No. 7 Miami Drops Series Finale at No. 4 UNC, 4-1
April 19, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The seventh-ranked University of Miami baseball team lost the series finale at No. 4 North Carolina, 4-1, Sunday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.
After Miami (26-13, 11-10 ACC) took a 1-0 lead in the third, UNC (31-10, 13-7 ACC) scored single runs in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh to eventually secure the weekend sweep. It marked the first time UM was swept in a regular season series since dropping all three game at UNC, March 9-11, 2007.
Miami starter Iden Nazario (4-2) suffered the loss despite allowing three earned runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out four in 5 1/3 innings. Daniel Miranda tossed 2/3 scoreless in relief of Nazario before Sam Robinson allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings and Kyle Bellamy tossed a scoreless ninth.
UNC’s Matt Harvey (5-1) picked up the win, lasting seven innings and allowed one run on six hits while walking four and striking out five. Brian Moran came on to earn his first save of the year in two scoreless innings of work to close it out.
Dustin Ackley went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored for UNC, while Kyle Seager, Ryan Graepel and Levi Michael all had two hits.
Dave DiNatale was the lone `Cane with multiple hits, going 2-for-2 with a run scored while Scott Lawson went 1-for-4 with the team’s lone RBI.
DiNatale doubled to lead off the third and after reaching third on a sacrifice bunt, scored the first run of the game on a Lawson ground out to second.
An RBI single by Michael in the fourth tied the game up at 1-1. With one out in the inning, Mark Fleury doubled to deep center, setting up Michael’s run-scoring single up the middle two batters later.
With two outs in the fifth, Ackley singled to left before Seager doubled to center, bring him around from first to give UNC its first lead, 2-1.
The Tar Heels went up 3-1 in the sixth when Ryan Graepel led off the inning with a solo homer to left-center.
Ackley and Seager were at it again in the seventh. Ackley led off the inning with a double to left before Seager reached on a bunt single. From there, with runners on the corners Graepel’s squeeze bunt single scored Ackley from third to put UNC up three.
Miami will return to Alex Rodriguez Park this week for a mid-week game against Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday before hosting its final ACC regular season series against Virginia Tech, April 24-26.
Game Notes
– Iden Nazario allowed three runs or less for the sixth time in nine starts this season.
– The last time Miami was swept in a three-game series was March 9-11, 2007 at North Carolina.
– Attendance for Sunday’s finale was 3,531. The total attendance of the three-game series was 11,731.
– Dave DiNatale recorded his fifth multiple-hit game of the season.
