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The Daily Tar Heel

Tar Heels take dramatic victory with grand slam

Michael Morin pitched for a career-high five shutout innings.   DTH/Will Cooper
Michael Morin pitched for a career-high five shutout innings. DTH/Will Cooper

North Carolina had fought through 10 runners left on base, a late-inning blown lead and even an ejection of coach Mike Fox.

Before the 10th inning, senior shortstop Ryan Graepel had fought through an 0-for-1 day, three walks and a baserunning mishap that left both Graepel and Fox sprawled on the ground.

But with the stage set in the bottom of the 10th against High Point — bases loaded, no outs and a full count — Graepel ended the night in dramatic fashion: hitting his first-ever grand slam. The blast gave the Tar Heels a highly contested 6-2 walkoff win and a cap on a night filled with missed opportunities.

“We’ve could’ve been out of here 30 minutes earlier,” Graepel said about the failed chances.

They sure could have.

In the fifth, UNC found itself with runners on second and third and no outs. Three flyouts followed.

By the sixth, outfielder Brian Goodwin had reached third with some nifty baserunning. Yet again a Tar Heel was left stranded.

And if that wasn’t enough, the bottom of the eighth saw North Carolina with three UNC players all on base. Freshman Tommy Coyle stepped up to pinch hit. Coyle sat down moments later with a flyout to center.

If not for these numerous misses on driving in players, UNC (26-17) would have captured the win in fairly memorable fashion — at least for catcher Jacob Stallings — earlier with his first career homer.

“Now I know what it feels like to run around the bases a little bit,” Stallings said.

Yet Stallings’ homer, or more importantly, Graepel’s dramatic dinger, wouldn’t have been necessary if earlier events had unfolded in a pro-North Carolina manner.

During the fifth inning, Graepel rounded third and smacked into Fox, knocking each to the ground.

“That might be a sign. That might be an omen right there, to get back in the dugout,” Fox joked.

In the eighth, starter-turned-reliever Colin Bates threw errantly to first base on a High Point (22-22) sacrifice bunt, which enabled the Panthers to tie the game at two.

Left fielder Ben Bunting and Coyle both left three runners on base. And to start the game, pitcher Garrett Davis lasted only one and two-thirds innings, giving up one run before Fox yanked him.

But in came Michael Morin, who delivered a workman-like and career-high five innings of no-run ball.

“The story was our pitching today,” Fox said. “They got a good hitting team, and we didn’t give up any earned runs after (Davis). They’re growing up.”

So too has Graepel. As Fox cited afterward, only a veteran would have taken a 3-1 pitch with the bases loaded. And it paid off, as Graepel slammed the winner, and Fox — having been ejected for arguing balls and strikes — was not coaching at third base.

“(Fox) wasn’t in the way that second time around the bases,” Graepel said with a laugh after the game.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.

 

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