Saturday, March 9
Chapel Hill
3 p.m.
North Carolina
13-2, 0
7
vs
4
Pittsburgh
8-3, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Pittsburgh
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
1
4
7
2
North Carolina
0
0
0
0
2
0
5
0
X
7
9
1
Cook Powers Baseball To Series Win Over Pitt
March 10, 2024 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Casey Cook drove in five runs, Jason DeCaro pitched 6.1 strong innings with a career-high six strikeouts, and No. 16 North Carolina used a five-run seventh inning to defeat Pitt 7-4 on Saturday, earning the series win.
The Tar Heels (13-2, 2-0 ACC) posted their eighth straight victory and 16th consecutive home win. The Panthers (8-3, 0-2) have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season after opening the year 8-1.
Cook collected a career-high five RBIs with a two-run single in the fifth and a three-run homer in the seventh.
"This year, I'm trying to drive in some more runs," Cook said. "That's the goal. I've got Alex Madera and Vance [Honeycutt] in front of me, and they're on base; it seems like every single time I'm up there, and that makes my job easy."
Madera and Colby Wilkerson each recorded a pair of hits.
DeCaro retired the first 11 men he faced before hitting Luke Cantwell with an 0-2 pitch. He struck out C.J. Funk to end the fourth before losing his no-hit bid in the fifth but maintained the shutout through five innings.
"That dude is special, and we knew he was going to be special," Forbes explained. "He holds his velocity and usually throws harder at the end. He's also had to be on shorter rest, which now he won't be. We'll settle in with these freshmen on Friday and Saturday."
Cook laced a two-out single through the left side in the fifth to put UNC ahead 2-0. The Tar Heels held the two-run lead until the seventh when Justin Fogel and Tyler Bischke delivered run-scoring doubles to tie the game.
Carolina answered with five runs in the bottom of the frame, sending 10 men to the plate. Wilkerson and Madera reached on consecutive infield hits to lead off the inning. Wilkerson scored on a dropped fly ball in right field to bring Cook to the plate with two runners aboard.
Alberto Osuna delivered the fifth run of the inning with a base hit to left, scoring Anthony Donofrio from second base.
Matthew Matthijs (6-0) relieved DeCaro in the seventh and retired two of the three men he faced to earn his NCAA-leading sixth win. Aidan Haugh pitched the eighth, and Dalton Pence pitched the ninth, with both hurlers surrendering one run.
Ethan Firoved (2-1) took the loss, giving up four runs on three hits without retiring a batter in the seventh. Pitt starter Jack Sokol pitched six innings and gave up two runs on four hits before exiting before the start of the seventh.
The Tar Heels will attempt a series sweep Sunday at Boshamer Stadium. The game will start at 1 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
B5 – Casey Cook singles through the left side to drive in two runs (UNC, 2-0).
T7 – Fogel doubled to right field and drove in C.J. Funk from first base (UNC, 2-1).
T7 – Bischke doubled to right, and Fogle scored from second base (T, 2-2).
B7 – Wilkerson scored on a dropped fly ball by Funk in right field (UNC, 3-2).
B7 – Cook hit a three-run home run to right field (UNC, 6-2).
B7 – Osuna singled through the left side to plate Donofrio from second base (UNC, 7-2).
T8 – Dom Popa scored on a fielder's choice (UNC, 7-3).
T9 – Josh Spiegel doubled to right field to drive in Keeton Burroughs (UNC, 7-4).
NOTABLES:
• North Carolina improved to 18-11 all-time against Pitt, including a 12-2 mark at Boshamer Stadium.
• The Tar Heels have won six in a row over the Panthers and all five series against Pitt at Boshamer Stadium.
• Cook belted his third home run of the season, equaling his 60-game total from a year ago.
• Matthijs is the first Tar Heel to win his first six decisions since Brett Daniels won his first seven and Caden O'Brien his first six in 2018.
• Vance Honeycutt reached base for the 50th consecutive game.
The Tar Heels (13-2, 2-0 ACC) posted their eighth straight victory and 16th consecutive home win. The Panthers (8-3, 0-2) have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season after opening the year 8-1.
