Heels Pound LSU 8-4 to Win First College World Series Game
Posted on June 16, 2008The Tar Heels rapped out 17 hits and scored in four of the first five innings to defeat Louisiana State University 8-4 in their first game of the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
The Heels advance in the winner’s bracket to play Fresno State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (EDT) while LSU plays Rice earlier in the day in an elimination game.
“It’s always good to get the first win here,” UNC coach Mike Fox ’78 said. “Any win here is a good win, but the first win is important. I think the game was typical of our team – a team effort.”
UNC starting pitcher Alex White overcame a pair of solo homers in the first two innings by striking out six and giving up only two more hits (both singles) over seven innings.
White gave up a solo home run to the LSU lead-off batter Michael Hollander. But it was a three-run bottom of the first that set the tone for the Heels.
UNC’s Dustin Ackley beat out an infield hit, and then Kyle Shelton followed it with a single to right. A Tim Fedroff bunt could not be played by LSU first baseman Matt Clark, and the bases were loaded.
Tim Federowicz walked to score Ackley and tie the game at 1-1. Kyle Seager drove in Shelton with a single to right to put the Heels up 2-1. Chad Flack lofted a sacrifice fly that plated Fedroff with the Heels’ third run.
“Scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning was the most important thing for us,” said White when he was asked about his own pitching performance.
In the second inning, White gave up his second hit of the game – another solo home run – this one by LSU’s Clark, which drew the Tigers within a run at 3-2. But White settled down and held the powerful Tigers scoreless for the next five innings.
Meanwhile the Heels tacked on two more runs in the third inning as Garrett Gore drove in a run with a fielder’s choice and Seth Williams singled in another. In the fourth, Ryan Graepel scored on a wild pitch by newly inserted LSU pitcher Paul Bertuccini to give the Tar Heels a 6-2 cushion.
The Heels increased the lead to 7-2 in the fifth when, with two outs, Williams singled in Seager, who led off the inning with a double.
Williams drove in Seager again in the seventh when he hit a pop fly double to left that was lost in the evening sky by LSU’s Jared Mitchell.
With the Heels in control 8-2 going into the final two innings, things came a bit unraveled. UNC left-handed relief pitcher Brian Moran, in for White with one on and nobody out, gave up a pair of singles and then walked Micah Gibbs with the bases loaded to make it 8-3.
After Moran struck out Clark for the first out, UNC senior Rob Wooten came on to pitch.
A routine grounder to third baseman Chad Flack turned into anything but routine as he seemed distracted by the runner going to third and threw late to first, allowing the batter to reach first and another run to score.
With still just one out, shortstop Graepel fielded a Leon Landry chopper, stepped on second base and threw to first for a rally-ending double play, though LSU coach Paul Mainieri strongly objected to the call.
Fox said it was important not to give up the big inning. In their Super Regional final game, the Tigers scored 21 runs, including six in one inning and seven in another. “We knew they would have an inning where they got people on and we’d have to make a big pitch or make a big play,” Fox said. “We were able to do that.”
In the ninth, Wooten got two quick outs before giving up a double to Hollander and then a walk. The mini-drama ended when Ackley hauled in a ground ball and stepped on first for the final out.
Mainieri said it was a frustrating game, especially after getting a home run to start things off. “It was a series of tough breaks for us, and we got in a hole,” Mainieri said. “They [UNC] earned what they got, to a certain degree, but we made some mistakes as well. They swung the bats well, but we helped them out with some mediocre defense.”
Williams had three hits and three RBI to pace the Heels’ hitters. “Being here three years in a row, I think I was more relaxed out there,” Williams said, referring to the Heels third straight appearance at the College World Series. “With our offense, we’re not going to get beat by one run.”
Fedroff, Graepel and Seager also collected three hits each as the Heels move to 52-12. LSU, which had won 25 of its last 26 games, fell to 48-18-1.
The double play that got Carolina out of a jam in the eighth inning was controversial, as replays seem to show that the runner was safe at first. Critics might say that there should have been two outs and the score should have been 8-5 with men still on base. What they overlook, however, is that replays also seem to show that Flack might have thrown out the runner on the previous play, meaning that the inning would have been over before the controversial third out.
The Tar Heels singled 10 times off LSU starter Ryan Verdugo (9-4), who went only three and two-thirds innings. The 17 total hits (including 15 singles) were the most hits a Carolina team has had in a College World Series game. “We singled them to death,” Fox said.
UNC is the only team left that has not lost an NCAA tournament game, going 6-0 so far. The Tar Heels have outscored the opposition by a 59-24 margin in those six games.
– Clifton Barnes ’82
Related coverage is available online:
- View a photo gallery from the Super Regional. All photos by Clifton Barnes ’82
- Complete bracket including all eight teams participating
- Mike Fox: Feet on the Ground, an Eye for the Loose Ball
Profile of Coach Mike Fox ’78 from the March/April 2008 issue of the Carolina Alumni Review, available online to Carolina Alumni members. - Heels Win Their Most Ever, But the Trophy Goes West Again
Coverage of Carolina’s 2007 run in the College World Series - Fever Pitch at the Bosh:Heels Go to Omaha
Coverage of Carolina’s 2006 excitement in going to the College World Series - Visit tarheelblue.com for additional details.
