Duke Upsets No. 2 North Carolina In Baseball Action

Saturday, March 8

Durham, N.C.

TBA

Duke University

North Carolina

Duke Upsets No. 2 North Carolina In Baseball Action

3/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Led by a 7-for-8, 4 RBI day by sophomore Jeremy Gould, the Duke baseball team split a Saturday doubleheader with No. 2 North Carolina at Jack Coombs Field, upsetting the nationally ranked Tar Heels 13-4 in the series opener before falling 9-3 in the nightcap.

Gould went 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Saturday's opener as the Blue Devils (12-1, 1-1 ACC) knocked out 14 hits on the way to their sixth double-figure scoring outburst of the season. Three of Gould's four RBI came with two outs on the board, as the sophomore left fielder is now batting .765 (13-for-17) with two outs and .722 (13-for-18) with runners in scoring position. Senior designated hitter Kyle Kreick also contributed four RBI in a 3-for-5 outing, while Ryan McCurdy and Nate Freiman each contributed three runs.

Andrew Wolcott (2-0) picked up the game one victory after holding North Carolina (9-2, 1-1 ACC) to three runs (one earned) on seven hits. The 6-6, 240 pound junior struck out four batters and walked two while throwing 106 pitches. He exited the game with a lead for the third time this season as many starts and now owns a 1.59 ERA, which is tops among Duke's starting pitchers. Junior Kyle Butler closed out the final three innings of game one to pick up his second save of the season.

North Carolina starter Adam Warren (2-0) killed Duke's momentum in game two, holding the Blue Devils to three runs and six hits over his seven innings of work. Warren struck out six without walking a batter before handing the ball to Rob Wooten, who held Duke hitless over the final two innings. Mark Fleury and Ben Bunting each drove in a pair of RBI for North Carolina, while Chad Flack went 3-for-5 with two runs and Dustin Ackley went 2-for-4 with a double. Duke freshman Jake Lemmerman hammered his first career home run in game two, while Gould stayed hot with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate.

Duke center fielder Alex Hassan saw his hitting streak extend to 12 games after drilling a pair of hits in game one, only to see the season-long streak come to an end after an 0-for-4 outing in game two. The 6-3, 200 pound Hassan still owns the team lead with 22 hits and 19 runs scored, while Gould jumped to the top spot with a .500 (21-for-42) average after his 7-for-8 outing.

Game 1: Wolcott Holds Heels In Check While Gould And Kreick Drive In Four

Jeremy Gould and Kyle Kreick both drove in four runs, while Andrew Wolcott held North Carolina's offense to three runs over six innings as the Blue Devils upset second-ranked North Carolina 13-4. Gould went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer, while Kreick added three hits, including a double.

Twelve of Duke's 13 runs came with two outs on the board. Meanwhile, North Carolina stranded nine runners on base, squeezing just four runs out of their 11 hits.

Duke struck first with a two-out rally that produced four runs in the bottom of the first. The runs came on consecutive hits, as Kreick drove in a pair with a double off the right field wall, while Gould followed with a two-run blast to opposite field for his second home run of the season. Kreick's two-bagger, which was within inches of clearing the fence, sent in Matt Williams and Nate Freiman after both Blue Devils reached base with singles.

Gould provided another two-out RBI in the bottom of the third to put Duke ahead 5-0. Gould's single through the left side sent in Hassan from third after the sophomore center fielder opened the inning with a double to left field. Kreick helped out in the inning as well after advancing Hassan to third on a groundout up the middle. The two-out RBI from Gould was his team-leading ninth of the season.

A Blue Devil throwing error on a swinging strikeout in the top of the fourth led to North Carolina's first run of the ballgame as the Tar Heels finally cut into Duke's 5-0 lead. With Kyle Seager on third after a leadoff double, Wolcott struck out Ben Bunting on a 1-2 breaking ball. The pitch bounced into the dirt, however, giving Bunting the green light to run to first. Williams had trouble locating the ball, and when he finally got ahold of it, his throw to first hit Bunting in the back and ricocheted into foul territory, allowing Seager to score from third.

The Blue Devils got the run back and added three more after batting around in the bottom half of the fourth to increase their lead to 9-1. All four runs came with two outs and were unearned, as a North Carolina fielding error kept the inning alive. Four straight hits from Alex Hassan, Nate Freiman, Kyle Kreick and Jeremy Gould immediately followed the error, including a two-run single from Kreick.

Duke returned the favor in the top of the fifth after committing a fielding error that led to North Carolina's second run of the ballgame. North Carolina leadoff man Tim Fedroff ripped a double to the left-center field warning track to start the inning and scored from second after shortstop Garrett Gore reached on a throwing error by Gabriel Saade at second base. Saade charged Gore's slow roller to the right of the mound, but bobbled the ground ball and misfired to first when he recovered. The errant throw sailed past Freiman and into foul territory to send Fedroff across the plate. Duke recovered on the next at-bat, however, when freshman shortstop Jake Lemmerman fielded Dustin Ackley's ground ball up the middle and converted it into a double play.

