Baseball Rally Comes Up One Run Short Against VCU

Saturday, June 4

Chapel Hill

7 p.m.

North Carolina

39-20

VCU

42-18

North Carolina

VCU

June 5, 2022 | Baseball

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By: Jody Jones

CHAPEL HILL – Connor Hujack's eighth inning home run proved to the difference for VCU on Saturday as the top-seeded Tar Heels came up one run short, 4-3, in the Chapel Hill Regional winner's bracket game.

North Carolina (39-20) will face Georgia in an elimination game Sunday at 1 p.m. with the winner advancing to play VCU (42-18) in the regional championship game at 6 p.m.

Before hitting the game-winning home run in the eighth, Hujack pushed the Rams out to a 1-0 lead with a solo blast in the second inning. The score remained 1-0 until the seventh when VCU scored two runs on double down the left field line by Connor Benzin.

The Tar Heels didn't go down without a fight.

Vance Honeycutt homered to lead off the eighth and Danny Serretti hit a two-out, two-run home run in the ninth to pull Carolina within a run.

Honeycutt and Alberto Osuna followed with back-to-back walks to put the tying and go-ahead runs on base. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels the rally ended their as Mikey Madej popped up to end the game.

Tomas Frick led the Heels with three hits, while Serretti and Madej collected two apiece.

Despite only surrendering one run in 5.1 innings pitcher, Brandon Schaeffer (7-3) took and Campbell Ellis (5-4) earned the victory.

NOTABLES
• UNC Head Coach Scott Forbes was ejected in the middle of the third inning. Forbes was issued a two-game suspension by the NCAA following the ejection.
• Honeycutt hit his 23^rd home run of the season, moving into second place on the school's single season list.
• Shawn Rapp made his 41^st pitching appearance of the season to move into a tie for fourth place on the program's single-season list.