Brad McElroy's double in the eighth give him a hit in all but three games in 2008. |
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Niners Blanked for First Time in Three Seasons by No. 2 Tar Heels, 17-0
April 22, 2008
Charlotte, N.C. - Second-ranked North Carolina scored early and often to win their tenth straight contest, 17-0 over Charlotte at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium on Tuesday evening in college baseball action. The Tar Heels improved to 35-7 overall, dropping the 49ers to 29-10. A Hayes Stadium record for attendance was set, as 3,236 fans were in attendance all over the ballpark. It was the first shutout of Charlotte since April 8, 2005, a run of 179 straight contests.
The Tar Heels got the scoring started in the first with four hits, including a trio of RBI singles off of Charlotte starter B.J. Hagen. Right fielder Tim Fedroff, second baseman Kyle Seager and designated hitter Mark Fleury all drove in a run in the that opening frame.
The Heels put up more in the third inning. Seager was hit on a 3-1 pitch and scored on a double to right center by Tim Federowicz. After a strikeout, Seth Williams hit a homer down the left field line to make it 6-0.
Charlotte got its first hit in the fourth, when Rob Lyerly hit a double to center field, his fourth consecutive game with an extra-base hit and his ninth extra-base hit in the last four games. The Niners left him on and trailed 6-0 after four innings.
Chapel Hill managed a pair of runs in the fifth off a two-run homer to right by first baseman Dustin Ackley. He knocked home Williams, who had walked earlier in the inning. The Heels then batted around in the seventh, scoring seven more runs, and added another run in the eighth.
Charlotte senior center fielder Brad McElroy doubled in the eighth inning. He has a hit in 35 of Charlotte's 39 contests this season, leading the Niners with a .396 average and in a three-way tie for the lead in doubles, with 15.
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Charlotte's four hits all came in four different innings.
UNC starter Rob Catapano was lifted after 2.2 innings of no-hit ball, leaving the bases loaded after a pair of walks and a hit batter, needing Rob Wooten to finish the inning to keep the Niners scoreless after three innings. Catapano was scheduled to throw a short outing, and was credited with the win, improving to 4-0.
Hagen took the loss (2-2). He lasted 4.2 innings, allowing nine hits and seven earned runs on five walks, with two strikeouts.
Charlotte will play host to USC Upstate Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
NOTES: Charlotte's run of not being shutout lasted through its last 179 games, including 100 home games, 70 road contests, and nine neutral-site games. Charlotte had averaged 8.1 runs at home, 7.1 runs on the road and 8.7 runs in neutral-site games in that stretch, scoring 1,394 runs in that span overall, an average of 7.8 runs per contest.
