05-01-2002, 03:21 AM
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina loaded both barrels Tuesday night in exacting revenge on a 2-1 loss to East Carolina earlier this season.
Adam Greenberg (2-5, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 RBI) and Jeremy Cleveland (2-3, 1 BB, 1 SAC, 3 RBI) led a Tar Heels offense that exploded for 8 runs in the first two innings—including a 6-run second inning when 12 Tar Heels batters went to the plate—as the Tar Heels romped over the No. 14 Pirates 10-1 Tuesday at Boshamer Stadium.
The victory was the third in a row for the Tar Heels (34-15) and their 9th in the last ten games. North Carolina is currently No. 7 in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
UNC pitcher Whitley Benson was impressive in hurling
six shutout innings in his first collegiate start. The sophomore right-hander, who has appeared in 21 relief appearances this season, allowed no runs on five hits in six innings of work.
“You have to be happy about the performance of Whitley [Benson],” said coach Mike Fox. “He hasn’t started a game all year. And this was his longest outing of the year. We were hoping to get just 3 innings from him and try to piece together the rest of the game. But he gave us a lot more than that. He stepped up big time
for us.”
Benson, who lowered his ERA from 3.90 to 3.25, baffled the Pirate batters all evening. Only two of the 18 outs against Benson were fly balls to the outfield. The rest came on ten ground ball outs, 4 popups to the infield and two strikeouts.
And even when East Carolina did manage a base hit against Benson they came at inopportune times. All five Pirate hits came after two outs in the first, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
“I didn’t find out about the start until about three hours before the game,” said Benson. “I didn’t have much time to think about it. We play four teams and six games in a row. We kind of ran out of starting pitchers.
“I was a little nervous pitching against a big name team like East Carolina but it helps when you get a two-run lead in the first inning. I kept them off-balance on the slider today. They were out in front a lot today. Their timing wasn’t on.”
Adam Greenberg and Jeremy Cleveland sparked the early rally against ECU. Greenberg, the Heels' centerfielder, led off the home half of the first inning with his 14th home run of the season. The blast marked the sixth time that Greenberg homered in his first at bat this season, and the ninth such time he did it in his UNC collegiate career.
“Adam [Greenberg] is not your typical leadoff hitter,” said coach Fox. “He has 14 home runs but he gives us so much more than his power. How about a leadoff guy getting over 50 RBI in a year? He’s showing his true versatility with his speed and power. And that’s a rare combination in baseball. If he’s not an All-American this year then we won’t have one.”
After Greenberg’s blast, Russ Adams popped to leftfield for the first out. Sean Farrell then lined a single followed by Chris Maples’ double. Farrell scored on a sacrifice fly by Jeremy Cleveland to provide the Heels with a 2-0 first inning advantage.
The Heels continued their dominance after Ron Braun was hit on the left forearm to lead off the second inning. He moved to second base on a wild pitch and advanced to third base on a grounder by Chad Prosser.
Greenberg singled to right field to drive in Braun with his second RBI to increase the UNC lead to 3-1 UNC lead. His hit also knocked Mandryk (1.3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) out of the game.
The Pirates perhaps wished they hadn’t made such a move. Reliever Ashley Capps (1/3 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2
BB, 0 K) didn’t even last the inning. Adams ripped Capps' first pitch down the rightfield line to put runners on second and third.
Farrell followed with a fly out to short left field but Capps then walked Maples and allowed a two-run double to Cleveland, scoring Greenberg and Adams with the Heels fourth and fifth runs of the game.
Jason Tourangeau replaced Capps on the mound after a Chris Iannetta walk, but he met a similar fate. Tourangeau was greeted by a Greg Mangum single thatdrove in Maples and Cleveland for a 7-0 Heels lead.
The Tar Heels benefited from the wildness of East Carolina pitchers. The 6-run second inning was aided in large part by four walks—-including a bases-loaded walk issued to Chad Prosser—-and a hit-batsman.
Iannetta scored the Tar Heels final run of the second nning on a bases-loaded walk issued by Tourangeau to Prosser.
The Heels scored two more runs in the fourth inning to build a 10-0 lead. After walks to Braun and Greenberg and a single by Prosser loaded the bases, Adams hit a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Braun. On the throw to the plate catcher Clayton McCullough slipped and threw the ball into left field while trying to nail Prosser at third. Prosser scored when Tourangeau failed to cover the plate.
The lone Pirates run came in the eighth inning when Brian Cavanaugh scored on a wild pitch thrown by reliever Kevin Brower (2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K). The run ended a 20-inning scoreless streak by North Carolina pitchers, beginning Sunday against Miami and including Monday’s 7-0 victory against Elon.
