Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Tar Heels down ECU, hit three homers
JOHN SWARTZ Sports Correspondent
GREENVILLE -- Harrington field wasn't big enough to contain the bats of North Carolina as the Tar Heels hit three early home runs in an 8-4 victory over East Carolina Wednesday night.
North Carolina broke onto the scoreboard early in Wednesday's game with a first-inning homer by Chad Prosser. The next run bounced off the scoreboard as Jeremy Cleveland hit his 12th home run of the season to put the Tar Heels up by two.
Another Tar Heel home run bit the Pirates later in the inning. Chris Iannetta hit a three-run shot deep into the recesses of the "Jungle" to give North Carolina (28-11) a commanding five-run lead.
"We just didn't pitch well," said ECU head coach Randy Mazey. "When you play a team that's more talented than you, you've just got to play sharp."
The Tar Heels got its first non-home run score in the fifth inning. Jeremy Cleveland was caught in a rundown between first and second. During the commotion, Prosser came in to score while the Pirate infield struggled to get Cleveland out.
North Carolina added salt to the wounds of the Pirate faithful when Greg Mangum scored from third base. Mangum found his way to third after an errant throw. Cleveland stretched the lead to eight when he scored later in the inning.
Jake Smith ended the scoring drought for the Pirates (24-13-1) in the bottom of the seventh with his sixth homer of the season. The Pirate fans, who were looking for any reason to cheer, showed the first sign of life as the ball left Smith's bat.
More cheers came in the eighth when Darryl Lawhorn started it off with a triple. Then Mike Harrington hit a double off the center field wall to score Lawhorn. On a passed ball, Harrington went to third. Then to add insult to injury, Iannetta tossed the ball out of the reach of the third baseman that allowed Harrington to score. Smith hit his second homer of the game to bring the Pirates within four.
After Smith's homer, North Carolina put in former Plymouth High School standout Whitley Benson to finish the inning. He retired the Pirates without allowing any more runs.
"A smarter coach probably would have started (Smith)," Mazey said with a smile. "Five of the hits came off the bench tonight. That's typical us -- scoring in the seventh and eighth innings."
After holding North Carolina scoreless in the top of the ninth, ECU couldn't muster an offensive threat in the bottom of the inning, and the Tar Heels left for Chapel Hill with a victory.
Next up for ECU is a road trip to face Texas Christian as the Pirates battle for the top spot in Conference USA.
"We talked about taking the momentum from the last three innings down to Dallas with us," Mazey said. "We play better on the road, so hopefully that offensive output will carry over.
"We're one game out of first (in the conference), but we're two games out of seventh. Every body is kind of piled up right there. (TCU) is playing well. They only gave up two runs last weekend, and they're a very offensive team. So, we've got our work cut out for us."
North Carolina 100 410 200 -- 8 13 2
East Carolina 000 000 130 -- 4 8 1
WP: Matt Danford (2-1); LP: Ashley Capps (3-2).
N -- Greg Mangum 2-5; Chad Prosser 1-4 (HR, 2 RBI); Jeremy Cleveland 3-4 (HR, RBI); Sean Ferrell 1-5; Sammy Hewitt 2-4; Chris Iannetta 2-4 (HR, 4 RBI); Mike Daniel 1-4; Blair Waggett; E -- Ryan Jones 1-3; Darryl Lawhorn 2-4; Mike Harrington 1-1 (HR, RBI); Jake Smith 2-2 (2 HR, 2 RBI); Mark Minicozzi 1-3; Kevin O'Sullivan 1-2.
GREENVILLE -- Harrington field wasn't big enough to contain the bats of North Carolina as the Tar Heels hit three early home runs in an 8-4 victory over East Carolina Wednesday night.
North Carolina broke onto the scoreboard early in Wednesday's game with a first-inning homer by Chad Prosser. The next run bounced off the scoreboard as Jeremy Cleveland hit his 12th home run of the season to put the Tar Heels up by two.
Another Tar Heel home run bit the Pirates later in the inning. Chris Iannetta hit a three-run shot deep into the recesses of the "Jungle" to give North Carolina (28-11) a commanding five-run lead.
"We just didn't pitch well," said ECU head coach Randy Mazey. "When you play a team that's more talented than you, you've just got to play sharp."
The Tar Heels got its first non-home run score in the fifth inning. Jeremy Cleveland was caught in a rundown between first and second. During the commotion, Prosser came in to score while the Pirate infield struggled to get Cleveland out.
North Carolina added salt to the wounds of the Pirate faithful when Greg Mangum scored from third base. Mangum found his way to third after an errant throw. Cleveland stretched the lead to eight when he scored later in the inning.
Jake Smith ended the scoring drought for the Pirates (24-13-1) in the bottom of the seventh with his sixth homer of the season. The Pirate fans, who were looking for any reason to cheer, showed the first sign of life as the ball left Smith's bat.
More cheers came in the eighth when Darryl Lawhorn started it off with a triple. Then Mike Harrington hit a double off the center field wall to score Lawhorn. On a passed ball, Harrington went to third. Then to add insult to injury, Iannetta tossed the ball out of the reach of the third baseman that allowed Harrington to score. Smith hit his second homer of the game to bring the Pirates within four.
After Smith's homer, North Carolina put in former Plymouth High School standout Whitley Benson to finish the inning. He retired the Pirates without allowing any more runs.
"A smarter coach probably would have started (Smith)," Mazey said with a smile. "Five of the hits came off the bench tonight. That's typical us -- scoring in the seventh and eighth innings."
After holding North Carolina scoreless in the top of the ninth, ECU couldn't muster an offensive threat in the bottom of the inning, and the Tar Heels left for Chapel Hill with a victory.
Next up for ECU is a road trip to face Texas Christian as the Pirates battle for the top spot in Conference USA.
"We talked about taking the momentum from the last three innings down to Dallas with us," Mazey said. "We play better on the road, so hopefully that offensive output will carry over.
"We're one game out of first (in the conference), but we're two games out of seventh. Every body is kind of piled up right there. (TCU) is playing well. They only gave up two runs last weekend, and they're a very offensive team. So, we've got our work cut out for us."
North Carolina 100 410 200 -- 8 13 2
East Carolina 000 000 130 -- 4 8 1
WP: Matt Danford (2-1); LP: Ashley Capps (3-2).
N -- Greg Mangum 2-5; Chad Prosser 1-4 (HR, 2 RBI); Jeremy Cleveland 3-4 (HR, RBI); Sean Ferrell 1-5; Sammy Hewitt 2-4; Chris Iannetta 2-4 (HR, 4 RBI); Mike Daniel 1-4; Blair Waggett; E -- Ryan Jones 1-3; Darryl Lawhorn 2-4; Mike Harrington 1-1 (HR, RBI); Jake Smith 2-2 (2 HR, 2 RBI); Mark Minicozzi 1-3; Kevin O'Sullivan 1-2.
 |
||
| Eastern Wayne tops Washington |
