North Carolina State University Athletics
Tar Heels Take Two From NC State
4/2/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Raleigh, N.C. - Shortstop Chad Prosser collected seven hits in eight at-bats to lead North Carolina (19-13, 2-7) past NC State (14-15, 5-7) in a doubleheader at Doak Field Monday afternoon. The Tar Heels took the first game 16-7 and the second game by a score of 8-7.
North Carolina came out quickly in the first game against Wolfpack starter Dan D'Amato (3-4), plating four runs on five hits. Designated hitter Jeremy Cleveland put the Tar Heels up 1-0 with a run-scoring single to center to plate shortstop Chad Prosser. Adam Greenberg then put two more home with a laser off the first base bag into right field, scoring Sean Farrell. Shortstop Chris Maples later ripped a two-run scoring single to center scoring Greenberg and Cleveland to cap off their half of the inning.
NC State would fire back with three in the bottom half, beginning on a sacrifice fly to center by Jamey Shearin, scoring left fielder Brian Wright. Matt Butler then cut the Tar Heel lead in half by lacing another single to center, which plated freshman catcher Colt Morton. The last Wolfpack run in the inning came on a single to center by freshman center fielder Joe Gaetti to score designated hitter Justin Riley.
UNC continued the offensive surge with an additional tally in their half of the second as Russ Adams scored when Morton's attempt to pick off Prosser at second bounded wildly into center field.
The Wolfpack sliced the advantage back to one off Tar Heel reliever Dennis Robinson when Colt Morton hit a high chopper to Maples. Maples wheeled and threw to Adams for the forceout on NC State third baseman Sean Walsh, scoring Morton from third.
The seesaw scoring continued when Ron Braun doubled to deep center field to score Greenberg. Braun would finish with a career-high four hits. Brandon Russell followed with yet another single to center to send Braun home. Russell would later score on Prosser's single to right. Another throwing error by Morton would account for the final Tar Heel run in the inning, when Adams trotted home on an overthrow of second base.
North Carolina put the game away in the top of the fourth with four more runs. Russell and Adams knocked in two more runs with a double and a single, respectively. Russell would score again for the Tar Heels on Daniel Caldewell's balk. Prosser, who also registered a career mark of five hits for the game, would then score Adams on a sacrifice fly to make the score 13-4 North Carolina.
NC State added three added three runs in the bottom of the ninth on a 2-RBI double by Shearin and a run-scoring single by Riley.
The Heels would tack on a couple more runs in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Cleveland and an RBI-triple by Greenberg and one in the eighth on an RBI-single by Farrell.
The 24 hits by the Tar Heels were a season-high, while the six errors for the Wolfpack also ties a season mark.
The second game started in much the same fashion as game one when North Carolina jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Cleveland hit a home run to left field bringing home lead-off hitter Russ Adams who had reached base on an error by the Wolfpack right fielder.
NC State answered back in the bottom of the third with a three-run bomb to left field by Morton, giving him a team high ten homeruns and 31 RBI on the season. Morton is now with one round-tripper of the single-season freshman record set by Pat Clougherty in 1991. Eric Mosley began the bottom of the third inning with a lead-off single. Jeremy Dutton then reached base on an error by the North Carolina third baseman Maples. Wright then laid down a sacrifice bunt sending Mosley and Dutton up one base, which was followed by Morton's homerun off Tar Heel starter Ralph Roberts (1-0), giving NC State the early 3-2 lead.
The Tar Heels broke out for five runs in the top of the seventh inning. Jason Howell lead-off with a double down the right field line and then moved to third on a Maples's single. After Ryan Blake popped up to the shortstop for the first out, NC State opted to bring in junior Mike Sollie who shut down the Tar Heel line-up on Friday night in the first game of the series to replace starter, sophomore Derek McKee (0-1). The first batter that Sollie faced however, right fielder Brandon Russell, drove a single to left scoring Howell. Prosser followed with another single scoring Maples from second and moving Russell to third. A double by Russ Adams scored Russell, and Adam Greenberg followed with a two-run scoring single to center field ending the five run inning for North Carolina. UNC plated a vital eighth run on an RBI-single by Greenberg, his fifth RBI of the day.
The Wolfpack came storming back in the bottom of the ninth with a furious four-run rally, keyed by a leadoff single from Gaetti. Gaetti would later score when Wright reached on third baseman Maples's error. Morton then singled down the left field line, bringing in Dutton who doubled earlier. Shearin followed with a single to center, bringing in Wright. David Hicks then singled to right field with two outs to plate Morton, cutting the Tar Heel lead to a precarious one. NC State would load the bases before Gaetti grounded sharply to Prosser who forced Walsh at second to end the Wolfpack rally.
