March 12, 2006
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - North Carolina All-American Andrew Miller tossed 8.0 innings and did not allow an earned run to lead the No. 4 Tar Heels past No. 24 Wake Forest, 5-1, in the rubber game of the ACC series at Hooks Stadium Sunday afternoon. With the loss, the Demon Deacons drop to 13-5 overall and 1-2 in the ACC, while North Carolina improves to 13-2 and 2-1. Miller (4-0) struggled with his command early and the Deacons took advantage. The southpaw, who's fastball was consistently between 94 and 98 miles per hour, hit a batter and walked three over the first two innings. After junior Brian Shust reached on an error with one out in the first, he raced to third base on Miller's failed pickoff attempt. Senior Casey Sterk drove in Shust with a two-out infield single tying the score, 1-1. Miller settled down and allowed just one runner to reach second base after the second inning. The junior retired 19 of the next 21 Demon Deacons before leaving the game after eight innings. Miller struck out three, well below his 13.5 strikeout per nine inning average, but induced 12 ground ball outs and allowed just three hits -- only two of which left the infield. Wake Forest starting pitcher Charlie Mellies matched Miller pitch-for-pitch until running into trouble in the sixth inning. The Tar Heels broke open a 1-1 tie with three runs. After Jay Cox led off the inning with a single, Josh Horton snuck a one-out RBI triple just inside the left field line scoring Cox. Matt Spencer then blooped a double into shallow center field just out of the reach of charging Demon Deacon center fielder Eric Williams giving the Tar Heels a 3-1 lead. Mellies got Seth Williams to fly out for the second out of the inning, but Tim Federowicz doubled to right center -- this time off the glove of a lunging Shust -- pushing the lead to 4-1. After another single just off the glove of junior All-American Matt Antonelli, Mellies was relieved for senior Kyle Young. Wake Forest got out of the inning after Federowicz was picked off at third base by catcher Austin Jones. Jones picked off a pair of Tar Heels on the day.
Young would allow a two-out solo home run off the bat of Cox in the seventh inning giving North Carolina a 5-1 lead. The four-run cushion was more than enough for Miller and Tar Heels closer Andrew Carignan. Carignan came on in the ninth inning and worked around a one-out walk to seal the victory. Mellies (3-1) went 5.2 innings and allowed three earned runs on nine hits in a losing effort. He fanned a pair and walked a pair. Young tossed 1.0 inning and allowed one earned run, while Demon Deacon closer Ben Hunter tossed 2.1 scoreless innings. Hunter has still not allowed an earned run this season in 15.2 innings of work. The sophomore yielded one hit, struck out four and did not issue a walk. Wake Forest opponents are batting just .154 against Hunter this season. Cox, Chad Flack, Horton and Federowicz each had two hits and RBIs for North Carolina. The Demon Deacons, who had just two hits in Saturday's 3-0 loss, managed just three more on Sunday. Freshman Dustin Hood, sophomore Andy Goff and Sterk were the only Wake Forest players to register a hit. The Demon Deacons return to action Tuesday afternoon with a non-conference game against Quinnipiac. Sophomore Andrew Knox will take the hill for Wake Forest. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. -- WakeForestSports.com -- |
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