Runners on base prove key for UNC baseball in Miami series

In only his eighth start of the season, North Carolina first baseman Joe Dudek assumed his position in the batter’s box with two men on and two outs during the third inning of Sunday's game against Miami.

The patient, left-handed sophomore — who had drawn a four-pitch walk earlier in the game — watched two balls hit the zone, one strike away from stranding two of his teammates on the basepaths.

And with the No. 22 Tar Heels (16-11, 6-6 ACC) — who won 10-3 on Sunday after dropping two 4-3 contests on Friday and Saturday — clinging to a two-run lead, Dudek knew he couldn’t waste his opportunity. 

The day before, sophomore Tyler Ramirez found himself in a similar position, with the bases loaded and only one out in the first inning.

And after watching two pitches called for strikes, the left-handed rightfielder knew he had a decision to make.

So he swung — and he missed.

Two pitches later, after No. 15 Miami (20-9, 8-4 ACC) got a force out at third, the scoreless inning was over.

“We just left too many men on base,” said Coach Mike Fox, whose team stranded 16 runners in Saturday’s loss. “We’ve got a chance right out of the gate to extend the lead, (but) we didn’t make him pay.

“That’s probably when we lost the game.”

In Friday night's defeat, UNC left six runners on the bases, hitting fly ball after fly ball with little success.

And save for a Korey Dunbar two-run homer in the seventh, the Tar Heels generated just four hits — equaling the Hurricanes’ ninth-inning output.

“Our guys just got too big with their swings trying to do too much,” Fox said. “Get some base hits with people in scoring position and you’re going to have a chance to win.

“That’s what we didn’t do Friday and Saturday, and that’s why we got two losses.”

So on Sunday, there was Dudek — riding a streak of six walks in his previous six at-bats — with two strikes to his name and two men on base, knowing he had a decision to make.

“I’ve been patient taking some walks, just seeing a pitch and not trying to do too much,” he said. “But in those tight games, those 4-3 ballgames, it’s just about stepping up and getting that big hit with two strikes, two outs.”

So he swung — and he connected.

The ball rocketed down the left-field line for a bases-clearing double, sparking a five-run inning that sealed UNC’s 10-3 victory in the third game of the series.

“I thought the base hit down the third-base line was probably the biggest hit of the game,” said Fox, whose team tallied 12 hits on the day. “When you score five runs with two outs, you don’t get an opportunity to do that too often.”

Dudek's two-out shot kept the inning alive long enough for freshman infielder Zach Gahagan to step to the plate. 

And facing a similar two strikes and the same two outs, Gahagan drove in two of his career-high four RBI on a blooper to right to close the door on the Hurricanes.

“In practice we work on two-out reads and moving the ball,” Gahagan said. “We really had a good amount of focus this weekend, we just couldn’t get some balls to fall early on in the series.”

But on Sunday, the Tar Heels were determined to convert their chances and reverse their earlier scoring misfortunes.

“We put some great at-bats together today, and we got some good run production out of it,” said Dudek, who crossed the plate three times in the win. “Just getting that big hit with runners on.”

“It’s baseball,” he added. “They’ll fall.”

sports@dailytarheel.com