North Carolina
31-17, 0
NC State
31-16, 0
Wilkerson's Squeeze Bunt Walks Off NC State
May 12, 2023 | Baseball
Hunter Stokely walked to open the inning; Reece Holbrook pinch-ran for Stokely and advanced to second on Johnny Castgnozzi's sacrifice bunt.
Eric Grintz pinch-hit for Alberto Osuna and tripled down the right-field line, scoring Holbrook with the tying run.
Carter French came in to run for Grintz, and Wilkerson put down a slow roller up the first base line, plating French.
UNC Head Coach Scott Forbes admitted that the play was a risk.
"You're the hero or the goat most of the time when you make that call," Forbes said. "We've got speed on third base, and it's just one of those calls. I felt like, let's go for it right here. I felt great about it, and, thankfully, he got it down."
Matt Poston (3-2) issued a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth but retired three straight for the win.
Tomas Frick went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, while Wilkerson recorded his third three-hit game of the season and first since March 17 at Pittsburgh. Vance Honeycutt drove in three for North Carolina with a two-run double and infield hit.
It was the Tar Heels' third straight one-run victory.
"Last year, it was crazy," Frick said. "And I see a lot of similarities with this team, even though it's a different team. I think everyone believes that we're going to win the ballgame. At the beginning of the season, we were losing those one-run ball games, but now we're starting to figure it out, and it starting to believe a little more."
Cannon Peebles hit a three-run homer, and Payton Green had a two-run double in the first as NC State jumped out to a 5-0 lead.
UNC began its rally in the third, scoring four runs to cut the deficit to one. The Tar Heels loaded the bases and then got an RBI groundout from Van De Brake, a two-run double by Honeycutt, and an RBI double from Frick.
NC State added a run in the fourth and fifth inning and led 8-5 after seven.
Casey Cook and Van De Brake hit back-to-back doubles to start the eighth inning. Van De Brake advanced to third on a wild pitch from Dominic Fritton (3-4) and then scored as Honeycutt reached on an infield hit.
Cook led off the first with a double to reach base for the 37th consecutive game, tying the UNC freshman record set by Colin Moran in 2011.
Fritton took the loss, surrendering four runs on six hits in 4.0 innings.
The Tar Heels and Wolfpack will resume their series Friday at 7 p.m. inside Boshamer Stadium. The game will be televised on ACC Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Poston, Matt (3-2)
L: Dominic Fritton (3-4)
Batting:
2B: Will Marcy 1 ; Parker Nolan 1 ; Trevor Candelaria 1 ; Payton Green 1
HR: Cannon Peebles 1
RBI: Jacob Cozart 1 ; Cannon Peebles 3 ; Payton Green 2 ; Kalae Harrison 2
SF: Kalae Harrison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LuJames Groover III 1 ; Jacob Cozart 1 ; Cannon Peebles 1 ; Will Marcy 1 ; Parker Nolan 1 ; Trevor Candelaria 1 ; Eli Serrano III 1 ; Kalae Harrison 1
Batting:
2B: Cook, Casey 2 ; Van De Brake, Jackson 1 ; Honeycutt, Vance 1 ; Frick, Tomas 2
3B: Grintz, Eric 1
RBI: Van De Brake, Jackson 2 ; Honeycutt, Vance 3 ; Frick, Tomas 1 ; Castagnozzi, Johnny 1 ; Grintz, Eric 1 ; Wilkerson, Colby 1
SH: Castagnozzi, Johnny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cook, Casey 2 ; Van De Brake, Jackson 1 ; Honeycutt, Vance 1 ; Horvath, Mac 1 ; Holbrook, Reece 1 ; Osuna, Alberto 1 ; French, Carter 1 ; Wilkerson, Colby 1
HBP: Castagnozzi, Johnny 1
