No. 6 North Carolina opened Saturday’s doubleheader against Georgia Tech with a 12-6 victory before slipping in the finale by a 4-2 margin. The doubleheader split gave Georgia Tech (24-17, 9-12 ACC) the 2-1 series win and dropped the Tar Heels to 29-11 overall and 13-7 in ACC play.<\/p>\n
Game One
\nNorth Carolina raced out to an 8-0 lead after the first inning and never looked back as the Tar Heels rolled to a 12-6 win over the Yellow Jackets in the first game.<\/p>\n
The Tar Heels sent 12 batters to the plate in the first inning as Chaz Frank started the inning off with a double and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Jacob Stallings, Mike Zolk and Cody Stubbs all tallied RBI hits in the first before Brian Holberton dealt the big blow with a bases loaded double to cap off the scoring.<\/p>\n
Holberton tacked on another run for the Tar Heels in the fourth when he connected on a solo home run to right center field for his first long ball of the year. Stallings made it a two home run inning later in the fourth as he connected on a two-run shot to left field after Tommy Coyle drew a walk.<\/p>\n
Georgia Tech got into the home run mode in the sixth when Jake Davies hit a three-run shot to right center to make the score 11-3. Daniel Palka added a solo home run two batters later to make it 11-4 thus ending starter Benton Moss’ outing.<\/p>\n
Moss finished the day by tossing 5.2 innings, allowing four runs only two of which were earned and struck out five.<\/p>\n
Mike Zolk made it a 12-4 contest in the seventh inning with a RBI double to score Stallings before Georgia Tech tallied single runs in the eighth and ninth innings to provide the final margin.<\/p>\n
Moss earned the win and improved to 4-2 on the year, while R.C. Orlan threw a scoreless inning of relief out of the bullpen.<\/p>\n
The eight-run first inning matched the largest scoring output in an inning this season as the Tar Heels matched the eight-run second inning against Wright State on Feb. 24.<\/p>\n
Game Two
\nSophomore Hobbs Johnson got the call on the mound and mowed down the Yellow Jackets as he retired the first seven batters he faced.<\/p>\n
The Tar Heels provided Johnson with a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Michael Russell started a one-out rally by drawing a walk. Russell moved to second after a fly out when Tommy Coyle walked as well.<\/p>\n
Adam Griffin provided the go-ahead hit with a single through the left side as Russell raced around third and scored standing up to provide the 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n
The Tar Heels added another run in the sixth thanks to a lead off double from Jacob Stallings. A single by Tommy Coyle right in front of Stallings forced the senior catcher to hold up at third and put runners on the corners with nobody out.<\/p>\n
Griffin drove in his second run of the ball game with a slow chopper to shortstop that allowed Stallings to score from third. A double play would end the threat but not before Carolina held a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning.<\/p>\n
Georgia Tech snapped a streak of eight straight retired by Johnson with a lead off single in the seventh before Jake Davies ended the shutout as well with a two-run home run to even the score at 2-2. Closer Michael Morin came on in the seventh to keep the game tied.<\/p>\n
Number nine hitter Mott Hyde reached to open the eighth for the Yellow Jackets and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt but Morin retired the next batter on strikes. Morin had Brandon Thomas in a 1-2 hole but Thomas connected on a RBI single to right that scored Hyde and gave Georgia Tech a 3-2 lead.<\/p>\n
The Yellow Jackets added another run in the eighth to take a 4-2 lead to the bottom half of the inning.<\/p>\n
Tommy Coyle drew a one-out walk in the eighth and immediately stole second base to put a runner in scoring position. Coyle would be stranded at second after a pair of ground outs were unable to score the junior shortstop.<\/p>\n
the Tar Heels would go down in order in the ninth as Alex Cruz secured the series win for the Yellow Jackets.<\/p>\n
The bottom of the lineup provided six of the Tar Heels 10 hits in the game as Adam Griffin, Mike Zolk and Parks Jordan all registered 2-for-4 days.
\nCarolina will look to bounce back against a pair of in-state foes this week as UNC Greensboro comes to Boshamer Stadium Tuesday followed by East Carolina on Wednesday. Both games are set for 6 p.m. first pitches. <\/p>\n
– News release<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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