a run and the win set up a date with Liberty in the winners bracket the following day.
And quick hits from 2009, 2013, and 2014:
-In 2009 the Heels won the Chapel Hill regional with a 12-1 victory over Kansas. Garrett Gore was the star for the Heels with 3 hits, including a pair of home runs, driving in 5 and scoring 3 runs. Dustin Ackley also had 3 hits, including a home run and a double, and scored 3 runs and drove in 2.
Ryan Graepel (including a double, 2 RBI, and a run) and Ben Bunting (including a double and 2 runs) each had a pair of hits. Mark Fleury doubled, Kyle Seager singled, drove in 3 runs and scored one, Jacob Stallings singled and scored a run, and Mike Cavasinni, Mike McKee, and Seth Baldwin each had hits as well.
Adam Warren threw 6.2 scoreless innings with 8 strikeouts to improve his record on the season to 8-2. Nate Striz got the last out of the 7th and Logan Munson came in with runners on 1st and 2nd and no one out in the 8th and retired the side without any Jayhawks scoring.
The win made the Heels 45-16 on the season and also continued a pretty impressive streak- it made them 12-0 in home regionals during the Mike Fox era.
-In 2013 the Heels kicked off the Chapel Hill regional with a 6-3 win over Canisius. Chris McCue got the win for 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, and Trent Thrornton threw 2 scoreless innings to finish it and get his 7th save of the year, striking out all 6 of the hitters he retired. That included striking out the next 2 hitters after Canisius loaded the bases with 1 out in the 8th and had a real chance to get back into it.
All nine Heels starters had at least one hit. Chaz Frank led the way with 3 hits, including an RBI and a run. Brian Holberton (including a double, 2 RBI, and a run), Matt Roberts (including a double and a run), and Landon Lassiter (including an RBI) each had a pair of hits.
Cody Stubbs doubled and drove in and scored a run and Michael Russell doubled and scored a run. Mike Zolk singled and drove in a run, Skye Bolt singled and scored a run, and Colin Moran had a single as well.
-In 2014 the Heels faced off against Florida in Gainesville in an elimination game and beat the Gators, who were a national seed, 5-2 to end their season. Benton Moss started and threw 3 scoreless innings while allowing only 1 hit but couldn't come back to the game after a rain delay of over 3 hours.
Reilly Hovis came in and threw 4 solid innings that allowed him to improve his record to 9-1 on the season. Spencer Trayner threw 2 scoreless innings in his home state of Florida to close it out and give the Heels the victory.
Adam Pate (including a double, an RBI, and a run) and Korey Dunbar (including an RBI) each had a pair of hits. Tyler Ramirez doubled, drove in a pair of runs, and scored one. Alex Raburn singled, drove in and scored a run, Skye Bolt and Landon Lassiter each singled and scored a run, and Michael Russell, Parks Jordan, and Wood Myers had singles as well in the upset win. Just like in the win on this day in 2013, all 9 starters had a hit.
May 31
For today's version of 'This Day in Recent Carolina Baseball History' we go back to 2008 and 2019 for a pair of regional wins against UNC-Wilmington, one in the winners bracket in Cary and the other in a hard fought and long regional opener at the Bosh. Plus quick hits from 2009, 2013, and 2014.
On May 31, 2008 the Heels hosted the Seahawks in Cary coming off an offensive explosion against Mt. St. Mary's the night before in their opener. They were the 'road team' and Dustin Ackley singled to lead off the game and moved to 2nd on an error. Kyle Shelton followed with a single to put runners on the corners and Tim Fedroff hit into a productive double play to give the Heels a 1-0 lead.
Alex White started for the Heels. If you ask me, off the top of your head, don't go and look up any statistics or anything, who had the best postseason ever pitching for UNC, what comes to mind is Alex in 2008. And that certainly began with his start in regionals, right from the first inning. Not only did he set them down 1-2-3, he struck them all out.
Then he got a couple more strike outs in a 1-2-3 2nd. He gave up a single in the 3rd but he still faced the minimum because he promptly picked the guy off.
In the top of the 4th Tim Fedroff singled with 1 out and then Kyle Seager went deep to give the Heels a 3-0 lead. Tim Federowicz was up next and he went yard too to make it 4-0.
The Seahawks got a 2 out double in the 4th but Alex stranded him there. In the 5th they hit a leadoff double and that guy did come around to score to cut the lead to 4-1. That also marked the end of Wilmington hitting for the day.
In the 6th the Heels got the run right back. Tim Fedroff hit a leadoff double, Chad Flack hit a deep flyball that moved him to 3rd, and Kyle Seager followed up with another deep flyball that brought him home and made it 5–1.
