CHAPEL HILL, N.C. ? Dustin Ackley and Marc Fleury connected on a pair of three-run homers in the
bottom of the fifth to fuel a six-run inning as No. 1 UNC Chapel Hill fended off
UNC Wilmington, 7-5, in college baseball action on Tuesday at Boshamer
Stadium.
The Tar Heels
completed a season sweep of the two-game series and improved to 32-10 on the
season. The Seahawks, who are in the midst of a six-game road swing, fell to
21-15.
Freshman Jimmy Messer
earned his second win of the season, lasting a season-high 5 2/3 innings. Messer
was tagged for five runs on five hits. Sophomore Colin Bates earned his sixth
save.
Freshman Steven Davis
(3-1) was saddled with his first loss of the season. Davis surrendered three
runs in 1 2/3 innings in relief of sophomore starter Cameron Roth. Roth allowed
three runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings,a career-long.
Fleury led the UNC
lineup going 3-for-3 with three runs batted in. Seniors Garret Gore and Kyle
Seager each had two hits.
Red-shirt junior Matt
Holt went 2-for4 for the Seahawks and drove in three runs.
After retiring the
first 12 Seahawks batters of the game, Messer allowed a leadoff single to
sophomore David Shambley and a walk to junior Robbie Monday to open the fifth. A
sacrifice bunt moved both up and junior Mike Rooney drew the second walk of the
inning to load the bases. Holt drew first blood for the Seahawks with a single
through the leftside to score two. Freshman Thomas Pope knocked in the third run
of the inning with a ground out scoring Rooney. Junior Ben Thielsen followed
with a two-out, RBI single up the middle to make it 4-0.
The Seahawks
immediately gave up their lead as the pitching staff struggled as the Tar Heels
struck for six runs on four hits, all runs coming across on a pair of three-run
round trippers. Roth retired the first batter, but allowed a walk and a single
before surrendering a three-run homer to Ackley. Freshman reliever Steven Davis
allowed a three-run homer to dead center field to Fleury and there went the
lead.
Holt got the Seahawks
back to within one, 6-5, in the top of the sixth with a sharply hit double to
left that scored freshman Andrew Cain for this third RBI of the game.
The Tar Heels plated
an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out throwing error by
Rooney for a 7-5 lead.
The Seahawks next
return to conference play on April 24 at Towson.
