UNC Baseball: Brett Centracchio’s historical game against Duke

Arguably the most notorious rivalry in college sports is North Carolina and Duke. The teams have gone at each other since what feels like the beginning of time, with history written in almost every encounter between the two storied schools. But in the weekend series, a new chapter may have been added to the long book of UNC and Duke.

In Monday’s deciding game three, it was nothing short of a battle. Two gladiators fighting in the coliseum, two heavyweights in the ring, or whatever analogy you can best describe what happened between the heated rivals.

The game was a constant back-and-forth to start. Duke scored two runs in the top of the first, then UNC scored four in bottom half. Duke scored another one, and UNC responded with five more. In two innings, it was 9-3, and the game was far from over. To that point, three homers — two for UNC — had been hit in only two innings.

Duke managed another three runs — a two-run homer — which made it four total bombs.

Things escalated from a punch-to-punch affair between two rivals to an offensive assault by UNC, as the Tar Heels turned a battle into an offensive assault.

In a historic bottom of the fifth, UNC scored nine runs to break things open at 18-6. Graduate student Brett Centracchio hit a two-run homer, sophomore Justice Thompson hit a three-run shot, and Centracchio launched another one. Yes, UNC got two homers from one person in the same inning.

The Tar Heels still poured on another three runs in the bottom of the sixth, but no homers this time around, making it 21-6. As if seven homers were not enough for one contest — probably enough for two at this point — Duke added two solo shots in the top of the eighth to make it 21-8.

From there, the offenses quieted down as neither team scored again, and UNC took the win and the series Monday evening. For UNC, the nine-run outburst in the bottom of the fifth was the most runs in an inning for the Tar Heels since April 21, 2019 when the team scored 12 against Boston College.

Centracchio’s feat made him the first Tar Heel since 2002 to hit multiple homers in one inning. Arguably more impressive than the remarkable stat line that comes with an accomplishment like that is just how much of the ball Centracchio got on his second home run. The second round-tripper measured at 460 feet, and is the longest bomb hit since 2015.

For Centracchio, his overall stat line was 2-for-4 — obviously the two bombs — two runs scored and four RBIs. A graduate who transferred from Davidson, this is arguably Centracchio’s best game as a Tar Heel, as he set personal records for most RBIs in a game, four, and most runs scored, two.

For the team, this marked the fourth series win against an ACC opponent, which must be good for the team’s confidence as they continue to face ACC opponents in the upcoming weekend series. With Pittsburgh, Miami and Notre Dame over the next three, North Carolina hopes to move up in the ACC standings throughout the rest of April and the beginning of May.

Centracchio said the team played with more confidence, and a new toughness that allowed them to come back against Duke in both victories.

"“Even when we were down 2-0 in the first, there wasn’t a miss in the beat,” Centracchio said. “I mean, we were still just as confident that we were going to get it done. I think that’s a big difference in kind of the turnaround you see with our toughness.”"

The Tar Heels have another opportunity to display that confidence and toughness as they face a stout 17-10 Pittsburgh team this weekend.

For coverage of this series and all things UNC sports, check back with Keeping It Heel!