North Carolina
4-0
Kansas State
1-4
Carolina Wins Tuesday Night Thriller Over Kansas State
February 18, 2025 | Baseball
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The Tar Heels (4-0, 0-0 ACC) completed their four game sweep of their Big 12 regular season foes behind some clutch hitting at multiple key points of the contest. Three different times the Wildcats took the lead on the night, and three different times UNC answered immediately in their bottom half of the inning. At no point did an inning end with Kansas State in the lead.
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Carolina came to the plate for the first time down two runs, but wasted no time getting back on top. Six straight Tar Heels reached safely stretching from Tyson Bass to Alex Madera and the team hit all the way through the lineup to chase the Kansas State starter and score four runs.
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Then, trailing once again, Luke Stevenson came to plate in the sixth and smoked a single right past a shifted shortstop to bring Kane Kepley from second and tie the score. It was by far the best day of the young season for the Tar Heels' star catcher, who had two hits, three RBIs, and caught his first attempted base stealer of the year.
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The bottom of the seventh was the final turning point for the Diamond Heels. With two outs and two on, Hunter Stokely started a rally with a hard hit ball past the third baseman that tied the game at 6-6.
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Then up steps Bass, who knocked another single up the middle to score a pair of go ahead runs. Yet another well placed single, this time from Stevenson, put two more across and secured the game for Carolina. Two more RBIs in the eighth for Madera and Gavin Gallaher insured the victory.
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North Carolina head coach Scott Forbes has repeatedly said that he doesn't factor in age when making his lineup decision. That whoever he thinks will give his team the best chance to win will play, regardless of their prior experience. He's certainly held true to that belief early in the 2025 campaign.
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True freshman Camron Seagraves picked up his first win against the Wildcats in only his second collegiate appearance. All four of the pitchers of record for North Carolina this season have been underclassmen, with Jason DeCaro as the only one that isn't a first-year. Â
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The arms may be young, but the bats are led by veterans. The sixth-year senior Madera paces the Tar Heels with a .417 batting average and a .529 on-base percentage through the first four games.
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Next up for North Carolina is their traveling series with in-state rivals East Carolina. Friday afternoon's game will be held in Greenville at 5 p.m. ET, followed by a Saturday, Feb. 22 trip to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park at 12:30 p.m. The final contest of the series returns the Heels to the friendly confines of Boshamer Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. Â
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Seagraves, Camron (1-0)
L: Guyette, James (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Kennedy, Dee 2
HR: Martin, Maximus 1
RBI: Kennedy, Dee 2 ; Inoue, Shintaro 1 ; English, Nick 1 ; O'Connor, Keegan 1 ; Martin, Maximus 2
SH: Phillips, Cayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kennedy, Dee 2 ; Lewis, Donte 1 ; English, Nick 1 ; O'Connor, Keegan 1 ; Martin, Maximus 3 ; Bishop, David 1
CS: Kennedy, Dee 1
HBP: O'Connor, Keegan 1
Batting:
2B: Van De Brake, Jackson 1
RBI: Bass, Tyson 2 ; Stevenson, Luke 3 ; Kellis V, Rom 1 ; Madera, Alex 2 ; Gallaher, Gavin 2 ; Stokely, Hunter 1
SF: Madera, Alex 1 ; Gallaher, Gavin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kepley, Kane 2 ; Bass, Tyson 2 ; Stevenson, Luke 1 ; Kellis V, Rom 1 ; Angelo, Sam 1 ; Holbrook, Reece 1 ; Van De Brake, Jackson 2 ; Gallaher, Gavin 1 ; Stokely, Hunter 1
SB: Kepley, Kane 1 ; Kellis V, Rom 1
HBP: Kepley, Kane 2 ; Dye, Macaddin 1
