Thursday, May 8
Chapel Hill
6 PM
North Carolina
37-10, 0
8
vs
1
NC State
31-16, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
NC State
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
2
North Carolina
1
1
2
0
3
0
0
1
X
8
12
0
Dominant Team Performance Powers Tar Heels To 8-1 Win Over NC State
May 9, 2025 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Eight stellar innings from Jake Knapp, a shutdown defense behind him, and a steady outpouring of offense combined to give Carolina an 8-1 win over NC State on Thursday night.
The Tar Heels (37-10, 16-9 ACC) trailed after the top of the first before going on to score eight unanswered to take game one of the rivalry series. With 12 hits against the Wolfpack, Carolina has hit double digits in that category in 12 of their last 16 since waking up the bats against Duke.
Captain Jake Knapp was the star of the show, throwing a career high 8.0 innings with just the one run allowed on five hits and no walks. From the middle of the second until the eighth, he retired 18 straight batters to slam the door on any attempt at a Wolfpack rally.
Knapp's eight-inning outing marked the longest by a UNC pitcher against NC State since Austin Bergner did the same in 2018. In doing so Knapp moved to an unblemished 10-0 record, which gives him the most victories of any starting pitcher in the nation.
He improved his ACC leading ERA back to just a shade above two (2.03) and put together his sixth straight outing over 100 pitches. His usual relief partner Walker McDuffie only needed to come in for 1.0 inning of work, getting three straight outs to put the game to bed.
The defense behind the big righty was especially on point on an error-free Thursday night. Carter French in particular made multiple impressive plays in left to deny the Wolfpack extra base hits. Hunter Stokely made a diving stop in the top of the eighth, popping up to his knees to get the out at second and put a halt on an attempted NC State rally.
The Wolfpack needed to rally because the Carolina bats maintained a steady scoring pace all evening, led by their leadoff man Kane Kepley. The Salisbury, N.C., native was 3-for-4 on the night with a pair of doubles and three runs scored. His first two at-bats resulted in two-baggers that then led to Jackson Van De Brake RBIs.
Hunter Stokely, reclaiming the team lead in batting average (.342), was the other three hit man on the night. He also added a pair of RBIs to bring his total to 52 this season (another team high).
Kepley and Stokely, alongside Luke Stevenson and Tyson Bass gave Carolina their second five double game of the season. Oddly enough, neither team drew a walk in the game. It is the first time that's happened in a Carolina contest since at least the turn of the century.
The Tar Heels will return to the Bosh on Friday night looking to secure the series against the Wolfpack. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET with coverage streaming live on ACCNX.
The Tar Heels (37-10, 16-9 ACC) trailed after the top of the first before going on to score eight unanswered to take game one of the rivalry series. With 12 hits against the Wolfpack, Carolina has hit double digits in that category in 12 of their last 16 since waking up the bats against Duke.
Captain Jake Knapp was the star of the show, throwing a career high 8.0 innings with just the one run allowed on five hits and no walks. From the middle of the second until the eighth, he retired 18 straight batters to slam the door on any attempt at a Wolfpack rally.
Knapp's eight-inning outing marked the longest by a UNC pitcher against NC State since Austin Bergner did the same in 2018. In doing so Knapp moved to an unblemished 10-0 record, which gives him the most victories of any starting pitcher in the nation.
He improved his ACC leading ERA back to just a shade above two (2.03) and put together his sixth straight outing over 100 pitches. His usual relief partner Walker McDuffie only needed to come in for 1.0 inning of work, getting three straight outs to put the game to bed.
The defense behind the big righty was especially on point on an error-free Thursday night. Carter French in particular made multiple impressive plays in left to deny the Wolfpack extra base hits. Hunter Stokely made a diving stop in the top of the eighth, popping up to his knees to get the out at second and put a halt on an attempted NC State rally.
The Wolfpack needed to rally because the Carolina bats maintained a steady scoring pace all evening, led by their leadoff man Kane Kepley. The Salisbury, N.C., native was 3-for-4 on the night with a pair of doubles and three runs scored. His first two at-bats resulted in two-baggers that then led to Jackson Van De Brake RBIs.
Hunter Stokely, reclaiming the team lead in batting average (.342), was the other three hit man on the night. He also added a pair of RBIs to bring his total to 52 this season (another team high).
Kepley and Stokely, alongside Luke Stevenson and Tyson Bass gave Carolina their second five double game of the season. Oddly enough, neither team drew a walk in the game. It is the first time that's happened in a Carolina contest since at least the turn of the century.
The Tar Heels will return to the Bosh on Friday night looking to secure the series against the Wolfpack. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET with coverage streaming live on ACCNX.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Knapp, Jake (10-0)
L: Ryan Marohn (6-3)
Batting:
HR: Josh Hogue 1
RBI: Josh Hogue 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Josh Hogue 1
Batting:
2B: Kepley, Kane 2 ; Stevenson, Luke 1 ; Stokely, Hunter 1 ; Bass, Tyson 1
RBI: Van De Brake, Jackson 2 ; Stevenson, Luke 2 ; Stokely, Hunter 2 ; Bass, Tyson 1 ; Madera, Alex 1
SF: Van De Brake, Jackson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kepley, Kane 3 ; Van De Brake, Jackson 2 ; Stevenson, Luke 1 ; Stokely, Hunter 1 ; Bass, Tyson 1
SB: Bass, Tyson 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
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