Following last weekend's regular season finale series between Florida State and North Carolina, we all knew what to expect when the two teams met up in the ACC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday afternoon.
Absolute nerve-wrecking baseball!
In a game that went from what looked destined to be a pitchers duel to a slugfest between the two sides, it was the UNC baseball program that came out on top, securing a trip to Sunday's ACC Tournament final against Clemson.
From the onset, it looked like Wes Mendes and Jason DeCaro were going to be matching scoreless innings for the majority of the game. While Florida State did earn some traffic on the basepaths against DeCaro early, neither team scored over the first three innings of play, as Mendes was essentially unhittable through the first 9 batters he faced.
Then, the game took a rapid shift in the fourth inning, and the craziness ensued after that.
North Carolina got on the board first, courtesy of a Gavin Gallaher RBI single, one that scored the speedy Kane Kepley. The Tar Heels lead wouldn't last very long, as Myles Bailey smoked a solo home run just a few pitches into the bottom half of the fourth inning to knot up the score.
The Diamond Heels landed the next punch, scoring two runs in the top half of the fifth. Alex Madera gave the Tar Heels the lead back with an RBI double, and later scored on an RBI single from Carter French.
Like deja vu all over again, the Tar Heels lead would be short lived.
DeCaro was removed after 4.1 innings of work, turning the ball over to Folger Boaz. The left-hander faced one batter, Bailey, and walked him to load the bases, as Scott Forbes turned to weekend starter Aidan Haugh in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
Haugh walked in a run, and two more proceeded to score on a errant throw by Jackson Van De Brake on an attempted double play, giving the Seminoles a 4-3 lead through five full innings of play.
In the top of the sixth, Van De Brake poked a double down the right field line, a ball that was interfered by from a young Tar Heels fan in the crowd. If he hadn't touched the baseball, Van De Brake likely would've had a triple, but it fortunately didn't matter, as Luke Stevenson crushed a two-run homer right after to give North Carolina the lead back.
Alex Lodise, the ACC Player of the Year, knotted up the score with an RBI double to left center in Florida State's half of the inning. From there, we got something we didn't see for quite a few innings: scoreless frames!
In the top of the ninth, North Carolina found a way to regain the lead. After Madera reached on a fielding error by the second baseman, Perry Hargett laid down the perfect bunt, allowing him to reach base safely. With runners on first and second and no one out, Forbes put the bunt sign on again, as Carter French, who had a sacrifice bunt earlier in the game, once again laid one down successfully.
With the infield in and one out, Kepley roped a single up the middle, scoring both runs to give North Carolina a 7-5 lead. Freshman Walker McDuffie, who threw two scoreless innings against Boston College, came in to pitch a scoreless ninth to secure the win.
It goes to show just how important this game was to both sides. Both managers elected to go to weekend starters in relief, as the goal was to get to Sunday before worrying about Sunday.
Having to figure out the pitching strategy for Sunday's ACC Tournament final is a great problem to have for the UNC baseball program, who essentially sealed being a host and a national seed for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.