University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia Tech
Gallen Fans Thirteen In Complete Game Win
April 9, 2016 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL --- Zac Gallen struck out a career-high 13 batters en route to his second career complete game shutout as No. 11 North Carolina blanked Virginia Tech 6-0 Friday night at Boshamer Stadium. Gallen struck out the side in the ninth - reaching 200 career punchouts in the process - to improve to 4-2 on the season. Kyle Datres hit his first career home run for the Tar Heels, who have won 29 of their last 31 games against the Hokies.
Gallen was at his efficient best against Virginia Tech (10-21, 1-12 ACC), throwing 80 of his 118 pitches for strikes. The junior right-hander from New Jersey faced just three more than the minimum, walking two and allowing four hits. He retired 10 straight at one point, and when Ryan Tufts reached on a leadoff walk in the seventh, Gallen promptly picked him off. Sean Fragale's one-out double in the eighth represented the only Hokie to advance past first all night.
Carolina (22-8, 7-6 ACC) scored single runs in the third, fourth and sixth before adding three in the eighth to put the game out of reach. Adam Pate and Brian Miller teamed up to create the first run of the night, with Miller singling home his fellow outfield speedster after a Zack Gahagan sacrifice. Gahagan had a very effective night at the plate, sandwiching a walk between a pair of sac bunts before a two-run single in the eighth capped the scoring.
Datres, who started at DH for the first time with Brandon Riley getting his first start in left, left no doubt on his first career long ball. The solo shot made it 2-0 in the fourth before Datres struck again with an RBI single in the sixth that scored Tyler Ramirez.
But the night belonged to Gallen, who lowered his ERA to a tidy 1.93 in 56.0 innings of work. It had been almost six years since a Tar Heel pitcher had recorded more than 12 strikeouts in a game before Friday, dating to a Matt Harvey 15-strikeout complete game win at Clemson in 2010.
Carolina and Virginia Tech continue their three-game series Saturday at 6 p.m.
