Box Score

ROCK HILL, SC -- The Winthrop Eagles baseball team hung with #1 North Carolina for most of the game but the Tar Heels pulled away late and topped the Eagles 6 -2 Tuesday afternoon in Chapel Hill.
 
North Carolina got on the board right out of the gate as the Tar Heels hit up Eagles starting pitcher Mitchell Knox (1-1) for two runs in the first.  Winthrop was able to get to Trent Thronton (5-0) in the sixth when the Eagles stuck for two runs on an RBI ground out by Max Vogel scoring Luke Maldonado and an RBI single to left field scoring Cody Dolan and tying the game at 2-2.  The difference in the game came in seventh after Knox managed to blank the Tar Heels for five straight innings.  The Eagles' bullpen was unable to hold the Tar Heels as they erupted  for four runs in the inning highlighted by a three-run home run blast to right-center field by Colin Moran giving the Tar Heels a 6-2 advantage. That would be all North Carolina needed as the Tar Heel bullpen halted the Winthrop bats and wrapped up the 6-2 victory.
 
The loss drops Winthrop to 8-17 on the season while North Carolina improves its record to 23-1.  Winthrop looks to rebound when the Eagles take the field for a Big South Conference matchup against Gardner-Webb (13-10-1) this weekend.  The teams are slated for a 6:00 p.m. game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 2:00 p.m.
 
Knox had a tall order in front of him as he got his first start of the season for the Eagles against the top-ranked team in the country.  The Tar Heels took advantage of Knox's first inning jitters as the first two hitters of the game (Michael Russell and Landon Lassiter) drove hits through the left side and eventually came around to score giving North Carolina an early 2-0 lead.  However, Knox settled in nicely as he held the Tar Heels scoreless for the next five innings.
 
Winthrop head coach Tom Riginos was very pleased with the senior pitcher's effort on the mound.  "Mitchell Knox pitched unbelievable today," stated Riginos after the game.  "He gave up those two runs early and just settled down and gave us a chance."
 
Winthrop was able to get to Thornton in the sixth when Maldonado led off the inning with an infield single followed by a single through the left side by Dolan.  Both runners were then moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt from Clay Altman.  The next batter, Vogel, grounded out to the shortstop, however, the play allowed Maldonado to score from third.  Chad Smith came up with the big hit for the Eagles when he slapped a single to left field driving in Dolan and tying the game at 2-2.
 
However, the Tar Heels pulled away with a big seventh inning.  The UNC offense was able to reach the Winthrop bullpen for four runs including a three-run bomb from Moran over the right-center field fence giving the Tar Heels a 6-2 lead.  Out of the bullpen for North Carolina, Trevor Kelley and Mason McCullough did not allow Winthrop to recover from the big seventh inning as they shut down the Eagles' offense and closed out the win for the Tar Heels.
 
"We didn't back down.  We had a lot of aggressiveness at the plate," stated Riginos.  "There are some positives to take away from today."
 
 Maldonado continued to stay hot at the plate as he pounded out a pair of hits and scored a run against one of the best pitching staffs in the county.  Smith has now hit in three straight games with his RBI single in the sixth.
 
The ticket window at The Winthrop Ballpark will open an hour before this weekend's games.   All three games can also be heard on the Winthrop Sports Network via www.winthropeagles.com.