9 P.M. WEDNESDAY -- The No. 1 North Carolina baseball team needed four runs in the seventh inning plus one in the eight Tuesday to seal a high-scoring 9-8 win against Appalachian State that saw the teams combine for six runs in the first inning.
But pitcher Bryant Gaines set the tone for a very different game Wednesday by striking out the side in the first inning at Boshamer Stadium.
That inning was important for the sophomore and his team" and the Tar Heels never trailed in a 12-3 win that sealed the series sweep against the Mountaineers.
""For me" personally the first inning's always the toughest" Gaines said. When it went quick I knew I had to build on that momentum.""
And that he did"" as the right-hander went on to strike out a career-high nine batters while giving up just three hits and one run in six-plus innings. The Mountaineers did not even get on base until the fifth inning.
Gaines improved to 2-0 on the season and earned the praise of his head coach.
""He attacked the strike zone early" got them into some defensive counts" UNC coach Mike Fox said. We needed six strong innings out of him today as much as we threw our bullpen yesterday.
""It was just what the doctor ordered.""
But Gaines had plenty of help in the victory.
""We played great defense" and we hit the ball very well" he said. When we do that it makes my job a whole lot easier.""
UNC ended the game with a season-best 20 hits. The first came on a triple by leadoff hitter Ben Bunting. All-America Dustin Ackley followed that with the first of two home runs.
Bunting and Ackley each had four hits as Ackley continued to hit well after ending a 2-of-22 slump with a home run in his final at-bat Tuesday.
""It felt really good" he said. Anytime you get a hit it feels good but especially after you're struggling like I was" it definitely feels good to help the team out and get a couple of hits.""
But the Tar Heels were unable to build on that 2-0 lead until center fielder Mike Cavasinni singled in Garret Gore with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh. UNC scored seven runs that inning to push its lead to 9-0.
Then the Mountaineers responded by loading the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh. But the Tar Heels were able to escape the inning allowing just one run thanks in large part to sophomore Nate Striz" who forced a pop fly and a ground out to end the inning after replacing Logan Munson.
Fox said that defensive play was just as important as the seven runs his team scored the inning before. He said the Tar Heels' defense in fact will be key to continuing its success thus far this season.
In that case the team will be just fine as long as it continues to get help from pitchers such as Gaines as it did Wednesday.
