UNC Baseball take two out of three games at Pittsburgh

As far as business trips to Pittsburgh go, the UNC baseball program had a pretty productive visit to the Steel City. The Diamond Heels weren't in town for banking or healthcare, though, they were there to stack wins in the highly congested top half of the ACC standings.

Two wins to take the series, and a a bevy of runs will be some great takeaways before North Carolina gets to their last two conference series of the season, against the ACC's No. 1 and No. 2 teams.

On Friday night, UNC got the series off to a rocking start, smashing seven home runs (a season high!) and scoring 15 runs en route to a convincing 15-5 win. Gavin Gallaher was the headliner, raking in three home runs, tying the school record for most homers in a game. Ace starting pitcher Jake Knapp went 6.1 innings and held the Panthers at bay, earning his ACC-leading ninth win of the season. Freshman relief pitching sensation Walker McDuffie went 2.2 innings and struck out seven Pitt batters. It was only because of UNC's lead that he didn't get credit for the save.

On Saturday, Pitt pegged North Carolina back, winning the second game 4-2. Gavin Gallaher kept his bat hot, belting another home run, along with Tyson Bass, but they were both solo shots and were UNC's only runs of the night. Starting pitcher Aidan Haugh gave up eight hits for four runs, but did manage to escape two bases loaded situations with timely double-plays to keep the margin low. If North Carolina could have bottled some of their offense from Friday night, the Tar Heels may have swept the series.

On Sunday, it was back to business, as UNC kept Pitt off home plate and started stacking runs late in the game. Starting pitcher Jason DeCaro was efficient in a shutout win, his sixth of the season. The most batters he faced in an inning was just five. The Diamond Heels didn't have any home runs for the first time in the series, but the top of the order got on base, and first baseman Hunter Stokely brought in three runners on two hits.

Next up for the Diamond Heels are two back-to-back midweek games, with George Mason visiting on Tuesday, and Queens University of Charlotte on Wednesday before a bye weekend.