In a shocking turn of events at Boshamer Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Virginia Tech Hokies ended their 17-game losing streak by scoring three runs in the final two innings against the No. 13 Tar Heels.
Aided by a pair of crucial UNC fielding miscues, the Hokies were able to steal a 4-3 win –preventing what would have been an important weekend sweep.
After taking a 2-1 lead on Tyler Ramirez’s RBI single in the seventh inning, the Tar Heels appeared to be well on their way to another victory. Instead a dropped liner by shortstop Logan Warmoth with one out in the eighth allowed Virginia Tech to tie the game on a safety squeeze the very next at-bat.
Then with the bases loaded in the ninth, UNC second baseman Eli Sutherland misfired trying to turn an inning-ending double play—allowing the Hokies to score two more.
Needless to say, Tar Heel head coach Mike Fox wasn’t pleased.
Virginia Tech’s Andrew Mogg makes the catch that ended the game. (Joe Bray/ UNC Athletics)
“You gotta have that clock in your head to come off the bag,” Fox said, referencing the fact that Sutherland’s errant throw likely would not have gotten the second out even if it was on target. “Giving them one is fine, but giving them two obviously turned out to be the killer for us.”
UNC—which fell to 23-9 and 8-7 in ACC play—still had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth despite the late errors.
Ramirez hit a solo home run off reliever Cole Kragel with two outs to make it 4-3, before the Hokies made a dramatic error of their own. Third baseman Sam Fragale put his throw to first in the dirt after Warmoth hit a soft grounder—which then led to a walk by Brandon Riley and Kyle Datres getting hit by a pitch.
Sutherland came to the plate with the bases loaded and the winning run at second, but popped out to foul territory on a 3-2 count after taking three straight balls to begin the at-bat.
“They’re somewhat playing ‘not to lose’ because that’s kinda been the mindset that they’ve been in,” Fox said. “So we thought if it gets a little pressure on ‘em [we had a chance to win.]
“You gotta give [Kragel] credit, man,” Fox added. “He goes 3-0, then comes back and throws three strikes and at least makes us swing. That’s a pretty tough position to be in when your team’s lost that many.”
Ramirez, who led the Tar Heels offensively with his two RBI hits, was one of the few UNC players to have success against Virginia Tech lefty Packy Naughton—who used great command of his 92 mph fastball to limit the Tar Heels to just six hits during his seven innings on the mound.
UNC starter Jason Morgan, on the other hand, walked five batters and hit two more during a shaky stint that saw him pulled with one out in the fifth.
It was just an all-around sluggish performance from the Tar Heels, something Ramirez touched on afterwards.
Tyler Ramirez hit his seventh home run of 2016 in the bottom of the ninth, but UNC couldn’t close the rest of the gap. (Joe Bray/ UNC Athletics)
“It’s extremely frustrating, especially against a team we know we can beat,” Ramirez said. “But we knew they were gonna come out today and compete. They had their best arm throwing and he pitched well, they played well as a team.
“We just couldn’t get it done today.”
Although UNC badly wanted to win Sunday to make up for being swept last weekend, Fox hopes his team will dig deep and find motivation within themselves—or at least from the large crowd expected in their next game–as the schedule tightens up.
Next weekend UNC travels to Charlottesville to take on defending national champion Virginia, but first the Tar Heels will play South Carolina on Tuesday in downtown Charlotte at the new ballpark used by the Charlotte Knights.
“If they’ve got a hangover from [Sunday], then maybe 11,000 people will help them get over it,” Fox said, alluding to the expected attendance for Tuesday. “It’ll be a fun atmosphere. That’s the type of environment you’d like to play in against a very good team.”
Up Next:
First pitch time is set for 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday. The Gamecocks are 28-5 in 2016, which should present a much different challenge than the Hokies–who are now 11-22 (2-13 ACC) with their win over the Tar Heels on Sunday.
Game Notes:
- Virginia Tech is 3-30 in its last 33 games against UNC.
- UNC nearly had a run in the eighth inning when freshman Kyle Datres led off the frame with a double and moved to third on a bunt. However, Cody Roberts struck out and Zack Gahagan grounded out to end the threat.
- Brian Miller joined Ramirez as the only other Tar Heel to record at least two hits–also going 2-for-4. The two accounted for four of UNC’s seven hits in the game.
- AJ Bogucki, Spencer Trayner, and Brett Daniels combined to finish the game–with Daniels taking the loss, his first of the year (2-1).
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