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Gallen Pitches No. 22 UNC Past NC State, 2-1
April 11, 2015 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL --- Skye Bolt's seventh-inning homer made a winner out of Zac Gallen as No. 22 North Carolina topped NC State 2-1 Friday night at Boshamer Stadium. Gallen needed just 112 pitches in his first career complete game as the sophomore right-hander struck out five and walked just one over nine innings.
Gallen (2-2) threw first-pitch strikes to 23 of 35 batters and only allowed one extra-base hit - a Joel McKeithan leadoff double in the third. NC State (19-13, 7-8 ACC) scored its only run of the game in the sixth on an error. The Wolfpack only got a runner past second one other time, however, and the Tar Heel offense did just enough.
UNC (21-13, 8-8 ACC) loaded the bases in the first against Cory Wilder but failed to score. Wilder, who walked six and struck out seven, walked two more to start the third and Carolina broke through with an RBI single from Tyler Ramirez.
Joe O'Donnell (2-2) relieved Wilder in the sixth and got three ground ball outs before Bolt's fifth home run of the year in the seventh. The Tar Heel center fielder drove a 2-1 pitch out to right center for what proved to be the winning run.
Gallen showed no signs of letting up in the final innings, retiring the final nine Wolfpack batters for Carolina's first complete game since Trent Thornton's shutout at Boston College in 2014. Gallen has now gone at least 7.0 innings in four of his six ACC starts this season and his 48/10 strikeout-to-walk ratio leads the team.
The Tar Heels send J.B. Bukauskas to the mound Saturday at 6 p.m. opposite NC State's Brian Brown.
