Diamond Heels Open Pool Play With Win Over GT

Tuesday, May 23

Durham, N.C.

3 p.m.

North Carolina

34-21

Georgia Tech

30-26

Georgia Tech

North Carolina

Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI

May 23, 2023 | Baseball

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By: UNC Athletics Communications

DURHAM, N.C. – Patrick Alvarez drove in three runs, Mac Horvath homered and No. 7 North Carolina snapped a four-game losing streak with an 11-5 win over No. 11 Georgia Tech on the opening day of the 2023 ACC Baseball Championship at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park Tuesday.

UNC faces No. 2 seed Virginia on Thursday at 3 p.m. with a chance to advance to Saturday's tournament semifinal with a win.

Alvarez collected three RBIs with a two-run single in the first and an run-producing double in the eighth. He finished 3-for-5 with a run scored.

Tomas Frick also finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and Jackson Van De Brake drove in a pair of runs for the Tar Heels, who piled up 15 hits with seven starters collecting multiple hits. Hunter Stokely had two of their five extra base hits, doubling twice.

Ben Peterson (2-0), who came on in the fifth inning in relief of starter Max Carlson, picked up the win on the mound for UNC, and Matt Poston pitched the final 2.1 innings to earn his fifth save. Ben King (6-2) took the loss on the mound for the Yellow Jackets.

UNC got three two-out runs in the first as Frick singled past the diving Jadyn Jackson at shortstop to plate Horvath. Stokely ripped a two-out double to center and Alvarez drove in both runners with base hit to center.

Stokely had an RBI double in the third.

Georgia Tech intentionally walked Horvath to load the bases with two outs in the sixth. Johnny Castagnozzi scored on a wild pitch by Tyler Busse and Jackson Van De Brake laced a two-run single into center field to extend the lead to 7-2.

The Yellow Jackets scored two runs in the seventh to make it a three-run game, but UNC answered with four in the bottom of the eighth, propelled by Horvath's mammoth home run. Frick, Alvarez and Castagnozzi each drove in run during the frame.

Casey Cook singled in the fourth to extend his on-base streak to 44 games, while Vance Honeycutt missed his fifth consecutive game due to injury.