The Elon University baseball team got on the board in the first inning again, but it was not enough to hold off the No. 1 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Wednesday April 17, as the Tar Heels knocked off the Phoenix 14-5.
Two walks and a sacrifice fly had sophomore Blaine Bower on third base before junior shortstop Antonio Alvarez came up with a two-out single through the left side to score the run.
Elon junior starter Jacob Baker breezed through the first inning, but the Tar Heels exploded in the second inning with six runs on four walks and three hits, all off Baker.
In the inning, the Tar Heels fell a home run short of hitting for the cycle, as the first run scored on a double down the left field line by sophomore second baseman Mike Zolk. Senior outfielder Chaz Frank scored Zolk on a single before the next two Tar Heels hitters loaded the bases for junior third baseman Colin Moran.
Moran quickly cleared the bases with a triple to center field to put the Tar Heels up 5-1. Baker walked the next batter, his fourth of the inning, which forced the hand of Elon head coach Mike Kennedy to make the change to freshman Tyler Manez.
Elon pulled within four on a Chris Bresnahan RBI single to again score Bower, but the Tar Heels again poured on runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 10-2 lead.
Elon got three in the sixth inning when Bresnahan led off the inning with a single and later scored on a wild pitch. Junior Sebastian Gomez followed a walk to sophomore Quinn Bower with a two-RBI double to cut the Tar Heels lead in half. That’s as close as Elon would get to the nation’s top team.
The Tar Heels got four more in the seventh and eighth innings to take the 14-5 game and move to 36-2 on the season.
Baker took the loss for the Phoenix, sending his record to an overall 0-2 while sophomore Trevor Kelley picked up the win in relief for the Tar Heels.
The game marked the fifth game of the last six for Elon in which the opponent is in the top 25 rankings. Overall, it’s the eighth ranked team the Phoenix have played this season.
Elon drops to 20-19 after a sixth straight loss. The Phoenix returns to Southern Conference action this weekend, April 19-21 at home against Wofford College. First pitch Friday April 19 is at 6:30 p.m.