Baseball stunned in extra innings by No. 1 North Carolina

Staff Reports

The VCU baseball team (12-10) lost 3-2 in 10 innings to the North Carolina Tar Heels (22-1), the country’s top-ranked team, Tuesday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.

VCU took a 2-1 lead on a Joey Cujas two-run single in the fourth inning, and held UNC scoreless until the bottom of the ninth when the Tar Heels tied the game with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Michael Russell. UNC first baseman Cody Stubbs hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning off VCU closer Matt Lees, sending the Rams home disappointed.

“It is a disappointing result, but I am extremely pleased with the effort,” VCU head coach Shawn Stiffler said in a release by the athletic department. “I thought we came out tonight and showed great intent with everything we did, the way we defended the baseball and the way we pitched,” Stiffler continued.

“I am happy with the way our young guys who got the chance to pitch came out and competed against the best team in the country.”

The Rams received strong pitching efforts from freshmen Dan Black and Michael Carpenter, juniors Logan Kanuik and Bryce Lee and sophomore Matt Lees. The VCU pitching staff limited the nation’s highest scoring offense at 9.1 runs per game to two earned runs on 12 hits, holding a one-run lead until the bottom of the ninth inning. The Rams’ defense aided the pitching staff in stranding 16 Tar Heel runners on base.

Black made his first career start for VCU and set the tone for the game by throwing two scoreless innings while allowing just one hit. Lee, a junior college transfer making his first Division I appearance, followed Black and escaped a bases-loaded jam to keep North Carolina off the board in the third inning.

Carpenter and Kanuik combined for 4.1 innings of one-run ball in the middle innings, before giving way to Lees with one out in the eighth. Lees, whose 0.74 ERA in 24.1 innings is best on the team, allowed just one earned run in 2.1 innings of work but took his first loss of the season.

Offensively, seven of VCU’s nine starters recorded hits but the Rams would not get any runs beyond Cujas’ fourth inning single which drove in junior outfielder Bill Cullen and freshman outfielder James Bunn.

VCU has now lost 10 of its last 13 games after starting the season with nine straight wins. However, coming within two outs of defeating the No. 1 team in college baseball is something Stiffler expects the Rams to build on.

“I thought we did a great job competing for our at-bats, not necessarily getting the results we wanted, but our approaches were great,” Stiffler said. “I think it gives us some momentum moving forward, as long as we continue to do the things we did tonight.”

VCU travels to Charlotte, N.C. this weekend for a three-game set with the Charlotte 49ers (15-8). The Rams were swept in their first A-10 series against Butler last weekend and will look to bounce back as they continue conference play.

VCU and Charlotte will play at 6 p.m. on Friday night, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday in the series finale.