Diamond Heels Finish Off Sweep Of Georgia Tech

Sunday, March 24

Chapel Hill

12 p.m.

North Carolina

21-4, 0

Georgia Tech

16-7, 0

Georgia Tech

North Carolina

March 24, 2024 | Baseball

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By: UNC Athletics Communications

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Parks Harber and Luke Stevenson hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth, Shea Sprague pitched eight splendid innings, and No. 20 North Carolina completed a three-game series sweep with a 9-2 win over Georgia Tech on Sunday.

Vance Honeycutt homered for the second straight game, and Alberto Osuna drove in two as the Tar Heels (21-4, 7-2 ACC) won their fifth straight game, extending their home winning streak to 23 games.

Sprague (1-1) scattered five hits over eight innings while striking out five and allowing two runs, one earned, to record his first win as a Tar Heel. He retired the side in order in the first, fifth, sixth, and eighth innings.

"He is very competitive, and he's not going to back down," UNC head coach Scott Forbes said. "He's crafty, but he's worked in the weight room. He's learned to pitch in to righties. When [he] can pitch in to righties or away to lefties and throw that change up, [he] can be extremely frustrating."

Yellow Jackets starter Logan McGuire (2-1) pitched three innings and surrendered five runs, all earned, five hits, and three walks.

Freshman Drew Burress had two hits and scored both Georgia Tech (16-7, 3-3) runs. He came home on a sacrifice fly in the fourth and a passed ball in the ninth.

The Tar Heels plated three runs in the first inning. Osuna opened the scoring with a bases-loaded double that scored Gavin Gallaher and Honeycutt. Alex Madera brought home the third run with a groundout.

UNC increased its lead to 5-1 in the fourth on solo home runs by Harber and Stevenson.

After Gallaher lifted a sacrifice fly in the sixth, Honeycutt smashed a three-run homer off left-handed pitcher Cam Jones, who was brought into to face him with a 1-2 count.

"I knew his best pitch was a change-up, and I was just looking for something out over the plate," Honeycutt said. I got one.

"Home runs come in spurts. I try to have good at-bats and let the rest take care of itself."

The Tar Heels return to the diamond on Tuesday to face North Carolina A&T at Boshamer Stadium. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m.

NOTABLE
• The Tar Heels' 23 consecutive wins at Boshamer Stadium is the second-longest home winning streak in school history.
• UNC swept a series from Georgia Tech for the first time since 2018. The Tar Heels have won six of seven against the Yellow Jackets over the past two seasons.
•Sprague threw a career-high 8.0 innings. His previous career-high was 7.2 against Monmouth as a sophomore at Elon last season.
•Honeycutt hit his 45th career home run and is two shy of tying Mac Horvath for third place on the school's all-time list.
•Harber has collected multiple hits in consecutive games for the second time this season. He had multiple hits in each of the year's first two games.