Ah, it's great to have baseball back at the Bosh!
The Diamond Heels kicked off the 2026 season on Friday afternoon, securing a victory over the Indiana Hoosiers in game one of a three-game set.
Jason DeCaro impresses on opening day
Making his second consecutive opening day start, the junior right-hander was as good as advertised on Friday afternoon. Through five innings of work, the right-handed allowed no runs on just two hits, striking out seven Hoosiers that he faced. He threw a total of 90 pitches, 51 of which went for strikes.
One of the biggest moments for DeCaro came in the fourth inning. After walking the first two batters, he settled down nicely, striking out the following three batters to get out of the jam.
The early indication is that DeCaro is poised for another big year on the mound for the Diamond Heels.
Took some time to get going
North Carolina's offense was quiet through the first four innings, but broke open the scoring with a three-run bottom half of the fifth inning.
Newcomer Jake Schaffner drove in Cooper Nicholson on a sacrifice fly to left, initially breaking the scoreless tie. A batter later, Gavin Gallaher roped a triple down the left field line, scoring two more to extend the lead to 3-0.
Indiana fought back with two of their own runs in the top of the sixth, but Walker McDuffie entered the game to shut down the Hoosiers rally. From there, it was all North Carolina, as a six-run sixth inning put the game out of reach.
More on the six-run inning
It all started with an error by Indiana's shortstop and led to a massive rally for the Tar Heels.
Macon Winslow, who reached base on the E6, scored on a wild pitch, and Tyler Howe followed shortly after with an RBI double (one that was misplayed by the left fielder). A Colin Hynek double and a Schaffner triple (leading to him scoring a few pitches later on a wild pitch) capped off the scoring for the new-look Diamond Heels lineup.
Now that opening day is in the books
Win No. 1 is in the books for Scott Forbes and the UNC baseball program, but there's more work to be done this weekend at Boshamer Stadium. The Diamond Heels will host Indiana for a double-header on Saturday afternoon, one that was planned given the expected bad weather in the Chapel Hill area on Sunday.