Alex allowed a 1 out walk in the 6th and immediately erased him on a double play. The Seahawks got a 2 out HBP in the 7th but Alex retired the next hitter and that marked the end of UNCW base runners for the day.
The Seahawks went down 1-2-3 in the 8th. Alex came back out for the 9th and finished what he started, getting a groundout, a fly out, and another groundout to complete a 5-1 win and send the Heels into the regional championship.
Alex's day was incredible. He went 9 innings, allowed only 3 hits and a walk, and struck out 8. And the truth is even though I think of Alex in 2008 as the best postseason pitching we've ever received, this game doesn't even factor into my assessment, it's what happened in Omaha. So that shows this start was just the beginning of things to come.
Tim Fedroff (including a double and 2 runs) was the only Heel with multiple hits. Kyle Seager homered and drove in 3 runs and Tim Federowicz went deep as well. Dustin Ackley singled and scored a run and Kyle Shelton and Seth Williams also had hits. The win made the Heels 48–12 for the season.
On May 31, 2019 the Heels faced UNC-W in the regional opener and for several reasons the Seahawks were not who you wanted as your #4 seed that year. They were hot, coming off a surprise win in the CAA Tournament to storm into regionals.
And they had a lot to play for- it was legendary and universally well respected Coach Mark Scalf's final season. He was a Tar Heel assistant early in his career and he'd been honored on the occasion of what was supposed to be his last game at the Bosh in February. But it turned out that day wasn't his last game at the Bosh after all!
Tyler Baum started for the Heels and the Seahawks threatened right out of the gate, getting runners to 2nd and 3rd. But Tyler got a fly out to left to end the threat.
In the bottom half Michael Busch hit a leadoff double but the next hitter struck out. A deep flyball by Danny Serretti moved him up to 3rd. That brought up Ike Freeman and he worked a full count, fouled a pitch off after there were 2 strikes, and on the 7th pitch of the at bat came through with a 2 out single to center to give the Heels a 1-0 lead.
Wilmington threatened again in the 2nd. They got runners on the corners with 1 out and attempted to squeeze the runner home. Tyler made a good play on the ball though and went home in time to get the lead runner. Then he struck the next guy out to end the threat.
In the bottom of the inning Dylan Harris hit a 1 out double and moved to 3rd on a groundout by Dylan Enwiller. That brought up Dallas Tessar with 2 down and he knocked one out of the park to left to give the Heels an early 3-0 advantage.
Tyler threw a 1-2-3 3rd. The Seahawks did finally get one back in the 4th, but Tyler followed up that setback with another 1-2-3 inning in the 5th.
In the 6th the Seahawks scored 3 runs to go ahead 4-3 and still had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 out and the opportunity to take a good sized lead. But Hansen Butler- who more and more had been coming in in big situations and taking care of them- got a grounder to prevent any further damage. He followed that up with a scoreless 7th as well.
In the bottom of the inning the Heels battled back. Aaron Sabato drew a leadoff walk and went to 2nd on a wild pitch. With 1 out Ike Freeman came through with his second big hit of the day, singling through the left side to bring Aaron home and tie the game up at 4.
Ike moved into scoring position on a wild pitch but the next hitter struck out. That brought up Brandon Martorano with a runner on 2nd and 2 out. He fell behind 1-2, took a pitch, and then singled up the middle to bring Ike around and put the Heels back ahead 5-4.
Austin Love threw a scoreless 8th with a pair of strikeouts. But things took a bad turn in the 9th. Wilmington's first hitter of the inning got hit. After a fly out he stole second. The next hitter struck out...but the ball got away and he reached base while the other runner advanced, putting runners on the corners with 1 out instead of a runner on 2nd and 2 out.
The next hitter sent a groundball to 2nd that possibly could have ended up as a game ending double play but instead no one was retired- the tying run came in on the error to make it 5-5 and the Seahawks still had runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out.
The next hitter hit a harmless flyball for the second out of the inning and the guy after that fell behind 0-2...but then he singled to left. There was a close play at the plate and the runner was called out...but the decision was reversed on review, giving the Seahawks a 6-5 lead. A strikeout finally ended the inning.
Storm clouds were building on the field figuratively for the Heels...and they were also building literally in the sky. There was no doubt a storm was coming, the question was just whether or not the game could be finished first.
The Heels didn't have to live with the question of whether their losing was imminent for very long. Aaron Sabato went deep on the very first pitch of the bottom of the 9th to tie the game back up at 6. Danny Serretti followed that up with a walk.
