UNC Baseball: Tar Heels rally for series win over Boston College

Much of the attention over the past week remained on North Carolina men’s basketball and their coaching search. However, the rest of the college sporting world rolled on, and that included UNC over on the baseball diamond.

With another weekend in the books, here’s a look at Carolina’s weekend series victory over Boston College.

Thursday: UNC 1, Boston College 6 (box score)

The weekend actually started on a down note, as the Eagles took the opener on the back of a strong pitching effort from A.J. Colarusso.

UNC actually got the scoring started when Owen Hull scored thanks to a throwing error on a throw from BC catcher Gunnar Johnson in the second inning. However, the Eagles immediately tied things back up in the top of the third and took the lead in the fourth, and never trailed again.

On the mound, BC got six good innings from Colarusso, who allowed just that one unearned runs. In his outing, he held UNC to five hits and three walks. Between him and Eagles’ reliever Cesar Gonzalez, who went the last three innings, Carolina had some chances. They recorded nine hits on the day, they just couldn’t make them count in the “runs” column on the scoreboard.

Friday: UNC 5, Boston College 2 (box score)

In the second game of the series, it was the Tar Heels who managed to manage to restrict the runs despite the other time getting chances, as they won 5-2 despite issuing eight walks.

Carolina again struck first in this one when Gavin Gallaher homered in the bottom of the first inning. This time though, the Heels pressed home their advantage. In the second, Jake Schaffner brought home two more runs on an RBI triple, and those runs ended up holding up in the end.

Jason DeCaro got the start on the mound for UNC, but only lasted 2.2 innings. He didn’t actually allow a hit, but walked four batters. His wildness eventually came to a head when he threw a wild pitch in the third inning, leading to a run to score to get the Eagles on the board.

The wildness did continue even after the pitching change, as reliever Caden Glauber walked four more BC hitters himself. However, UNC pitching combined to allow just three hits on the day, which mitigated any scoring chances for the Eagles. Add in a couple more RBI from Winslow and Colin Hynek, and that was enough to seal the victory.

Saturday: UNC 8, Boston College 7 (box score)

A two-RBI single from Hull in the seventh inning gave Carolina the lead for good as they rallied late to take the game and series.

The team’s traded runs early, with hits from Gallaher and Winslow putting UNC in front. However, BC then proceeded to put up six runs in the fifth, seemingly taking control of the game, knocking Folger Boaz out of the game after just 4.2 okay innings.

Now down four runs, Carolina chipped away at their deficit in the sixth, scoring two runs. However, they fully turned the tide of the game in the seventh. The Eagles gave UNC a big assist by walking the bases loaded and then brining home a run on a wild pitch. With two runners still on base and in scoring position, Hull then punched through a single to score another two and give Carolina the lead back.

With a chance to come back themselves, BC put runners on in both the eighth and ninth innings, but UNC’s Walker McDuffie shut the door twice to seal the win.

As for this week, Carolina will be back in action tonight against Charlotte before heading down to Clemson to play the Tigers in their weekend series.