UNC Baseball wins season opening series against Seton Hall
After a tough opening day loss, the UNC baseball program bounced back by winning the following two games to win its first series of the season.
Baseball season has officially arrived!
The UNC baseball program opened up its 2023 slate at Boshamer Stadium, as they hosted Seton Hall to start the season for the second consecutive year.
Last year’s series resulted in a North Carolina sweep, but the Pirates had other plans in the rematch, especially on opening day.
Even though the game was back and forth, especially in the middle innings, it was Seton Hall that held the lead early and often. There was no lack of offense in this one, as the Pirates captured a 10-8 victory in the first contest of the season.
Mac Horvath, who missed the end of the 2022 season after undergoing emergency appendectomy surgery, was outstanding in his return, going 3-4 with a home run, triple and double while recording three RBIs for the Tar Heels.
Game two had a similar start to the opener, as Seton Hall scored right away in the top half of the first inning.
From that point on, it was all Tar Heels.
North Carolina scored seven runs between the third and fourth innings en route to an 11-2 victory. Will Sandy got the start, but it was freshman Cameron Padgett who stole the show in relief as part of his UNC baseball debut.
The right-hander made a great first impression, as he allowed just two hits over 4.1 innings of work. After Sandy struggled a bit with his command, it was a big boost to have Padgett come in and limit the damage.
The rubber game was much closer, as it became a bullpen battle from early on. Seton Hall starter John Downing was removed in the second inning, while Connor Bovair couldn’t get out of the fourth inning for the Tar Heels.
For North Carolina, the trio of Dalton Pence, Justin Szestowicki, and Ben Peterson combined to throw 5.1 shutout innings to help secure a 4-2 win as well as a series victory.
It’s important to note that the Tar Heels were without slugger Alberto Osuna, who is expected back in the near future after dealing with a hand injury. There are plenty of new faces in Chapel Hill, but this team has a ton of talent and potential moving forward.
The UNC baseball program returns to the field on Tuesday afternoon, as they’ll host Radford for a non-conference contest.
Next. Another day, another UNC basketball letdown. dark
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