And then the tarp came out and a 3 hour rain delay ensued. A lot of fans didn't come back when the game resumed. But the ones who did come back were lit. I feel very strongly that the most important thing for fans to do to support their team is *not* to cheer for things that already happened like a home run or a big strikeout. Cheering loud for those things is fine, but those things already happened. If fans really want to help their team they have to cheer really loud to help *make* something happen.
That's what happened with the fans who returned after the long rain delay. They were all up on their feet and screaming when the game finally resumed. And I think that- along with the inherent gravity of the situation- helped to intimidate the Seahawk pitcher. Ike Freeman immediately went ahead 3-0 and got a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd.
Even after a failed bunt attempt the crowd kept up its raucousness, and a wild pitch moved both the runners into scoring position. At that point the Seahawks decided to just intentionally walk Brandon Martorano to load the bases and hope they could get a double play.
Then the game ended in about the weirdest way imaginable. Danny Serretti got caught off 3B and found himself in a rundown that should have given Wilmington its second out of the inning and significantly improved its chances of getting the game into extra innings still tied...but they threw the ball away and Danny came in to score the winning run for a 7-6 victory.
We had 3 super long rain delays in the postseason at the Bosh last decade- 2011 super, 2018 regional, and 2019 regional- and all three times the fans who came back provided a level of home field advantage unusual for the Bosh and all three times the players fed off it and delivered a victory. It would be nice to have that dynamic more often but at any rate it helped make the difference this day.
Austin got his 7th win of the season. Ike Freeman led the way for the Heels with a pair of hits, driving in 2, and scoring a run. Dallas Tessar homered and drove in a pair of runs and Aaron Sabato went deep as well and scored a pair of runs. Michael Busch and Dylan Harris each doubled and scored a run and Brandon Martorano singled and scored a run and the win set up a date with Liberty in the winners bracket the following day.
And quick hits from 2009, 2013, and 2014:
-In 2009 the Heels won the Chapel Hill regional with a 12-1 victory over Kansas. Garrett Gore was the star for the Heels with 3 hits, including a pair of home runs, driving in 5 and scoring 3 runs. Dustin Ackley also had 3 hits, including a home run and a double, and scored 3 runs and drove in 2.
Ryan Graepel (including a double, 2 RBI, and a run) and Ben Bunting (including a double and 2 runs) each had a pair of hits. Mark Fleury doubled, Kyle Seager singled, drove in 3 runs and scored one, Jacob Stallings singled and scored a run, and Mike Cavasinni, Mike McKee, and Seth Baldwin each had hits as well.
Adam Warren threw 6.2 scoreless innings with 8 strikeouts to improve his record on the season to 8-2. Nate Striz got the last out of the 7th and Logan Munson came in with runners on 1st and 2nd and no one out in the 8th and retired the side without any Jayhawks scoring.
The win made the Heels 45-16 on the season and also continued a pretty impressive streak- it made them 12-0 in home regionals during the Mike Fox era.
-In 2013 the Heels kicked off the Chapel Hill regional with a 6-3 win over Canisius. Chris McCue got the win for 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, and Trent Thrornton threw 2 scoreless innings to finish it and get his 7th save of the year, striking out all 6 of the hitters he retired. That included striking out the next 2 hitters after Canisius loaded the bases with 1 out in the 8th and had a real chance to get back into it.
All nine Heels starters had at least one hit. Chaz Frank led the way with 3 hits, including an RBI and a run. Brian Holberton (including a double, 2 RBI, and a run), Matt Roberts (including a double and a run), and Landon Lassiter (including an RBI) each had a pair of hits.
Cody Stubbs doubled and drove in and scored a run and Michael Russell doubled and scored a run. Mike Zolk singled and drove in a run, Skye Bolt singled and scored a run, and Colin Moran had a single as well.
-In 2014 the Heels faced off against Florida in Gainesville in an elimination game and beat the Gators, who were a national seed, 5-2 to end their season. Benton Moss started and threw 3 scoreless innings while allowing only 1 hit but couldn't come back to the game after a rain delay of over 3 hours.
Reilly Hovis came in and threw 4 solid innings that allowed him to improve his record to 9-1 on the season. Spencer Trayner threw 2 scoreless innings in his home state of Florida to close it out and give the Heels the victory.
Adam Pate (including a double, an RBI, and a run) and Korey Dunbar (including an RBI) each had a pair of hits. Tyler Ramirez doubled, drove in a pair of runs, and scored one. Alex Raburn singled, drove in and scored a run, Skye Bolt and Landon Lassiter each singled and scored a run, and Michael Russell, Parks Jordan, and Wood Myers had singles as well in the upset win. Just like in the win on this day in 2013, all 9 starters had a hit.
Players Mentioned
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