BSB: No. 1 UNC rolls past St. John's, 18-5

North Carolina

BSB: No. 1 UNC rolls past St. John's, 18-5

Feb 27, 2013

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No. 1 North Carolina (7-0) slugged out a season-high 17 hits and drew 11 walks en route to an 18-5 win over visiting St. John's (1-7) Wednesday.

The Tar Heels used a pair of big innings in the ball game as Carolina pushed nine runs across in the secnd inning and seven more in the sixth.

The nine-run inning was the highest scoring inning for the Tar Heels since March 15, 2011 when they scored nine runs in the eighth inning of an 11-2 win over Princeton.

The Tar Heels hit the 18-run mark for the second time in the last three years on Wednesday, after posting an 18-4 win over Stony Brook in 2011.

Ten different players scored a run in the contest, led by the trio of Landon Lassiter, Colin Moran and Michael Russell who crossed the plate three times apiece.

Cody Stubbs and Tom Zengel each drove in three runs for Carolina, while Lassiter, Moran and Matt Rubino contribued two RBIs apiece.

Michael Russell paced the Tar Heels with three hits on the afternoon in his five at bats. Leadoff man Chaz Frank tallied a pair of hits on the day in addition to Skye Bolt and Moran, who also drew four walks. Freshman Trent Thornton earned the start for the Tar Heels and earned the victory on a staff day as he went four innings. Thornton surrendered a pair of unearned runs on four hits while striking out three.

Fellow freshmen Reilly Hovis and Taylore Cherry also saw action out of the Tar Heel bullpen in addition to the season debut for sophomore Mason McCullough in the seventh inning.

Andrew Smith and Luis Paula each contributed a scoreless frame for the Tar Heels to close out the win and help UNC improve to 7-0 on the year.

Up next for UNC is a trip to Houston, Texas for the Astros Foundation College Classic set to begin Friday, March 1.

Carolina will take on Rice on Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT, followed by California at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday and Texas A&M at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday.