CHAPEL HILL, N.C. ? Second-ranked North Carolina broke open a close ballgame with a seven-run sixth inning and went on to hand Appalachian State University baseball a 12-3 defeat on Wednesday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.

North Carolina (12-2) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning but starting pitcher Josh Dowdy held UNC scoreless over the next four frames to keep Appalachian within striking distance.

Tar Heel starter Bryant Gaines held ASU hitless until the fifth, but the Mountaineers had an opportunity to cut into the two-run deficit when David Towarnicky and Chris Alessandria led off the stanza with back-to-back singles. However, a flyout and an inning-ending double play squelched the threat.

UNC sent 10 batters to the plate en route to putting the game out of reach in the sixth. The first six hitters of the frame reached base and cleanup hitter Kyle Seager, the ninth Tar Heel to bat in the inning, put an exclamation point on the seven-run stanza with two-run single to center field.

Appalachian (5-8) scored its first run when catcher Jeremy Dowdy drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh and added two more in the eighth on a run-scoring groundout by Towarnicky and an RBI single by Alessandria. Towarnicky and Alessandria accounted for four of ASU's seven hits with two apiece. Rand Smith and Chris Trappy both doubled for the Mountaineers.

North Carolina matched ASU's single run in the seventh and two in the eighth to close out its 12-run, 20-hit effort. All-American Dustin Ackley led the way with a 4-for-4 performance that included two home runs, his second and third of the two-game mid-week series.

Dowdy pitched well, striking out six in five innings of work, but was saddled with the loss to fall to 1-2 on the season. The senior right-hander was out-dueled by Gaines, who allowed just three hits and didn't issue a walk while fanning nine in six scoreless innings to move to 2-0 on the campaign.

The Mountaineers looks to snap a five-game skid when it hosts The Citadel for a three-game Southern Conference series this weekend at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. Game times are set for 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.