Coastal Drops Bal In UNC Baseball Win

But what should've been an inning-ending popup by North Carolina's Ryan Blake turned disastrous for Gilmore's squad as Felty misplayed the ball in the swirling wind at Boshamer Stadium.

And it sent UNC to an 11-7 victory, its second too-close-for-comfort win in two nights.

"We battled back to tie it and thought we had squeezed out of the inning," Gilmore said. "It just broke our backs."

The two-base error allowed two runs to score, giving the Tar Heels an 8-6 edge and keeping the fourth inning alive.

Chad Prosser, who was 3-for-4, followed with a two-run single, and a 6-6 tie had quickly turned into a 10-6 UNC lead.

After a come-from-behind, 11-inning win against Liberty on Tuesday, the Tar Heels staked starter Scott Manshack to an early lead, but had to stave off several Coastal rallies.

Adam Greenberg hit two solo home runs, including a lead-off homer in the first inning, and scored three times to pace UNC's offense.

"Our biggest thing today was to jump out early," Greenberg said. "We wanted to make them play from behind."

UNC's early scoring chased Coastal starter Steven Carter after just two innings. Carter went into the game with a 1.99 ERA.

"When you pitch from behind, with a metal bat and the wind blowing out, you're in for a long night," Gilmore said.

The night was long for both pitching staffs. The teams combined to use 10 pitchers, neither starter lasted more than three innings, and the teams combined to hit five home runs.

But the game hinged on the dropped fly ball, and Prosser said simply putting the ball into play proved to be enough.

"We made them make a mistake," he said. "They gave us an opportunity, and we had to take advantage of it. We did."

Bakker Earns ACC Honors

UNC freshman pitcher Garry Bakker received ACC Player of the Week honors Tuesday after pitching a complete-game shutout against Virginia on Saturday. Bakker scattered five hits and struck out 13 in the Tar Heels' 5-0 win.

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.