UNC strands men on base

Before Sunday’s game against Georgia Tech, North Carolina center fielder Mike Cavasinni and the rest of the seniors met with the underclassmen on the team to make sure everyone was on the same page.

UNC had trouble in the first two games of the Georgia Tech series getting runs on the board. In Sunday’s 11-8 loss, the Tar Heels found the formula — smart base running — but only for the first four innings.

Plagued mightily by leaving runners in scoring position on Friday and Saturday, UNC righted the ship by scoring six runs in the first four innings before giving way to the No. 3 Yellow Jackets.

UNC went up 3-0 in the bottom of the second needing nothing more than singles. The Tar Heels loaded the bases twice and Cavasinni’s RBI fielder’s choice and Ben Bunting’s two-RBI single through the right side of the infield gave UNC the edge.

In the fourth, the Tar Heels cushioned the lead. After drawing a walk, Brian Goodwin was running on Jed Bradley’s pitch to Cavasinni, who hit the right center field gap and scored Goodwin on the double.

UNC’s coaching staff put on the hit and run in the very next at-bat. Jacob Stallings hit a sharp ball past GT third baseman Matt Skole while Cavasinni was running from second. The senior had to shorten his stride in order to dodge the ball and would cross the plate without a throw.

“I actually got the green light to steal, and Jake got a good pitch to hit,” Cavasinni said. “I really didn’t look up and see the ball until it was five feet away from me, which was a great thing because I saw the third baseman was covering third, and so great placement by Jake.”

After a Bunting single to center, the Tar Heels pulled a double steal to put two runners in scoring position. An error by shortstop Derek Dietrich allowed Stallings to score to bloat the score to 6-0.

Georgia Tech’s five-run ninth to tie the game left UNC in a must-score situation in the bottom of the final frame. But with Chaz Frank on second and two outs, designated hitter Seth Baldwin grounded out to third base — giving the Tar Heels eight LOBs for the game.

North Carolina entered the weekend averaging 9.45 batters left of base. Twice this season the Tar Heels have left 15 men on bags. Friday and Saturday combined, UNC left 21 runners on base.

In the 2-1 Friday loss, seven Tar Heels were stranded on base while in scoring position.

UNC loaded the bases with only one out in the bottom of the ninth, but Goodwin’s game-ending double play put the brakes on the Tar Heel rally.

Base running was the least of UNC’s worries in Saturday’s 13-5 spanking. Nevertheless, UNC still left six runners in scoring position on base at the end of nine innings.

“When there are runners on base, you can’t be taking first pitch fastballs,” Cavasinni said. “It seems like sometimes we miss a pitch or were not swinging. You never know, if you swing at that pitch, you could put it in the gap and we score two runs.”


Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.