North Carolina
24-11, 0
Miami
21-13, 0
Stokely's 11th Inning Home Run Walks Off Miami
April 15, 2023 | Baseball
Hunter Stokely hit a walk-off, two-out home run, sending the 1-0 pitch 389 feet over the left wall to complete the program's largest comeback since the 2007 Super Regional against South Carolina.
"I've never had emotions like that in baseball before; I've never had a walk-off hit before," Stokely said. "I kind of blacked out when I touched second base."
Casey Cook pushed the game to the 11th with a two-out, game-tying home run in the 10th off All-America closer Andrew Walters on a 3-2 count. Nik Pry got the final out of the top half of the 11th with two runners on to put the Tar Heels in a position to walk it off.
Friday's game was halted in the top of the eighth with one out and a runner on third base, and the score tied at 7-7. The game was halted at approximately 9:50 EDT due to a torrential downpour in the area and was suspended a short time later and resumed Saturday before the teams' series finale.
UNC caught Miami baserunner John Long in a rundown between third and home for the second out of the eighth, and pitcher Kevin Eaise got pinch-hitter Edgardo Villegas to ground out harmlessly to end the inning.
The Hurricanes led 6-0 in the middle of the third, but the Tar Heels came all the way back to take the lead 7-6 in the sixth. Miami tied the game with a run in the seventh.
Dominic Pitelli homered in the 10th to put the Hurricanes up a run and set the stage for Cook and Stokely's heroics.
Pry (1-0) picked up the win by getting one out on four pitchers, while Ronaldo Gallo (0-3) suffered his third loss of the year.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Pry, Nik (1-0)
L: Ronaldo Gallo (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Zach Levenson 1 ; Ian Farrow 1
HR: Blake Cyr 1 ; Dominic Pitelli 1 ; Carlos Perez 1
RBI: Yohandy Morales 1 ; Zach Levenson 1 ; Blake Cyr 2 ; Dominic Pitelli 2 ; Carlos Perez 2
SH: Carlos Perez 1
SF: Blake Cyr 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CJ Kayfus 1 ; Dario Gomez 2 ; Yohandy Morales 1 ; Blake Cyr 1 ; Dominic Pitelli 1 ; Ian Farrow 1 ; Carlos Perez 1
CS: Yohandy Morales 1
Batting:
2B: Horvath, Mac 1 ; Wilkerson, Colby 1
3B: Cook, Casey 1 ; Stokely, Hunter 1
HR: Cook, Casey 1 ; Stokely, Hunter 1
RBI: Cook, Casey 3 ; Horvath, Mac 1 ; Stokely, Hunter 2 ; Frick, Tomas 1 ; Hawke, Austin 1 ; Wilkerson, Colby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cook, Casey 2 ; Honeycutt, Vance 1 ; Stokely, Hunter 2 ; Frick, Tomas 1 ; Castagnozzi, Johnny 1 ; Hawke, Austin 2
HBP: Hawke, Austin 1
