North Carolina
25-13, 0
Georgia Tech
22-17, 0
No. 8 Tar Heels Take Game One Over Georgia Tech, 9-3
April 20, 2018 | Baseball
Georgia Tech got the game's scoring started in the top of the second courtesy of an RBI single from Austin Wilhite. The Yellow Jackets six-hole hitter drove in Wade Bailey, who walked and advanced to third on a throwing error on a steal attempt. It was 1-0 after an inning and a half, but it didn't take long for the Tar Heels to get back on the board themselves.
Michael Busch and Kyle Datres, as they have done all year, had back-to-back big hits in the bottom of the second to help the Heels take command of the game. Busch started with a bases-loaded single up the middle to score two, but it was Datres' long fly ball to the scoreboard in left that made the most difference. He crushed an 0-2 pitch that had plenty of distance for a round-tripper, his fourth home run of the season that gave North Carolina 5-1 lead after two.
After Georgia Tech tacked on another run in the top of the third, the game quieted down a bit before Cody Roberts did something that hadn't been done in 14 years – an inside-the-park home run (Jay Cox at Georgia Tech, 2004). In the bottom of the fourth he hit a ball that was misjudged by the center fielder, one that rolled all the way to the wall. He rounded the bases and crossed the dish shortly after Ashton McGee, good enough to push the Heels lead to 7-2.
Georgia Tech inched closer with a Joey Bart solo home run in the sixth, but Ike Freeman quickly got the run back for Carolina in the bottom of the seventh. He hit a ball that almost got over the netting over the left field wall, good for his second home run of the year and the Heels' eighth run of the night.
North Carolina added a run on a Brandon Riley RBI groundout in the eighth, Hansen Butler and Josh Hiatt came on in the ninth to close out the game and the Heels captured the game one win, 9-3.
With the win, UNC moves to 25-13 (13-6 ACC) on the season.
The Heels will be back in action tomorrow against the Yellow Jackets in game two of the series. Austin Bergner will throw the first pitch scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: O'Brien, Caden (2-0)
L: Xzavion Curry (6-2)
Batting:
2B: Joey Bart 1 ; Luke Waddell 1
HR: Joey Bart 1
RBI: Chase Murray 1 ; Joey Bart 1 ; Austin Wilhite 1
SF: Chase Murray 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Joey Bart 1 ; Wade Bailey 1 ; Luke Waddell 1
SB: Wade Bailey 1
CS: Oscar Serratos 1
Batting:
3B: Riley, Brandon 1
HR: Datres, Kyle 1 ; Freeman, Ike 1 ; Roberts, Cody 1
RBI: Busch, Michael 2 ; Datres, Kyle 3 ; Riley, Brandon 1 ; Freeman, Ike 1 ; Roberts, Cody 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Tessar, Dallas 1 ; Busch, Michael 1 ; Datres, Kyle 1 ; Freeman, Ike 1 ; McGee, Ashton 1 ; Roberts, Cody 1 ; Hesterlee, Jackson 1 ; Gahagan, Zack 1 ; Enwiller, Dylan 1
SB: Tessar, Dallas 1
HBP: Tessar, Dallas 1 ; Datres, Kyle 1
