UNC Baseball: Tar Heels win first game of Saturday doubleheader

The UNC baseball team continues its hot streak to begin the season, beating Dallas Baptist 9-0 in Game 1 of a Saturday doubleheader.

Joey Lancellotti pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven batters and walking just two, as North Carolina beat Dallas Baptist University by a final score of 9-0 in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader.

Lancellotti retired 21 of the 27 batters he faced, throwing 96 pitches before the UNC bullpen finished off an impressive shutout to keep the Tar Heels unbeaten on the young season. Kyle Blendinger and Nik Pry pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, allowing a walk and three hits against 10 batters. It was the second consecutive shutout that the UNC pitching staff has thrown.

Sophomore first baseman Aaron Sabato had his best game of the season to date, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, two runs scored, two walks and an RBI. Senior center fielder Dylan Harris went 1-for-3 against Dallas Baptist, and has now hit safely in each of the Tar Heels’ six games this season. Redshirt sophomore Angel Zarate had a big game, getting two hits in four plate appearances, and knocking in three runs.

The Tar Heels racked up 11 hits as a team, and took seven bases on balls. They’ve now outscored their opponents 53-9 over the first week of the season, and will look to keep their win streak alive when they take the field against Dallas Baptist for Game 2 later this afternoon.

Dallas Baptist got seven hits on the day, but struck out eight times and left 10 runners on base. Starting pitcher Ray Gaither and reliever Chas Sagedahl combined to pitch seven and two-thirds innings, allowing seven walks and five earned runs. Three errors accounted for four of the runs that Dallas Baptist allowed in the nine-run UNC victory.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for coverage of this afternoon’s second game, and everything UNC baseball.