UNC batters remained selective against five erratic Tiger pitchers in a 15-2 win at Boshamer Stadium.
The Tigers (2-7) struck first, scoring runs against Tar Heel pitcher Scott Manshack in each of the first two innings. But North Carolina (11-8) wouldn't take long to find its timing against Princeton lefthander Nathan Miller, who threw a steady diet of changeups and curveballs.
"They had a guy who was a 'thumber,' which means he throws off-speed stuff a lot," said UNC first baseman Chris Maples, who hit RBI doubles in the third and fourth innings. "It was real important to wait for your pitch, wait for something over the plate."
North Carolina catcher Chris Iannetta found a pitch to his liking with a runner on second base in the second inning, and he drove it over the left-field wall to give the Tar Heels a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish.
"I thought Chris Iannetta's two-run homer was big for us early, because you kind of get lulled to sleep a little with that lefty throwing so slow," said UNC coach Mike Fox. "That got us a 3-2 lead and we kind of went off from there."
The runs kept coming for the Tar Heels, which scored at least one run in each of the first seven innings. But the Tigers trailed just 5-2 before the UNC fourth.
Second baseman Chad Prosser led off the inning with a double down the left-field line, and Adam Greenberg advanced him to third with a bunt single. Eventually, Sean Farrell plated Prosser and Greenberg with a single to right field. The Tar Heels scored four runs in the inning to break the game open.
The rout continued with a fifth-inning solo homer by Mell Adams followed by a bizarre four-run, sixth-inning rally that included no hits or errors, but six walks and a hit batsman.
"It was kind of hard, we were still looking for our pitches to hit," Iannetta said. "We helped ourselves by not swinging at some close pitches, but other than that it's basically Princeton giving us four runs."
