Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
North Carolina
Wake Forest Drops Series Opener at North Carolina
5/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 7, 2010
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| Updated Season Stats
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina's Dillon Hazlett went 3-for-5 with six RBIs and two runs scored to lead the Tar Heels to an 18-5 win over Wake Forest in the series opener on Friday night at Boshamer Stadium.
Wake Forest falls to 12-33 and 4-18 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while North Carolina improves to 29-17 and 9-13 in the ACC.
Matt Harvey (6-2) earned the win on the mound for the Tar Heels, giving up three runs, two of them earned, on eight hits with five strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Wake Forest starter Tim Cooney (3-6) suffered the loss, allowing 11 runs, 10 earned, on eight hits in 4.0 innings.
Mike Murray led the Deacs at the plate, driving in two runs and going 2-for-4. Steven Brooks added two hits, while Carlos Lopez and Mark Rhine each had an RBI for Wake Forest.
Hazlett led the Tar Heels with a career-high six RBIs on three hits with two runs scored. Ryan Graepel and Levi Michael each homered and drove in two runs.
The Demon Deacons grabbed an early lead with two runs in the top of the first. Pat Blair led off the game with a single through the left side. After a foul out to right field by Ryan Semeniuk, Brooks grounded a double inside the left field line to move Blair to third. Murray lined a single to right field to score Blair from third. Lopez reached on a fielder's choice to second with Murray being retired on the play and Brooks scoring from third to put the Deacs in front 2-0.
North Carolina took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the first. With one out, Ben Bunting hit a routine grounder to second, but Rhine slipped on the outfield grass, allowing Bunting to reach first with a hit. Michael singled to left on a hit and run to move Bunting to third. A sacrifice fly to left by Jesse Wierzbicki scored Bunting. Brian Goodwin laced a single to right to advance Michael to second. Hazlett doubled off the top of the wall in right-center field to clear the bases and put the Tar Heels in front 3-2. Graepel then hit a liner off the throwing shoulder of Cooney. Cooney was able to gather himself and throw to first to retire Graepel to end the inning.
The Tar Heels extended their lead with two runs in the bottom of the third. Michael led off the inning with a solo home run over the left field wall, his fourth homer of the season. With one out, Goodwin reached on a fielding error by Lopez at first base. Hazlett flied out to right for the second out of the inning. Graepel reached second on a dropped fly ball by Semeniuk in left field and Goodwin came around to score on the play for the fifth North Carolina run of the game.
North Carolina broke open the game with six runs in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Mike Cavasinni doubled down the right field line and moved to third on a ground out to second by Bunting. Michael and Wierzbicki were hit by a pitch on consecutive pitches to load the bases. Goodwin walked to score Cavasinni. Hazlett cleared the bases with a double to the left-center field gap to put the Tar Heels up 9-2. Graepel sent a two-run homer over the left field wall to make the score 11-2.
Wake Forest answered with a run in the top of the fifth. After the first two batters of the inning were retired, Semeniuk reached on a fielding error by the third baseman. Brooks reached on an infield single to move Semeniuk to second. Murray singled to right-center field to plate Semeniuk.
The Tar Heels added another run in the bottom of the fifth. Jacob Stallings led off the inning with a single to right field, but was retired at second on a fielder's choice groundout by Cavasinni. Cavasinni moved to second with a stolen base. Bunting flied out to center for the second out of the inning. Michael singled up the middle to score Cavasinni.
North Carolina plated six more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Hazlett drove in Goodwin on a double to right-center field. With the bases loaded and two out, Bunting was hit by a pitch to score Hazlett. Michael reached third on a dropped fly ball by Semeniuk that allowed three runs to score. Wierzbicki singled up the middle to score Michael to close the scoring in the inning.
Wake Forest tallied two runs in the top of the eighth. Pinch hitter Mike Lubanski walked to start the inning and pinch hitter Ryan Lloyd also walked with one out to put runners on first and second. Shane Kroker singled up the middle to load the bases. Rhine singled to score Lubanski from third. A wild pitch scored Lloyd for the fifth Demon Deacon run of the game.
Wake Forest and North Carolina resume the series on Saturday with first pitch set for 1 p.m. (ET). Sophomore LHP Austin Stadler (2-3, 6.25) will start for the Deacs, while freshman RHP Chris Munnelly (2-1, 5.28) will take the mound for the Tar Heels. The game will be televised on the ACC's Regional Sports Networks, which includes Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports South, Fox Sports Florida and NESN.
For all of the latest information on Wake Forest baseball, please log on to www.WakeForestSports.com or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account @WFUBaseball or www.twitter.com/WFUBaseball.
