Saturday, February 24
Fayetteville, N.C.
2 p.m.
North Carolina
5-1
4
vs
7
East Carolina
4-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
East Carolina
0
0
2
0
2
0
3
0
0
7
15
0
North Carolina
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
1
4
7
2
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Baseball Rally Comes Up Short Against ECU
February 24, 2024 | Baseball
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Zach Root pitched seven shutout innings and struck out seven to lead No. 11 East Carolina to a 7-4 win over No. 15 North Carolina at Segra Stadium on Saturday in game two of a three-game series.
The Tar Heels trailed 7-0 after seven but rallied to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth, only to have ECU third baseman Dixon Williams rob Alex Madera of an extra-base hit to end the game.
ECU (4-2) collected 15 hits, with Carter Cunningham and Jacob Starling recording four hits. Six players drove in a run for the Pirates, with Jacob Jenkins-Cowart driving in two runs.
UNC senior Albert Osuna went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, and junior Vance Honeycutt collected a pair of hits and RBIs while homering for the fifth time.
Osuna got Carolina (5-1) on the board with a one-out solo home run in the eighth before Honeycutt launched a two-run shot with two outs.
Parks Harber and Anthony Donofrio reached to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and Harber scored on Osuna's two-out hit back up the middle, bringing Madera to the plate.
Danny Beal, who gave up Honecyutt's game-winning home run Friday night, earned the save, retiring Madera on a hard-line drive out.
Root (2-0) allowed one hit and faced the minimum through five innings. He scattered three hits over seven innings without issuing a walk.
UNC starter Ben Peterson (0-1) took the loss after surrendering two runs on six hits in 3.1 innings with three strikeouts.
The series concludes Sunday at Clark-LeClair Stadium Greenville, with the first pitch scheduled for approximately 2 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• T3 – Carter Cunningham doubled to left field to plate Ryley Johnson, who reached with a two-out single (ECU, 1-0).
• T3 – Jacob Starling doubled to center field to drive home Cunningham (ECU, 2-0).
• T5 – Jacob Jenkins-Cowart laced a two-run single to left field to plate Starling and Cunningham (ECU, 4-0).
• T7 – Dixon Williams drew a bases loaded walk (ECU, 5-0).
• T7 – Justin Wilcoxen and Bristol Carter lifted back-to-back sacrifice flies, scoring Starling and Jenkins-Cowart (ECU, 7-0).
• B8 – Osuna hit a solo home run to right field (ECU, 7-1).
• B8 – Honeycutt hit a two-run homer to left field (ECU, 7-3).
• B9 – Osuna singled up the middle to plate Harber (ECU, 7-4)
NOTABLES:
• Honeycutt homered for the third consecutive game. It's the fourth time in his career that he's homered in three or more consecutive games. He homered in four straight games as a freshman in 2022.
• Honeycutt hit his 42nd career home run, moving into a tie with Chad Flack (2005-08) for fourth-place on the school's all-time list.
• Casey Cook didn't record a hit for the first time this season.
• Osuna recorded his second three-hit game of the season.
The Tar Heels trailed 7-0 after seven but rallied to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth, only to have ECU third baseman Dixon Williams rob Alex Madera of an extra-base hit to end the game.
ECU (4-2) collected 15 hits, with Carter Cunningham and Jacob Starling recording four hits. Six players drove in a run for the Pirates, with Jacob Jenkins-Cowart driving in two runs.
UNC senior Albert Osuna went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, and junior Vance Honeycutt collected a pair of hits and RBIs while homering for the fifth time.
Osuna got Carolina (5-1) on the board with a one-out solo home run in the eighth before Honeycutt launched a two-run shot with two outs.
Parks Harber and Anthony Donofrio reached to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and Harber scored on Osuna's two-out hit back up the middle, bringing Madera to the plate.
Danny Beal, who gave up Honecyutt's game-winning home run Friday night, earned the save, retiring Madera on a hard-line drive out.
Root (2-0) allowed one hit and faced the minimum through five innings. He scattered three hits over seven innings without issuing a walk.
UNC starter Ben Peterson (0-1) took the loss after surrendering two runs on six hits in 3.1 innings with three strikeouts.
The series concludes Sunday at Clark-LeClair Stadium Greenville, with the first pitch scheduled for approximately 2 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• T3 – Carter Cunningham doubled to left field to plate Ryley Johnson, who reached with a two-out single (ECU, 1-0).
• T3 – Jacob Starling doubled to center field to drive home Cunningham (ECU, 2-0).
• T5 – Jacob Jenkins-Cowart laced a two-run single to left field to plate Starling and Cunningham (ECU, 4-0).
• T7 – Dixon Williams drew a bases loaded walk (ECU, 5-0).
• T7 – Justin Wilcoxen and Bristol Carter lifted back-to-back sacrifice flies, scoring Starling and Jenkins-Cowart (ECU, 7-0).
• B8 – Osuna hit a solo home run to right field (ECU, 7-1).
• B8 – Honeycutt hit a two-run homer to left field (ECU, 7-3).
• B9 – Osuna singled up the middle to plate Harber (ECU, 7-4)
NOTABLES:
• Honeycutt homered for the third consecutive game. It's the fourth time in his career that he's homered in three or more consecutive games. He homered in four straight games as a freshman in 2022.
• Honeycutt hit his 42nd career home run, moving into a tie with Chad Flack (2005-08) for fourth-place on the school's all-time list.
• Casey Cook didn't record a hit for the first time this season.
• Osuna recorded his second three-hit game of the season.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: ROOT, Zach (2-0)
L: Peterson, Ben (0-1)
S: BEAL, Danny (1)
Batting:
2B: CUNNINGHAM, C. 1 ; STARLING, Jacob 2 ; WILLIAMS, Dixon 1
RBI: CUNNINGHAM, C. 1 ; STARLING, Jacob 1 ; JENKINS-COWART, J. 2 ; WILLIAMS, Dixon 1 ; WILCOXEN, Justin 1 ; CARTER, Bristol 1
SF: WILCOXEN, Justin 1 ; CARTER, Bristol 1
Base Running:
RUNS: JOHNSON, Ryley 1 ; CUNNINGHAM, C. 3 ; STARLING, Jacob 2 ; JENKINS-COWART, J. 1
SB: JOHNSON, Ryley 1 ; STARLING, Jacob 1
HBP: CARTER, Bristol 1
Batting:
HR: Honeycutt, Vance 1 ; Osuna, Alberto 1
RBI: Honeycutt, Vance 2 ; Osuna, Alberto 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Honeycutt, Vance 1 ; Harber, Parks 1 ; Osuna, Alberto 1 ; Gallaher, Gavin 1
CS: Honeycutt, Vance 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
2b/ss
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
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