UNC Baseball: Diamond Heels finish week strong
By Zack Pearson
The Diamond Heels finish the week strong with a big series sweep of an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent
It was a pretty solid week of baseball for the Diamond Heels after they opened up Atlantic Coast Conference play last weekend. The Diamond Heels lost their ACC season opener at Louisville, dropping two games to the Cardinals.
But they got back on track.
The Tar Heels opened the week with a close 1-0 win over North Carolina A&T to give them a two-game win streak. From there, the Tar Heels had a big week.
Let’s see how they fared.
UNC 1, North Carolina A&T 0
This was a pitcher’s duel on a Tuesday afternoon in Chapel Hill.
UNC starter Rodney Hutchinson went the distance, pitching nine scoreless innings giving up just four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters. Hutchinson was on his game, rarely in trouble.
As for North Carolina A&T’s starter Ethan Chavis, he went six innings giving up four hits and one run.
The lone run came in the fifth inning when Brandon Martorano scored on a fielder’s choice as Zach Gahagan grounded out to short. The Tar Heels would hang on for the 1-0 win.
Gardner-Webb 1, UNC 0
Just a day after the Tar Heels earned a big 1-0 win, they dropped a 1-0 game to Gardner-Webb.
It was another game dominated by the pitchers at the Bosh with Gardner-Webb scoring the lone run of the game in the second inning. Eric Jones homered off starter Joey Lancellotti, who lasted just 2.1 innings and got the loss. Lancellotti dropped to 0-2 on the early season.
UNC could muster just three hits on the game with two of them coming from catcher Cody Roberts.
UNC vs. Pitt
Game 1: UNC 15, Pitt 3
The Tar Heels opened up their second ACC series of the season on Friday as they dominated Pitt 15-3. After Pitt tallied the first run of the game in the first inning, the Tar Heels scored 11-straight runs.
They got two in the second inning and then nine in the third inning, breaking out the bats. Gahagan had a big game, recording five RBI’s and hitting a solo home run. Michael Busch and Ben Casparius also had three RBI’s each.
Game 2: UNC 4, Pitt 0
UNC’s pitching stayed hot in the second game of the series, holding Pitt to zero runs on the game.
Starter Austin Bergner pitched eight strong innings giving up just three hits and walking two batters. Closer Josh Hiatt shut the door in the ninth inning, allowing just one hit but not really getting into any trouble.
Right fielder Kip Brandenburg recorded two RBIs as he went 2-for-3 at the plate.
Game 3: UNC 13, Pitt 2
The Tar Heels bats caught fire once again as they put up 13 runs in the series finale. UNC got on the board early scoring two in the first, four in the second and one in the third. From there it was pretty much over.
Busch hit a three-run home run in the second inning, his only hit of the game, but finished with three RBIs. Brandon Riley went 2-for-3 with two walks, two RBI and a run.
Starter Taylor Sugg went 5.1 innings, giving up four hits, one earned run, striking out four and walking just two. He got the win to improve to 2-0 on the year.
The win improved UNC to 12-8 on the year and in first place in the Coastal Division. Next up for the Tar Heels will be Maryland, who they host Tuesday night at 6 p.m. ET.