It took a mighty offensive effort, including three home runs, but North Carolina survived a 9-8 contest with Appalachian State at Boshamer Stadium Tuesday.
The Heels were down by three runs in the seventh, but rallied. Levi Michael and Dustin Ackley hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the inning to go ahead.
But the home runs weren’t enough. And botched pickoff attempt allowed the tying run to score in the eighth inning. UNC’s Ryan Graepel scored in the bottom of the inning. He had singled and had moved to second base after Mike Cavasinni drew a walk. Tarron Robinson singled to drive in the winning run.
It was a game that looked like it could be high-scoring from the beginning. Both teams scored three runs in the first.
Ben Bunting also had a home run in the second inning.
Appalachian State (5-7) hadn’t beat a ranked opponent since 1982.
The rally saved the Tar Heels, who would have surely dropped in the weekly rankings otherwise.
Next up?
The Mountaineers are at the Bosh for one more today at 3 p.m.
Javier Serna has covered sports for The News & Observer since 2007. He previously covered growth for the North Raleigh News, and sports at The Truth in Elkhart, Ind. E-mail 
