If there’s one thing for sure about the No. 15 UNC baseball team this season it’s that any championship hopes will depend on how much its offense can help out its dominant pitching.

Poor hitting led to losses last week against a pair of teams that have lost twice as much as they’ve won–UNC-Asheville and Virginia Tech. However, the Tar Heels went to Charlotte’s BB&T Stadium Wednesday night and crushed the No. 8 South Carolina Gamecocks 15-0.

Coming into the game eighth and ninth in the nation in ERA, respectively, UNC and South Carolina were expected to play a low-scoring, grind-it-out game showcasing two of the nation’s elite pitching staffs.

After starting off the year 18-2, UNC rediscovered its offense and improved to 24-9 in front of a sell-out crowd of over 10,000 people that included its head basketball coach, Roy Williams.

UNC left-hander Hunter Williams picked up the win against South Carolina by tossing 6 1/3 shutout innings. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

UNC left-hander Hunter Williams picked up the win against South Carolina by tossing 6 1/3 shutout innings. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Sophomore lefty Hunter Williams did his part for the Tar Heels on Tuesday–tossing 6 1/3 shutout innings while allowing six hits and striking out four–but the bats made sure the stable of nine Gamecock arms weren’t able to do the same in UNC’s most impressive victory of the year.

South Carolina was also on a four-game winning streak but falls to 28-6 after the loss.

Second baseman Eli Sutherland opened scoring with a three-run double in the fourth inning off South Carolina starter Taylor Widener after the righty walked the bases the loaded.

From there the Tar Heels never let up.

Facing Gamecock reliever Vince Fiori with two outs in the fifth, UNC’s leading hitter–Tyler Ramirez–brought home Adam Pate and Tyler Lynn with a double. Two batters later, Ramirez scored on an RBI single by freshman Brandon Riley–putting the Tar Heels ahead 6-0 by the game’s halfway mark.

By the seventh inning South Carolina was already using its fifth and sixth pitchers of the night and clearly seemed deflated.

UNC, however, had no concerns for the Gamecocks’ emotions–picking up five more hits and tacking on five more runs in the seventh.

Logan Warmoth, Zack Gahagan, Cody Roberts, and Brian Miller each had RBI hits in the frame to join the list of Tar Heels–eight in all–who drove in a run during the night’s offensive explosion.

The final man to join the list, freshman Kyle Datres, didn’t even start the game.

Datres was brought in as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the ninth inning. He then matched Sutherland’s early effort with his own bases-clearing double–making it 14-0 in favor of the Tar Heels.

A wild pitch by reliever Kyle Anderson added insult to injury for the Gamecocks, when it allowed Datres to score the 15th, and final, run of the night.

Tyler Ramirez had two RBIs against South Carolina and was one of eight Tar Heels to drive in a run. (Joe Bray/ UNC Athletics)

Tyler Ramirez had two RBIs against South Carolina and was one of eight Tar Heels to drive in a run. (Joe Bray/ UNC Athletics)

In a fitting gesture, UNC sent out Charlotte native Chris McCue–who had thrown just 2 1/3 innings before Wednesday–to pick up the final three outs and cap the shutout.

McCue walked one man, but struck out the other three–putting the bow on a statement win for the Tar Heels.

Never mind the revenge this win will surely give Tar Heel fans after what happened last fall.

In a season that so far has been filled with walk-off wins and spotted with tight one-run losses, UNC proved on Wednesday that when it plays to its fullest potential it has the talent to defeat any team in the nation.

Up Next:

With a road series this weekend against defending national champion Virginia, UNC needs its bats to stay hot in order to improve its position in the tight ACC Coastal Division race. The Tar Heels and Cavaliers will play a three-game series beginning on Friday.

Game Notes:

  • It was the 13th time this season UNC has scored in double digits, but the first time it reached the mark in its last eight games.
  • In 27 1/3 innings this season for UNC, Hunter Williams’ ERA is 0.99.
  • The game was the first time the Tar Heels and Gamecocks had played in the regular season since 2004. The crowd was the largest to ever attend a regular season college baseball game in the state of North Carolina.
  • UNC leads the all-time series with South Carolina 63-35-1.

 

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