Ingold Makes Most of 2nd Chance

The Wake Forest freshman shortstop came to bat with runners on first and second with two outs in the eighth inning of Sunday's game at Hooks Stadium, and he wasn't about to let North Carolina reliever Carter Harrell end the frame with a punch out.

Not in his first at-bat against Harrell, a friend with and against whom Ingold had played since he was 12.

Especially not after Harrell's 1-2 pitch, a fastball near the outside corner that umpire Steve Manders called a ball.

"He just kept throwing me fastball, fastball, fastball, fastball," Ingold said. "By the end, I had timed it up all right where I knew if it was a fastball, I'd be able to get my bat on it."

It turns out Ingold needed only one extra chance. He laced Harrell's next pitch, also a fastball, into right field to give the Demon Deacons a 7-6 lead and, eventually, a win.

But Ingold, who is from Durham, acknowledged after the game that Harrell should have been out of the inning before his game-winning single.

"(Ingold) came up to me after the game and said, 'I couldn't let you strike me out twice in one inning,'" said Harrell, who is from Rocky Mount.

Although Manders' call wasn't the game's deciding factor, it didn't help the No. 21 Tar Heels (22-11, 9-3 in the ACC), which lost two of three to the

No. 5 Deacons (25-6, 8-3) during the weekend series.

Said Harrell, "I'm not faulting the umpire for it. ... But we just got the bad end of the deal."

Bush on Fire

Wake senior Dave Bush continued to show why he is considered the nation's top closer this weekend, finishing out both of the Deacons' wins.

Friday, Bush pitched 1 2/3 innings of hitless, shutout ball to preserve an 8-2 Wake win. But Bush was most impressive in the top of the ninth of Sunday's game.

Despite allowing a leadoff double to Russ Adams, Bush stranded the UNC All-American at third and earned his eighth save by striking out Ryan Blake on a 3-2 fastball.

"I'm going to stay with my strengths," said Bush, who throws an overpowering heater. "I'm not going to pitch away from what I'm good at just to get a batter out."

Bush was selected in the fourth round of last year's amateur draft by Tampa Bay but returned to Wake Forest after failing to come to terms with the Devil Rays.

While the rest of the ACC wishes Bush turned pro, his teammates are thrilled to have him on the hill in close games.

"He's the most important part of our game," Ingold said. "When he goes on the mound, we know our chances of winning are awesome."

Hit the Deck

After a while Sunday, it seemed as though the Deacons' pitching staff thought UNC's batters were part of the strike zone.

The Deacons' staff hit five Tar Heels with pitches, including catcher Chris Iannetta, who took two for the team.

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.