Holtzapple, Sabato Homer In 8-3 Win Versus VCU

Wednesday, March 4

Chapel Hill, N.C.

3 p.m.

North Carolina

10-4

VCU

8-4

VCU

North Carolina

March 4, 2020 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Aury St. Germain

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL- North Carolina put together a complete performance to roll past VCU, 8-3, en route to its third-straight victory.

The Tar Heels jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning before the Rams cut the lead in half with a run in the top of the second inning. Both squads were quiet until the Tar Heels exploded in the sixth inning for four runs behind home runs off the bats of Jake Holtzapple and Aaron Sabato.

VCU posted a pair of runs in the top of the seventh before North Carolina answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the frame. The scoring ended there, as UNC won 8-3.

Angel Zarate ended with a pair of hits for the second-straight game while Jake Holtzapple smashed the first home run of his career.

On the mound, David Palermo earned his first career victory.

Key Moments

After Aaron Sabato reached on an error, Angel Zarate doubled to left field to give North Carolina a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Joey Lancellotti plated Zarate with a two-out single up the middle to push the UNC lead to two runs.
VCU cut the lead to a run in the second inning after a throwing error on Jake Holtzapple allowed a runner to score.
David Palermo came into the game for O'Brien in the fourth inning was extremely effective, retiring the first nine batters he faced.
Jake Holtzapple hit his first home run as a Tar Heel in the sixth inning to give the Tar Heels a 4-1 lead.
Aaron Sabato hit his second home run of the season in the sixth frame to push the lead to 6-1.
The Rams scored a pair of runs in the seventh inning to shrink the lead to 6-3.
North Carolina responded in the bottom of the frame when Eric Grintz and Mikey Madej each recorded RBI singles to take an 8-3 lead.

Noteworthy

Holtzapple hit his first home run of his career in the sixth inning.
Sabato hit his first home run since Feb. 19 against High Point.
Zarate extended his hitting streak to six games and his reached base streak to 14.
Eric Grintz recorded his first RBI since Feb. 18 against Elon.
Palermo struck out a career-high four batters.
Chris Joyner struck out two of the three batters he faced.
Palermo earned his first-career win.

Postgame Quotes

Mike Fox, Head Coach
Opening Statement
"I really thought today was one of our most impressive wins of the season. Coming off of the weekend – we had a long day Sunday of traveling – had a four-hour game last night, I just didn't know what to expect today. I thought it was one of our more complete games, other than a miscue at third, I thought we pitched well, only struck out one time and got a couple of big home runs. Today was a good win against a good club for us."

On Jake Holtzapple's standout performance
"We see Jake hit every day. In scrimmages he barrels balls, and we started him in a game in Minnesota and he got a big hit for us in the comeback win. It's not a surprise he did what he did, it's a little bit of surprise in that he pulled the ball up into the net that high, but you never know when you give kids a chance. That was so good to see, he's had such a journey here. That's a credit to him, he's just stuck with it. That was the highlight of the day for us and our team."

Aaron Sabato, Sophomore, First Baseman
On how the CambriaCollegeClassic and today's game helps prepare the team for ACC play
"It definitely prepares you. When you get into ACC play, it's not easy. Every game is close, every game is 1-2 runs. It's just how it is in the ACC when you play competitive teams and guys who are fighting for standings. You're going to lose on walk-offs, you're going to win on walk-offs. It's just that prepares you, you've seen it before. Now, when it's ACC and its us versus Louisville, N.C. State or Duke, the game is not over until the last out is made. You just keep going."

Up Next
The Tar Heels open up ACC play against Notre Dame on Friday (March 6) at Boshamer Stadium for a three-game set.