CHAPEL HILL, NC – The Eagles jumped out early in front the 4th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, but could not hold on as they were defeated 20-4 on Wednesday evening at Boshamer Stadium.
Winthrop is now 24-12 on the season, while the Tar Heels improve to 28-10 overall.
“Other than the first inning, we did not do anything offensively,” said head coach Joe Hudak. “We just did not pitch very well. We did not play particularly good defense and obviously after the first inning, the middle seven innings, we did nothing.”
The Eagles took a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on back-to-back home runs by Eddie Rohan and Eddie Tisdale. The homer by Rohan was a two-run shot, while Tisdale hit a solo home run. Cam Walters scored on the blast by Rohan after leading off the game with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error.
North Carolina responded with one run in its half of the first on an RBI double to left center field by Kyle Seager scoring Garrett Gore. Gore reached on a single to left field.
The Tar Heels went ahead 5-3 in the second highlighted by a three-run triple to right center field by Ben Bunting. Jacob Stallings, Mike Cavasinni and Ryan Graepel scored on the triple. Graepel and Cavasinni both reached on base hits, and Stallings walked. Gore followed with an RBI sacrifice fly that drove in Bunting.
North Carolina added one run each in the third and fourth innings to increase its lead to 7-3. Mark Fleury brought home Levi Michael on an RBI double to right field in the third, while Bunting scored in the fourth on a Dustin Ackley RBI sacrifice fly.
The Tar Heels then scored six runs in the sixth to make it a 13-3 game over Winthrop. Bunting scored the first run of the inning after Seager reached on an error. Bunting started the inning with a single. Seager later scored on a RBI groundout by Cavasinni. Michael followed the next at-bat getting hit by a pitch and scoring Gore after he also singled. Ackley, who reached on an infield single, came home after a bases loaded walk by Graepel. Michael scored the final run of the inning after Logan Munson drove home two runs with his single.
Winthrop fell behind 18-3 the next inning as North Carolina would drive in five more runs. Three of those runs came on a home run to right field by Brett Thomas. Fleury and Graepel scored on the homer after Fleury on an RBI fielder’s choice and Graepel walked. Seager came home on the fielder’s choice after he also reached on a fielder’s choice. Michael drove in the other run in the seventh inning after reaching on an error and scoring Gore, who led off the inning with a single.
North Carolina would make it a 20-3 game after scoring two runs in the eighth inning. Ackley drove in Ryan Norton on a RBI groundout to second base. Norton entered the game to pinch-hit for Bunting and began the inning with a single and went to third on a double by Matt Harrison. Harrison then scored on a RBI single to right field by Mike McKee.
The Eagles scored one run in the top of the ninth on a RBI groundout by Tony Brunetti that scored Bryn Henderson. Henderson doubled to center field in his at-bat and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Henderson led Winthrop with two hits on the evening, while Graepel, Bunting and Gore had three hits apiece for the Tar Heels.
The Eagles will be back in action on Friday, Apr. 17 as they travel to Lynchburg, VA to take on Liberty in the first game of a three-game Big South Conference series at 7 p.m.
