University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
6-0
East Carolina
2-4
Boaz And The Bats Rally To Beat ECU At The Bosh
February 23, 2025 | Baseball
The Tar Heels (6-0, 0-0 ACC) twice trailed in the middle innings, but rallied on each occasion to clinch the series victory over the Pirates. Carolina is now 39-11 defending Chapel Hill against their in-state rivals to the east.
If game one of the series was a pitcher's duel, this one was all about the offenses. North Carolina logged a season-high 13 hits, including their first home run of the year. Luke Stevenson belted a three-run blast to right in the first inning to get the proverbial monkey off the Tar Heel bats.
Eight of the 10 UNC hitters reached base safely at some point in the game, as the team backed up their hits with 10 walks. Veteran Hunter Stokely led the team with four hits in his five appearances, making clutch plays throughout. Three well placed singles in consecutive at-bats scored three crucial runs for Carolina, highlighted by the go-ahead score in the bottom of the sixth.
The final two of Stokely's singles scored Tyson Bass, who had a pair of doubles in both of those at-bats and scored three times in the game. The final nail in the coffin came from a Kane Kepley triple down the right field line in the eighth, the first three bagger of the year for the Heels.
On the mound Boaz led the way, giving up no runs with three strikeouts in 3.1 innings of relief to pick up his first win since returning from injury. Good work from him and Cam Padgett kept the Pirates' offense quiet down the stretch to help Carolina secure the victory.
With the series in hand, the Tar Heels will travel to Greenville on Monday looking for a clean sweep. First pitch in the Jungle will be at 5 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Boaz, Folger (1-0)
L: Williams, L. (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Kalinich, M. 1 ; Bouche, A. 1
HR: Barron, W. 1 ; Bouche, A. 1
RBI: Kalinich, M. 1 ; Bowman, K. 1 ; Herring, J. 1 ; Barron, W. 2 ; Bouche, A. 1
SH: Bowman, K. 1
SF: Herring, J. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kalinich, M. 1 ; Irby, A. 1 ; Wallace, C. 1 ; Barron, W. 1 ; Bouche, A. 2
HBP: Wallace, C. 1
Batting:
2B: Bass, Tyson 2
3B: Kepley, Kane 1
HR: Stevenson, Luke 1
RBI: Kepley, Kane 2 ; Stevenson, Luke 3 ; Bass, Tyson 1 ; Stokely, Hunter 3 ; Van De Brake, Jackson 1 ; Gallaher, Gavin 1
SF: Gallaher, Gavin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kepley, Kane 1 ; Madera, Alex 2 ; Stevenson, Luke 2 ; Bass, Tyson 3 ; Stokely, Hunter 1 ; French, Carter 1 ; Van De Brake, Jackson 1
SB: Kepley, Kane 1 ; Bass, Tyson 1
HBP: Kepley, Kane 1