Cook collected a career-high five RBIs with a two-run single in the fifth and a three-run homer in the seventh.
"This year, I'm trying to drive in some more runs," Cook said. "That's the goal. I've got Alex Madera and Vance [Honeycutt] in front of me, and they're on base; it seems like every single time I'm up there, and that makes my job easy."
Madera and Colby Wilkerson each recorded a pair of hits.
DeCaro retired the first 11 men he faced before hitting Luke Cantwell with an 0-2 pitch. He struck out C.J. Funk to end the fourth before losing his no-hit bid in the fifth but maintained the shutout through five innings.
"That dude is special, and we knew he was going to be special," Forbes explained. "He holds his velocity and usually throws harder at the end. He's also had to be on shorter rest, which now he won't be. We'll settle in with these freshmen on Friday and Saturday."
Cook laced a two-out single through the left side in the fifth to put UNC ahead 2-0. The Tar Heels held the two-run lead until the seventh when Justin Fogel and Tyler Bischke delivered run-scoring doubles to tie the game.
Carolina answered with five runs in the bottom of the frame, sending 10 men to the plate. Wilkerson and Madera reached on consecutive infield hits to lead off the inning. Wilkerson scored on a dropped fly ball in right field to bring Cook to the plate with two runners aboard.
Alberto Osuna delivered the fifth run of the inning with a base hit to left, scoring Anthony Donofrio from second base.
Matthew Matthijs (6-0) relieved DeCaro in the seventh and retired two of the three men he faced to earn his NCAA-leading sixth win. Aidan Haugh pitched the eighth, and Dalton Pence pitched the ninth, with both hurlers surrendering one run.
Ethan Firoved (2-1) took the loss, giving up four runs on three hits without retiring a batter in the seventh. Pitt starter Jack Sokol pitched six innings and gave up two runs on four hits before exiting before the start of the seventh.
The Tar Heels will attempt a series sweep Sunday at Boshamer Stadium. The game will start at 1 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
B5 – Casey Cook singles through the left side to drive in two runs (UNC, 2-0).
T7 – Fogel doubled to right field and drove in C.J. Funk from first base (UNC, 2-1).
T7 – Bischke doubled to right, and Fogle scored from second base (T, 2-2).
B7 – Wilkerson scored on a dropped fly ball by Funk in right field (UNC, 3-2).
B7 – Cook hit a three-run home run to right field (UNC, 6-2).
B7 – Osuna singled through the left side to plate Donofrio from second base (UNC, 7-2).
T8 – Dom Popa scored on a fielder's choice (UNC, 7-3).
T9 – Josh Spiegel doubled to right field to drive in Keeton Burroughs (UNC, 7-4).
NOTABLES:
• North Carolina improved to 18-11 all-time against Pitt, including a 12-2 mark at Boshamer Stadium.
• The Tar Heels have won six in a row over the Panthers and all five series against Pitt at Boshamer Stadium.
• Cook belted his third home run of the season, equaling his 60-game total from a year ago.
• Matthijs is the first Tar Heel to win his first six decisions since Brett Daniels won his first seven and Caden O'Brien his first six in 2018.
• Vance Honeycutt reached base for the 50th consecutive game.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Matthijs, Matthew (6-0)
L: Ethan Firoved (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Dom Popa 1 ; Justin Fogel 1 ; Tyler Bischke 1 ; Josh Spiegel 1
RBI: C.J. Funk 1 ; Justin Fogel 1 ; Tyler Bischke 1 ; Josh Spiegel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dom Popa 1 ; C.J. Funk 1 ; Justin Fogel 1 ; Keeton Burroughs 1
HBP: Dom Popa 1 ; Luke Cantwell 1
Batting:
HR: Cook, Casey 1
RBI: Cook, Casey 5 ; Osuna, Alberto 1
SH: Madera, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Madera, Alex 1 ; Honeycutt, Vance 1 ; Cook, Casey 1 ; Donofrio, Anthony 1 ; Castagnozzi, Johnny 1 ; Wilkerson, Colby 2
SB: Honeycutt, Vance 1 ; Donofrio, Anthony 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
5
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
1B/DH
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
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