May 19, 2007
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - As the 2007 regular season came to a close Saturday afternoon at Shipley Field, the Maryland baseball team was unable to find an answer for the fourth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels as UNC took both games of the doubleheader, 12-4 and 6-3.
The wins give the Heels a final regular-season mark of 45-11 (21-9 ACC), securing them the No. 2 seed in next weekend's ACC Baseball Championship in Jacksonville, Fla. The Terps finished the year with a 26-30 record (7-23 ACC), matching their overall win total from last season.
Junior Brett Cecil (5-6) made what could be his final appearance as a Maryland Terrapin, as he is projected to be an early-round draft pick in next month's Major League Baseball draft. The lefthander started the second game, allowing five earned runs in six innings as he took the loss. Cecil continued to rewrite the Maryland record books, as he made his 30th appearance of the year, besting the previous mark set by Seth Overbey last season.
UNC starter Luke Putkonen improved to 7-1 in the second game, as he went five innings, allowing one run on seven hits. Earlier in the day, Alex White (5-4) earned the win for the Heels, allowing three runs on eight hits in seven innings of work. Junior Ryan Moorer (3-6) picked up the loss for the Terps in game two of the weekend series.
On the day, Reid Fronk powered the UNC offense, going 5-for-9 with two home runs and three runs batted in. Freshman AJ Casario led the Terps with five hits on Saturday.
In game one, Carolina opened a quick eight-run lead in the first two innings and never looked back, as the Terps ended the shutout with a pair of RBI hits from sophomore Will Greenberg and junior Joe Palumbo.
The finale began in similar fashion, as the Tar Heels opened a three-run lead in the first three innings. Fronk's solo shot in the first started the scoring, while two innings later, Tim Federowicz and Josh Horton each notched an RBI double to make the score 3-0.
Cecil would not allow another run until the seventh inning, as the Terps moved within two runs in the sixth inning. Junior Steve Braun's run-scoring single to left center closed the gap to 3-1.
From there, the Tar Heels put up three additional runs in the seventh inning to widen the gap to 6-1.
Maryland mounted a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, scoring two runs on RBI singles by senior Jon Greenwich and sophomore Mike Murphy, but UNC closer Andrew Carignan was able to retire the final two Terrapin batters to secure the victory.
While the Terps were unable to record a victory this weekend against the Tar Heels, the 2007 season did mark five victories against ranked opponents, including series wins against No. 6 Clemson and No. 23 NC State.
Although the Terps' 2007 season has come to a close, many Maryland players will hone their skills this summer in a number of summer baseball leagues.
