Tuesday, February 20
Chapel Hill
3 p.m.
North Carolina
2-2
4
vs
5
UNCW
3-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UNCW
0
0
0
0
1
3
0
0
1
5
11
0
North Carolina
3
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
4
8
0
Zack Gahagan
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Tar Heels Fall In Home Opener To UNCW, 5-4
February 20, 2018 | Baseball
Chapel Hill, N.C. – No. 6 North Carolina dropped their home opener Tuesday night against UNCW, 5-4, for the first time since 2014. Carolina led through the first five innings thanks to freshman Caden O'Brien's seven strikeouts, but the Seahawks scored four of the last five runs on the night to upset the Tar Heels.
Once again, the Tar Heels got on the board early thanks to a three-run home run from Michael Busch to give the Heels the 3-0 lead. Brandon Riley and Kyle Datres started the game with back-to-back singles before Busch picked up where he left off against USF and hit the first pitch he saw over the right field wall.
UNCW answered back with four straight runs to take the 4-3 lead heading in to the bottom of the sixth inning. The Seahawks first got on the board in the fifth inning as Greg Jones double to right field to score Zack Canada from second to make it 3-1. Canada reached on a fielders choice before stealing second base to put himself in scoring position for the Jones double. Then Mason Berne hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning to give the Seahawks its first lead of the game, 4-3. After Kep Brown and Noah Bridges singled to put runners on first and second, Berne hit a towering shot over the right field fence.
The Heels answered in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game, 4-4. Riley walked to start the inning and Datres followed with a line drive off the right field wall as he jogged in to second base and brought Riley home from first.
In the top of the ninth the Seahawks started off the inning with a double to left field by Berne which was followed by an infield single by Cole Weiss. Weiss hit a ball that popped up to Busch at first, who slipped on the throw to the pitcher Joey Lancellotti, and Weiss was called safe. Canada stepped to the plate and hit a blooper over second base to bring home Berne for the 5-4 Seahawk advantage.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Busch hit a single up the middle to give the Tar Heels some life, but it wasn't enough as they fell to UNCW, 5-4.
One of the bright spots on the night was freshman pitcher O'Brien whose seven strikeouts were the most by a Carolina pitcher in his first start A.J. Bogucki had 10 against North Carolina A&T on April 8, 2014. Datres and Busch led the way for the Tar Heels offensively going a combined 5-10 with two runs scored and four RBIs.
With two one-run loses early in the season, the Tar Heels have already matched its entire total from the 2017 season.
Carolina will be back in action Wednesday afternoon as it faces No. 23 St. John's at 3 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium.
Once again, the Tar Heels got on the board early thanks to a three-run home run from Michael Busch to give the Heels the 3-0 lead. Brandon Riley and Kyle Datres started the game with back-to-back singles before Busch picked up where he left off against USF and hit the first pitch he saw over the right field wall.
UNCW answered back with four straight runs to take the 4-3 lead heading in to the bottom of the sixth inning. The Seahawks first got on the board in the fifth inning as Greg Jones double to right field to score Zack Canada from second to make it 3-1. Canada reached on a fielders choice before stealing second base to put himself in scoring position for the Jones double. Then Mason Berne hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning to give the Seahawks its first lead of the game, 4-3. After Kep Brown and Noah Bridges singled to put runners on first and second, Berne hit a towering shot over the right field fence.
The Heels answered in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game, 4-4. Riley walked to start the inning and Datres followed with a line drive off the right field wall as he jogged in to second base and brought Riley home from first.
In the top of the ninth the Seahawks started off the inning with a double to left field by Berne which was followed by an infield single by Cole Weiss. Weiss hit a ball that popped up to Busch at first, who slipped on the throw to the pitcher Joey Lancellotti, and Weiss was called safe. Canada stepped to the plate and hit a blooper over second base to bring home Berne for the 5-4 Seahawk advantage.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Busch hit a single up the middle to give the Tar Heels some life, but it wasn't enough as they fell to UNCW, 5-4.
One of the bright spots on the night was freshman pitcher O'Brien whose seven strikeouts were the most by a Carolina pitcher in his first start A.J. Bogucki had 10 against North Carolina A&T on April 8, 2014. Datres and Busch led the way for the Tar Heels offensively going a combined 5-10 with two runs scored and four RBIs.
With two one-run loses early in the season, the Tar Heels have already matched its entire total from the 2017 season.
Carolina will be back in action Wednesday afternoon as it faces No. 23 St. John's at 3 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Warren, Austin (1-0)
L: Lancellotti, Joey (0-1)
S: Cota, Clark (2)
Batting:
2B: Jones, Greg 1 ; Berne, Mason 2
HR: Berne, Mason 1
RBI: Jones, Greg 1 ; Berne, Mason 3 ; Canada, Zack 1
SH: Jones, Greg 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brown, Kep 1 ; Bridges, Noah 1 ; Berne, Mason 2 ; Canada, Zack 1
SB: Canada, Zack 1
Batting:
2B: Datres, Kyle 2
HR: Busch, Michael 1
RBI: Datres, Kyle 1 ; Busch, Michael 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Riley, Brandon 2 ; Datres, Kyle 1 ; Busch, Michael 1
PO: Gahagan, Zack 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
1B
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RHP/OF
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LHP
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