Duke Falls To No. 2 North Carolina 9-0 In Series Finale

Sunday, March 9

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

North Carolina

Duke Falls To No. 2 North Carolina 9-0 In Series Finale

3/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Mark Fleury drove in three runs and homered, while four Tar Heel pitchers combined for a nine-inning shutout to lead No. 2 North Carolina to a 9-0 win over Duke in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

With the win, North Carolina (10-2, 2-1 ACC) takes the series two games to one over Duke (12-2, 1-2) after rebounding from a 13-3 loss in the series opener on Saturday.

Fleury went 3-for-5 with his first home run of the season, while North Carolina leadoff batter Tim Fedroff turned in a 3-for-4 outing with his fourth long ball of the season. Tar Heel pitchers Rob Catapano, Colin Bates, Nate Striz and Ryan Leach scattered nine Blue Devils hits without allowing a run, while Bates (3-0) came away with the win after contributing three hitless innings in relief.

Matt Williams went 3-for-4 at the plate for Duke with a pair of doubles, while Jeremy Gould went 1-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Gould batted .727 (8-for-11) in the series with a home run and four RBI.

Freshman starter Grant Monroe (2-1) took the loss for Duke after surrendering four runs over four innings. The 14 hits allowed by the Duke pitching staff marks only the fifth time this season that a Blue Devil opponent has reached double-digits in hits. Seven of North Carolina's hits went for extra bases, including a pair of doubles from Seth Williams.

Duke had trouble handling Catapano's breaking ball early in the game, as the Tar Heel southpaw struck out four batters over the first two innings. Williams managed Duke's only hit in the first two frames after doubling to left center field.

Monroe was just as effective for the Blue Devils in the first two frames, giving up just one hit before the third inning. Monroe got into a bases-loaded jam in the third though, but induced a pair of ground balls to escape the inning with just one run allowed. After retiring the first batter in the third, Monroe gave up a base hit through the left side to Garrett Gore and loaded the bases with an ensuing walk and hit batter. With the bases juiced, one out and the heart of North Carolina's order coming to the plate, Monroe settled down and focused on the Tar Heels' No. 3 hitter Dustin Ackley at the plate. After forcing Ackley into a full count, the Tar Heel sophomore fouled off Monroe's next two pitches. Monroe stayed dialed in against the 2007 ACC Freshman of the Year, however, and forced him to hit a ground ball up the middle which shortstop Jake Lemmerman fielded and flipped to second for the force out. Gore scored on the play and left runners at the corners, but Monroe forced another groundout to Dennis O'Grady at third base to end the inning.

North Carolina pounded four more hits to add three runs in the top of the fourth to go ahead 4-0. Kyle Seager opened the inning with a single back up the middle and moved to second after Seth Williams was hit by a pitch. Fleury then drove in Seager with a double to left center, while Ben Bunting followed with another RBI-single through the left side. Monroe then forced a ground ball up the middle, which Lemmerman cut off and converted into a double play. Fleury scored from third on the play, however, just before Monroe was able to end the inning.

The Blue Devils had an opportunity to cut into the 4-0 deficit in the bottom of the fourth after putting together three straight singles, but could not capitalize on a bases-loaded, one-out situation. Senior Kyle Kreick, Gould and Lemmerman all singled with one out to load the bases, but Catapano diffused the situation after issuing a strikeout and forcing a ground ball back to the mound to end the inning.

Tar Heel cleanup hitter Tim Federowicz added to the four-run advantage with an RBI single in the fifth. Following a leadoff double by Ackley, Federowicz ripped a base hit to left-center to send in Ackley from second, running the North Carolina lead to 5-0.

After giving up a pair of back-to-back singles to Blue Devils Gabriel Saade and Williams to open the fifth inning, Catapano was pulled in favor of right hander Colin Bates. Bates inherited runners at the corners with no outs and got out of the jam with a lineout and a double play ground ball to keep the 5-0 Tar Heel lead intact.

While Bates continued to hold Duke's offense in check through the fifth and sixth, the Tar Heels blew the game open with a three-run seventh highlighted by a two-run homer by Fleury. Fleury's two-run bomb to opposite field drove in Williams, who added the first run of the inning with an RBI double down the left field line. All three runs were unearned, as a Duke opened the inning with a fielding error before Seander retired the next two batters consecutively.

Fedroff gave North Carolina another insurance run with a solo home run in the top of the eighth. The long ball came off of Blue Devil outfielder Alex Hassan, who moved to the mound at the start of the inning. The home run was Hassan's only mistake, as the sophomore right hander needed just seven pitches, all strikes, to get the three outs.

North Carolina followed suit and changed pitchers to start the eighth, sending right hander Nate Striz to the mound. Williams rocked Striz' 3-2 offering into left-center for his second double of the game, but Duke could move him no further than third base after a single from junior Nate Freiman. Duke had runners a t the corners with one out, but couldn't get the run in after Striz struck out John Bunder and forced Gould to ground out on a ball back to the mound.

The Tar Heels had the chance to run their lead to double figures in the top of the ninth, but a pair of clutch outs from Duke freshman right hander Ryan Knott led Duke out of a bases-loaded jam. Knott took the mound to start the ninth and after retiring the first batter, gave up a double to Seager and loaded the bases with a hit batter and a single to Fleury. With the bases loaded and one out, Knott settled down and struck out pinch hitter Zeke Blanton looking before forcing Ryan Graepel to ground out to O'Grady at third base to end the inning.

Ryan Leach took the mound for North Carolina in the bottom of the third and shut down any threat of a Duke comeback by retiring the side with a pair of strikeouts.

With the series win, North Carolina takes a 14-3 lead in the Carlyle Cup standings, an all-sports competition between Duke and Carolina sponsored by Carlyle & Co.

Next up for the Blue Devils is a pair of mid-week matchups with Quinnipiac on March 11 and Richmond on March 12. Both games will begin at 3 p.m. at Jack Coombs Field. Duke will then host ACC foe and 14th-ranked Virginia for a three-game series beginning at 3 p.m. on March 14.

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