McCurdy led off with a hit and scored for the second straight inning for the Blue Devils in the bottom of the fifth to reclaim the run and put Duke on top 10-2. McCurdy led off the inning with a line drive back up the middle and advanced to third on the same play when North Carolina center fielder Seth Williams misplayed the ball and allowed it to roll to the warning track. Tar Heel pitcher Patrick Johnson, who entered in the middle of the fourth, nearly escaped the inning unharmed after retiring the next two batters, but allowed McCurdy to score when his 1-1 offering to Matt Williams slipped by catcher Tim Federowicz for a passed ball.

Kyle Seager opened the top of the sixth with a double that led to a run for North Carolina, but a pair of outstanding defensive plays from Jake Lemmerman and Jeremy Gould killed any notion of a Tar Heel rally. Following Seager's double, Bunting ripped a ground ball back up the middle that kicked off of Wolcott's glove. The ball deflected behind the mound, but Lemmerman was there to barehand and fire the ball to first all in one motion to pick up the second out of the inning. Seager moved to third on the play and crossed the plate on the next at bat when Williams singled to right field. Fleury then got under a pitch on the next at bat and sent it to shallow left field. While Gould was late charging in on the ball from left field, Williams rounded second and headed for third. Gould was too quick for Williams, however, and picked up the ball just in time to fire to McCurdy at third to tag out Williams.

North Carolina sent Mike Facchinei to the mound to start the sixth, but control problems plagued the Tar Heel right-hander, as he gave up a hit, hit two batters and walked another to send in two runs. Tyler Trice then took the mound with much of the same result, as he hit inherited a bases-loaded situation and hit the first batter he faced before ending the inning with a strikeout.

With a 13-3 lead in hand, Lemmerman showed his range and saved a run in the top of the seventh after making a diving play on a ground ball in the hole. With a runner on second and two outs, Federowicz ripped a ground ball between third base and shortstop. Lemmerman ranged to his right and laid out on the dirt to snag the ball before popping up and firing across the infield to first just in time to end the inning with the force out.

After taking over in the top of the seventh, Butler cruised through the end of the game to pick up his second save of the season. Through nine innings and four appearances this season, the former walk-on owns a 1.00 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .206 average.

Game 2: Warren and Wooten Shut Down Blue Devils

Adam Warren (2-0) scattered six hits and three runs, while Rob Wooten held Duke without a hit over the final two innings as North Carolina rebounded from a game one loss to top Duke 9-3. Mark Fleury and Ben Bunting each drove in a pair, while Chad Flack scored twice in a 3-for-5 outing.

Jeremy Gould went 3-for-4 for Duke, while freshman shortstop Jake Lemmerman banged his first career home run.

North Carolina took the first lead of game two on an RBI double from Tim Federowicz. The two-bagger drove in UNC leadoff man Tim Fedroff after the Tar Heel outfielder led off the inning with a single.

Lemmerman erased the 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the second with his first career home run, a three-run bomb that stayed just inside the foul pole down the left field line. Lemmerman's blast drove in Kreick and Gould, who each reached with base hits, including a double from Kreick.

After a scoreless third, North Carolina regained the lead on a two-run home run by Bunting. Bunting's drive to opposite field came with two outs and capped a three-run fourth that was started a leadoff double from Flack. After moving to third on a passed ball, Flack scored on a fielder's choice ground ball from Fleury just before Bunting sent his two-run blast over the right field fence.

North Carolina added another run in the fifth to go ahead 5-3. Ackley drew a walk to start the inning and stole second before advancing to third on a hard-hit ground ball through the left side by Federowicz. Duke then brought in reliever Michael Ness to get out of the first-and-third situation, but Flack knocked his second offering up the middle to send in Ackley. Federowicz advanced to third on the single to keep runners at the corners, but Ness rolled a double play ground ball to Saade at second base to get out of the inning with a manageable 5-3 deficit.

Duke had a prime opportunity to tie the score with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, but a crucial strikeout from Warren ended the threat. Duke loaded the bases with two outs after Williams was hit by a pitch, Hassan reached on a fielding error and Gould beat out a ground ball to third base. Lemmerman then approached the plate and forced Warren into a 2-2 count, but couldn't connect on a fastball and tipped it into the catcher's mitt to end the inning.

A three-run eighth allowed North Carolina to pull away with an 8-3 lead, while Wooten took the mound in the bottom half of the inning and proceeded to retire six straight to end the game. North Carolina added another run in the ninth for good measure, as the Tar Heels knotted the series 1-1 heading into Sunday's finale.

Duke and North Carolina will conclude their three-game series with a 1 p.m. meeting on Sunday, March 8 at Jack Coombs Field. Freshman Grant Monroe (2-0, 1.80 ERA) will take the ball for Duke, while North Carolina will send southpaw Rob Catapano (0-0, 5.19 ERA) to the mound. Following the North Carolina series, the Blue Devils will host Quinnipiac and Richmond for a pair of non-conference mid-series matchups on March 11-12 before continuing ACC play against Virginia on March 14-16.

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