UNC Baseball: Horvath and Cook showcase power in victory

The UNC baseball program picked up its fourth consecutive victory on Wednesday afternoon, as they defeated non-conference foe Longwood.

Scott Forbes and the UNC baseball program continue to roll, as they picked up their fourth-consecutive victory on Wednesday afternoon.

Playing on back-to-back days, the Tar Heels saw two common trends as they took on two non-conference opponents: strong pitching and even better hitting.

It was “another day, another brilliant debut” for a member of North Carolina’s pitching staff, as junior transfer Jake Knapp starred in his first start. The right-hander pitched into the sixth inning, allowing just two hits over that span.

After Nik Pry and Nelson Berkwich made brief appearances, Forbes turned to graduate student Kevin Eaise to close the game out.

Although the first outing of his Tar Heel career did not go as planned, Eaise was dominant in this one, picking up an old-school style save. He struck out five Lancer hitters over his three innings of work.

The pitching had plenty of room to operate with, as North Carolina’s offense once again was very productive. Holding onto a 2-0 lead into the middle innings, the Tar Heels scored eight of their 10 total runs over a span of the final four innings.

Mac Horvath was the star offensively, as he crushed two home runs and drove in three runs. Casey Cook, who has been hitting right behind Horvath in the lineup, homered himself, as he put together a strong two-hit, two-RBI performance.

North Carolina strung together 15 hits, as they saw 19 total baserunners in this contest. The mid-week stretch of strong play should help the Tar Heels as they prepare for a big weekend series against East Carolina.

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