North Carolina baseball skewers Virginia

With only six outs left in the No. 3 North Carolina baseball team’s second game against No. 7 Virginia Friday night, the immediate future looked bleak for the Tar Heels.

After suffering the worst loss of the season at the hands of the Cavaliers the previous night, UNC once again faced a deficit entering the bottom of the eighth inning.

But unlike Thursday night’s 10-4 drubbing, the Tar Heels put together a six-run inning to capture an 8-5 win against the Cavaliers and claim their first ACC regular season championship since 1990.

“We’ve been waiting for an inning like that,” coach Mike Fox said.

Entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Tar Heels needed three runs to tie the game, and Fox was the first to admit that the difference between a two and three point deficit was important.

“In a two run (game) you’ve just got to get one guy on,” Fox said. “Then somebody can pop one out.”

Facing UVa. closer Kyle Crockett made the task of erasing the deficit even more difficult. North Carolina wasn’t unfamiliar with Crockett — in two innings of work on Thursday, Crockett gave up just one hit and struck out four Tar Heels.

“Being able to face Crockett last night we knew how good he was,” said second baseman Mike Zolk after a two-for-four performance at the plate, including four RBIs. “He’s one of the best pitchers I’ve ever faced.”

But Crockett’s performance Friday was no where close to what it was Thursday. After relieving junior Austin Young with one out left the seventh inning , Crockett fell victim to UNC’s six-run rally in the eighth.

Rallies like this one aren’t all that uncommon for the Tar Heels, Zolk said. But a rally of that magnitude against a top-10 team isn’t an easy task.

“I’m not going to say I expected to (rally back),” Zolk said. “But I definitely hoped so.”

Shortstop Michael Russell, who went 4-4 with an RBI of his own, said that he always expects that sort of performance from both himself and his team, but it doesn’t necessarily always work out that way.

The rally gave the Tar Heels a three-run lead heading into the top of the ninth inning, but UNC needed to put someone on the mound to close the game.

Fox appointed that duty to freshman Trent Thornton. And three strikeouts later, Thornton ended the game.

In last week’s series against Georgia Tech, Thornton was in a similar situation with a three-run lead, but he lost the save. This weekend, however, he wasn’t going to let that happen.

“I don’t think he was thinking about the Georgia Tech game,” Russell said. “ He just came in and did what he’s been doing all year which is dominating.”

By ending the game with a strong statement, Zolk said he thinks that ending the game with a strong statement will help build momentum to boost North Carolina out of its recent rough stretch.

“That eighth inning opened up everything for us,” Zolk said. “I think we’re going to get back on track.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com