Adam Greenberg (2-5, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 RBI) and Jeremy Cleveland (2-3, 1 BB, 1 SAC, 3 RBI) led a Tar Heels offense that exploded for 8 runs in the first two innings—including a 6-run second inning when 12 Tar Heels batters went to the plate—as the Tar Heels romped over the No. 14 Pirates 10-1 Tuesday at Boshamer Stadium.
The victory was the third in a row for the Tar Heels (34-15) and their 9th in the last ten games. North Carolina is currently No. 7 in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
UNC pitcher Whitley Benson was impressive in hurling
six shutout innings in his first collegiate start. The sophomore right-hander, who has appeared in 21 relief appearances this season, allowed no runs on five hits in six innings of work.
“You have to be happy about the performance of Whitley [Benson],” said coach Mike Fox. “He hasn’t started a game all year. And this was his longest outing of the year. We were hoping to get just 3 innings from him and try to piece together the rest of the game. But he gave us a lot more than that. He stepped up big time
for us.”
Benson, who lowered his ERA from 3.90 to 3.25, baffled the Pirate batters all evening. Only two of the 18 outs against Benson were fly balls to the outfield. The rest came on ten ground ball outs, 4 popups to the infield and two strikeouts.
And even when East Carolina did manage a base hit against Benson they came at inopportune times. All five Pirate hits came after two outs in the first, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
“I didn’t find out about the start until about three hours before the game,” said Benson. “I didn’t have much time to think about it. We play four teams and six games in a row. We kind of ran out of starting pitchers.
“I was a little nervous pitching against a big name team like East Carolina but it helps when you get a two-run lead in the first inning. I kept them off-balance on the slider today. They were out in front a lot today. Their timing wasn’t on.”
Adam Greenberg and Jeremy Cleveland sparked the early rally against ECU. Greenberg, the Heels' centerfielder, led off the home half of the first inning with his 14th home run of the season. The blast marked the sixth time that Greenberg homered in his first at bat this season, and the ninth such time he did it in his UNC collegiate career.
“Adam [Greenberg] is not your typical leadoff hitter,” said coach Fox. “He has 14 home runs but he gives us so much more than his power. How about a leadoff guy getting over 50 RBI in a year? He’s showing his true versatility with his speed and power. And that’s a rare combination in baseball. If he’s not an All-American this year then we won’t have one.”
After Greenberg’s blast, Russ Adams popped to leftfield for the first out. Sean Farrell then lined a single followed by Chris Maples’ double. Farrell scored on a sacrifice fly by Jeremy Cleveland to provide the Heels with a 2-0 first inning advantage.
The Heels continued their dominance after Ron Braun was hit on the left forearm to lead off the second inning. He moved to second base on a wild pitch and advanced to third base on a grounder by Chad Prosser.
Greenberg singled to right field to drive in Braun with his second RBI to increase the UNC lead to 3-1 UNC lead. His hit also knocked Mandryk (1.3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) out of the game.
The Pirates perhaps wished they hadn’t made such a move. Reliever Ashley Capps (1/3 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2
BB, 0 K) didn’t even last the inning. Adams ripped Capps' first pitch down the rightfield line to put runners on second and third.
Farrell followed with a fly out to short left field but Capps then walked Maples and allowed a two-run double to Cleveland, scoring Greenberg and Adams with the Heels fourth and fifth runs of the game.
Jason Tourangeau replaced Capps on the mound after a Chris Iannetta walk, but he met a similar fate. Tourangeau was greeted by a Greg Mangum single thatdrove in Maples and Cleveland for a 7-0 Heels lead.
The Tar Heels benefited from the wildness of East Carolina pitchers. The 6-run second inning was aided in large part by four walks—-including a bases-loaded walk issued to Chad Prosser—-and a hit-batsman.
Iannetta scored the Tar Heels final run of the second nning on a bases-loaded walk issued by Tourangeau to Prosser.
The Heels scored two more runs in the fourth inning to build a 10-0 lead. After walks to Braun and Greenberg and a single by Prosser loaded the bases, Adams hit a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Braun. On the throw to the plate catcher Clayton McCullough slipped and threw the ball into left field while trying to nail Prosser at third. Prosser scored when Tourangeau failed to cover the plate.
The lone Pirates run came in the eighth inning when Brian Cavanaugh scored on a wild pitch thrown by reliever Kevin Brower (2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K). The run ended a 20-inning scoreless streak by North Carolina pitchers, beginning Sunday against Miami and including Monday’s 7-0 victory against Elon.