The 2017 college baseball season is still in its infant stages, but there’s no doubt it couldn’t have started much better for head coach Mike Fox and the ninth-ranked Tar Heels.

A day after Brian Miller’s clutch eighth-inning home run against Radford gave UNC its fifth straight win to open the year, sophomore third baseman Kyle Datres went 3-for-4 with four RBI to lead the team to a 9-3 series-clinching win over the Highlanders at Boshamer Stadium.

Junior starting pitcher Jason Morgan gave up a two-run shot to Radford’s Jonathan Gonzalez in the top of the first inning, but settled down and didn’t allow another run to score before he was removed with two outs in the sixth.

Datres got the Tar Heels rolling in the bottom of the second frame with a two-run double down the left field line.

UNC would ultimately go on to score four runs in that inning, taking the lead for good in the process.

The Pennsylvania native added RBI singles in the third and seventh innings–extending his own team lead in that category.

Freshman Austin Bergner pitched 2.1 solid innings of relief for the Tar Heels, while junior Brett Daniels came on and pitched a scoreless ninth.

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will look to improve to 7-0–and complete the series sweep–with another game vs. Radford on Sunday.

Game Notes:

  • Freshman Ashton McGee–the Tar Heels’ designated hitter on Saturday–went 3-for-4 with an RBI in his first career start.
  • As a team, UNC went 8-for-17 (.471) with runners on base.
  • Radford dropped to 1-5 this season after the loss.