A Herculean offensive effort from right-fielder Tyler Ramirez, who homered and drove in five runs altogether, carried the UNC baseball team to an 8-7 come from behind road victory over the Clemson Tigers on Sunday afternoon.
Avoiding the sweep, Carolina sees its record rise to 18-13 with a 7-8 mark in the ACC, while the Tigers fall to 16-15 and sport an identical 7-8 record in league play.
The last thing the Tar Heels needed on Sunday after dropping the first two games of the series was to find themselves in a hole after the first couple innings.
Benton Moss picked up the win, despite not having his best stuff. (UNC Athletics)
Of course, that’s exactly where they would end up, when Clemson catcher Chris Okey belted a three-run homer in the bottom of the first on a hanging slider from UNC senior starting pitcher Benton Moss (5-0), following a pair of walks.
Moss, who came into the game 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA, surrendered an RBI double in the next inning to Tigers’ center-fielder Tyler Slaton, which put Clemson ahead by four.
Carrying a “never say die” attitude, the Tar Heel offense decided to come to work in the top of the third, beginning the frame with three straight singles to load the bases for Skye Bolt. Bolt grounded into a fielder’s choice driving in just one run, but Carolina scraped across two more thanks to a wild pitch from Clemson’s Brody Koerner (3-4), and Tyler Ramirez’s first RBI hit of the day, to bring themselves back to within one.
It didn’t take long for them to tie the game either, as Korey Dunbar grounded out in the fourth, allowing first baseman Joe Dudek to cross the plate safely.
Joe Dudek scored on Korey Dunbar’s groundout in the fourth. (UNC Athletics)
With Moss settling down to pitch four consecutive scoreless innings, after looking shaky at the start, UNC showed that they might be in business.
Making sure that everyone knew that fact was Ramirez, the sophomore right-fielder out of Suffolk, Virginia. Already with one RBI in the game, Ramirez singled in the fifth inning to score Bolt for the second time, with this one handing the Tar Heels the lead.
Then in the seventh inning, with the score still separated by just one run and two men on base, Ramirez sent a 2-2 pitch from Clemson reliever Aaron Schnell over the wall for a three-run homer, and just like that Carolina was the team ahead by four.
In the least shocking development of the afternoon, the UNC bullpen found a way to make things interesting.
After pitching coach Scott Forbes pulled Benton Moss in the seventh inning, freshman reliever Jason Morgan inherited runners on second and third, and saw shortstop Eli White step in to the box. What followed was a two-run double, which cut the lead in half, before Morgan could retire the next three batters to get out of the jam.
More of the same continued into the eighth when Morgan allowed a lead-off single to Reed Rohlman. Out of the pen came senior Trevor Kelley for his NCAA leading 22nd relief appearance, even after throwing over 50 pitches in Saturday’s loss.
Holding on for the save was Trent Thornton, after another shaky outing by the Carolina bullpen. (UNC Athletics)
Fatigue showed itself clearly, as Kelley would walk the only two batters he faced. Next up was freshman lefty Nick Raquet, who allowed a run by immediately throwing a wild pitch, forcing the coaches to give Trent Thornton another shot to seal the deal, coming on with the bases loaded and no outs, after taking the loss last night.
Miraculously, Thornton escaped with the lead intact, striking out the first man he saw, and then inducing an inning-ending double play to bring the game to the ninth.
He would then go on to pitch a scoreless final inning, picking up his team-leading fifth save for his efforts.
Up Next:
UNC will begin a seven-game home-stand at Boshamer Stadium on Tuesday, as they welcome Coastal Carolina to Chapel Hill. That game is scheduled to begin at 6 P.M., and is a rematch of March 10, when the Tar Heels traveled to Coastal and came out with a 13-2 loss at the hands of the Chanticleers.
Game Notes:
- Final statistics for Moss had the senior working six innings, and tying a career high with six earned runs, while giving up eight hits and striking out just three. His ERA went up to 3.21, but he was still credited with the win.
- Ramirez moves into the UNC lead for RBI (25), and ties Skye Bolt for the team lead in home runs (four).
- Capitalizing on opportunities, the Tar Heels hit 4-10 with runners in scoring position (.400).
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