Keeping It Heel
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UNC Baseball: Diamond Heels close weekend with series loss

By Zack Pearson

WEST PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 09: A ball sits on the field as the St. Louis Cardinals take batting practice before a spring training game against the Houston Astros at FITTEAM Ball Park of the Palm Beaches on March 9, 2018 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 09: A ball sits on the field as the St. Louis Cardinals take batting practice before a spring training game against the Houston Astros at FITTEAM Ball Park of the Palm Beaches on March 9, 2018 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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After sweeping Pitt last weekend, UNC hosted a big ACC opponent at home

The season hasn’t gone as the North Carolina Tar Heels would have liked it to go so far but it’s still early.

UNC entered the week tied for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division with the Duke Blue Devils. Both teams sat at 4-2 in conference play and both were playing in important weekend conference games.

For the Tar Heels they were hosting Florida State, one of the best teams not only in the conference but in the country as well. Duke was on the road taking on a Pitt team that was dead last in the Coastal Division.

UNC 13, Maryland 1

UNC opened the week by beating Maryland at home 13-1 as their bats stayed hot. It was the fourth-straight win for the Tar Heels and second-straight game in which they scored 13 runs.

First baseman Michael Busch continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-4 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored in the game. Kyle Datres, Ben Casparius and Brandon Martorano all added 2 RBI’s.

Starter Rodney Hutchinson got the win to move to 2-1 on the year after pitching 7 innings, giving up 6 hits and just 1 earned run.

The win put them in position to extend their win streak against Florida State.

Prior to the series against the Seminoles, the weather forced Saturday’s game to be pushed ahead to Friday night, setting up a double-header to start the series.

Game 1: UNC 16, Florida State 8

The Tar Heels bats continued to stay hot in the first game of Friday’s double-header. UNC jumped all over Florida State in the first inning, scoring 5 runs on RBI hits from Datres, Zack Gahagan, Brandon Riley Casparius and Martorano.

Florida State answered with 5 runs in the third on a three-run homer and then a double. All of those runs were charged to starter Tyler Baum who pitched three innings, giving up 5 hits, 5 walks and 6 runs.

UNC got a run back in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead but Florida State tied it again in the top of the fourth. After that it was all UNC.

The Tar Heels scored seven in the seventh inning to extend their lead to 15-7 and eventually won 16-8. Brett Daniels got the win after pitching four innings and moved to 4-0 on the year.

Game 2: Florida State 6, UNC 3

After winning the first game of the day, UNC had the chance to sweep the double-header and win the series. The game got off to a good start when UNC jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a Dallas Tessar solo home run and then a Datres RBI single in the fifth.

Florida State answered back with three runs in the seventh inning to take the lead. UNC was down to their final strike twice before a Datres double with two outs in the ninth tied it and sent the game to extras.

The Seminoles plated three runs in the top of the 10th to win and even the series at one.

Game 3: Florida State 9, UNC 4

With the chance to win the series on Sunday, UNC once again got on the board early by scoring a run in the first inning. Florida State scored three in the third to grab the lead before the Tar Heels scored two in the bottom half.

But after that it was all Florida State.

The Seminoles scored one in the fifth and did their big damage in the eighth by scoring five runs and winning the game. UNC didn’t score from the fifth inning on and the bullpen struggled as the Seminoles earned the series win.

Josh Hiatt got the loss, giving up three hits and four earned runs in just 1/3 of an inning.

UNC will return to the diamond on Tuesday, taking on Charlotte on the road. They currently sit in third place in the ACC Coastal Division, trailing Duke and Miami by one game.

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