University of North Carolina Athletics
Saturday, March 25
Chapel Hill, N.C.
2 p.m.
North Carolina
18-6, 4-3
5
vs
3
Duke
15-9, 4-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Duke
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
3
6
0
North Carolina
1
0
0
1
3
0
0
0
X
5
9
1
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Horvath, Sandy Lock Up Series Win Over Duke
March 25, 2023 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Mac Horvath hit his 13th home run of the season and Will Sandy earned his first career save to lead No. 15 North Carolina to a 5-3 win over Duke on Saturday to claim the series.
Horvath, tied for the NCAA Division I lead in home runs, belted a go-ahead, three-run drive in the fifth to put UNC (18-6, 4-3 ACC) up 5-2 after Johnny Castagnozzi tied the game with a mammoth solo shot in fourth.
"That's a really big win for guys," UNC head coach Scott Forbes said. "There are so many things that I could talk about, but at the end of the day, it's pitching and defense. Johnny made two errors last night, but we believe in him and stuck with him; he makes our offense more dynamic, and he made some great plays at third base today.
Duke answered with a run in the top of the sixth. Jay Beshears doubled to lead off the frame and then scored on an infield grounder by Luke Storm.
From the seventh inning on, the game belonged to UNC reliever Will Sandy.
Sandy struck out the first four batters he faced, fanning the side in the seventh and third baseman Andrew Fischer to lead off the eighth. The Blue Devils put two runners on in the inning, but Sandy got Chad Knight to fly out to end the frame before working a one, two, three ninth.
"I tell the team all the time that for us to have a great season, someone has to do something they haven't done," Forbes said. "Will had never closed out a game before, now we know we can do it. To see him have the success he's had the last couple of weeks is huge for our team because that gives us another really good lefty."
He struck out five in 3.0 innings pitched with one hit and a walk.
Jake Knapp (3-0) earned his third win of the season and recorded his first quality start, allowing three runs in 6.0 innings with five strikeouts. He gave up five hits without issuing a walk.
Duke starter Alex Gow (2-2) gave up five runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings pitched with five strikeouts and one walk. Charlie Beilenson replaced him after Horvath homered.
The Tar Heels won their fourth consecutive series over the Blue Devils (15-9, 4-5 ACC) and their seventh straight at Boshamer Stadium.
North Carolina returns to action on Tuesday, March 28, as it hosts Coastal Carolina at Boshamer Stadium. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Horvath, tied for the NCAA Division I lead in home runs, belted a go-ahead, three-run drive in the fifth to put UNC (18-6, 4-3 ACC) up 5-2 after Johnny Castagnozzi tied the game with a mammoth solo shot in fourth.
"That's a really big win for guys," UNC head coach Scott Forbes said. "There are so many things that I could talk about, but at the end of the day, it's pitching and defense. Johnny made two errors last night, but we believe in him and stuck with him; he makes our offense more dynamic, and he made some great plays at third base today.
Duke answered with a run in the top of the sixth. Jay Beshears doubled to lead off the frame and then scored on an infield grounder by Luke Storm.
From the seventh inning on, the game belonged to UNC reliever Will Sandy.
Sandy struck out the first four batters he faced, fanning the side in the seventh and third baseman Andrew Fischer to lead off the eighth. The Blue Devils put two runners on in the inning, but Sandy got Chad Knight to fly out to end the frame before working a one, two, three ninth.
"I tell the team all the time that for us to have a great season, someone has to do something they haven't done," Forbes said. "Will had never closed out a game before, now we know we can do it. To see him have the success he's had the last couple of weeks is huge for our team because that gives us another really good lefty."
He struck out five in 3.0 innings pitched with one hit and a walk.
Jake Knapp (3-0) earned his third win of the season and recorded his first quality start, allowing three runs in 6.0 innings with five strikeouts. He gave up five hits without issuing a walk.
Duke starter Alex Gow (2-2) gave up five runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings pitched with five strikeouts and one walk. Charlie Beilenson replaced him after Horvath homered.
The Tar Heels won their fourth consecutive series over the Blue Devils (15-9, 4-5 ACC) and their seventh straight at Boshamer Stadium.
North Carolina returns to action on Tuesday, March 28, as it hosts Coastal Carolina at Boshamer Stadium. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Knapp, Jake (3-0)
L: Gow, Alex (2-2)
S: Sandy, Will (1)
Batting:
2B: Mooney, Alex 1 ; Fischer, Andrew 1 ; Beshears, Jay 1 ; Albright, Tyler 1
RBI: Mooney, Alex 1 ; Fischer, Andrew 1 ; Storm, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mooney, Alex 1 ; Beshears, Jay 1 ; Albright, Tyler 1
SB: DiGiacomo, Giovanni 1
HBP: Stone, Alex 1
Batting:
2B: Honeycutt, Vance 1 ; Frick, Tomas 1
HR: Horvath, Mac 1 ; Castagnozzi, Johnny 1
RBI: Horvath, Mac 3 ; Frick, Tomas 1 ; Castagnozzi, Johnny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Honeycutt, Vance 2 ; Horvath, Mac 1 ; Castagnozzi, Johnny 1 ; Wilkerson, Colby 1
SB: Honeycutt, Vance 1
HBP: Cook, Casey 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
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