Six-Run Rally Not Enough As Tar Heels Fall To Notre Dame

Saturday, March 7

Chapel Hill, N.C.

2 p.m.

North Carolina

Notre Dame

March 7, 2020 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery Photo Gallery II

By: Aury St. Germain

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina erased a six-run deficient, but Notre Dame edged North Carolina 11-8 in 10 innings at Boshamer Stadium.

The Tar Heels found themselves down 8-2 after six innings, but put together a five-run inning in the seventh to cut the Notre Dame lead to just one run. North Carolina tied up the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly before neither team scored in the ninth.

Dallas Tessar collected two doubles in the contest, a career-high. He finished as the Tar Heels' only batter with multiple hits. Joey Lancellotti, Will Stewart and Tyler Causey all finished with a pair of RBI.

Chris Joyner suffered his first loss on the mound, as he fell to 0-1.

Key Moments

Notre Dame took a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run home run to left field.
After a leadoff double from Dallas Tessar, Mikey Madej lined a two-out single up the middle to cut the Irish lead in half.
Tessar roped a double to lead off the fourth inning as well, eventually scoring on a wild pitch to tie the ballgame.
Danny Serretti ledoff the fifth inning with a single and Will Stewart drew a walk, but both were stranded.
Notre Dame retook the lead in the sixth inning with a two-out pinch-hit single to score a pair to make it 4-2.
Notre Dame pushed the lead to 8-2 after an RBI double and a three-run home run in the seventh inning.
The first three Tar Heels reached in the seventh inning after a leadoff walk from Sabato before Zarate was hit by a pitch and Serretti drew a walk.
Joey Lancellotti ran out a chopper to the third baseman in the seventh inning to score the first run of the inning for North Carolina.
Will Stewart followed Lancellotti's single with one of his own, which scores a pair and cut the Notre Dame lead to 8-5.
Tyler Causey roped a pinch-hit single to center field to score Stewart and Lancellotti in the seventh frame to cut the lead to 8-7.
The Tar Heels tied the game in the eighth inning when Lancellotti hit a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Sabato.
After loading the bases in the 10^th inning, Notre Dame hit a bases-clearing double to left field to take an 11-8 lead.

Notes

Angel Zarate singled in his first at-bat to extend his hitting streak to eight games and his reached base streak to 16.
Zarate's 16-game on-base streak is the longest by a Tar Heel to start a season since Logan Warmoth opened 2017 with a 26-game streak.
Lancellotti collected his eighth and ninth RBI of the season.
Chris Joyner suffered his first loss of the season on the mound.
Dallas Tessar smashed two doubles, a career-high.
The Tar Heels used eight pitchers, the most this weekend.
Aaron Sabato drew four walks.

Postgame Quote

Head Coach Mike Fox
On what the rally meant to the team
I am really proud of our team for coming back from an 8-2 deficient and tied it at eight runs. We just couldn't finish tonight. We ask our kids to compete from the first pitch until the last and that is what they did today. I couldn't be more proud of the fight our team showed today.

Up Next
The Tar Heels finish the series tomorrow (March 8) at 1 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium.