That's why Adam Greenberg's daring steal of third with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning was surprising. It was also crucial to North Carolina's 6-3 win against UNC-Wilmington at Boshamer Stadium on Wednesday.
The first four innings were scoreless. The Tar Heels' Carter Harrell didn't even allow a hit, using mostly fastballs to tame the Seahawks' bats.
"Those first four innings, I felt good. I was hitting my spots." Harrell said. "But then it slipped away a little bit."
In the top of the fifth, Harrell walked three and gave up two hits and two runs. UNC-W (8-2) had just scored its second run when Harrell was relieved by Scott Manshack with two outs in the inning.
"He was sailing along. But once he got the runner on base, he had to pitch from the set," said UNC coach Mike Fox. "He lost his rhythm."
Down 2-0, UNC (4-3) scored four runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to an RBI single by Ryan Blake, a Greenberg double that drove in two and some daring base-running by the junior center fielder.
After his double, Greenberg stole third and advanced home on an errant throw by UNC-W catcher Eric Mitchell.
"I'm confident on the bases." Greenberg said. "I just tried to catch them off guard."
Said Fox, "It's one of those plays where if it works, it looks great, and if it doesn't, people say, 'What the hell were you thinking?'"
