Eight-Run Inning Propels No. 6 UNC Baseball Past Winthrop

While the walk-off dramatics may not have found their way back to Boshamer Stadium on Wednesday, the final result was still the same.

The No. 6 Tar Heels scored eight runs in the seventh inning to come from behind and beat the Winthrop Eagles 11-6 for their fifth straight victory.

It was the first mid-week game of the season for UNC, which now is off to a 6-1 start here in the early portion of 2016.

As is typical with college baseball during the week,–a sport played by college kids–there were a number of mistakes that determined the outcome.

After pulling ahead 5-3 in the top of the seventh, Winthrop made three crucial errors in the bottom of the frame that kept the inning alive and allowed UNC to keep the scoreboard operator busy.

Eli Sutherland led off the inning with a solo home run, but those little plays–the errors–are what head coach Mike Fox pointed to after the game as his key to victory.

“It was nice for us to get a big inning like that, but it was pretty much a gift,” Fox said. “Most of it was all a gift from them, so we’ve gotta be careful about thinking that’s gonna happen again.”

“Good teams usually don’t give you that,” he continued. “So I thought we were fortunate to win.”

The Eagles moved to 5-4 this season after the loss on a day where the teams not only combined to make six errors, but also each used seven pitchers—with only one, Winthrop reliever Thad Harris, recording more than six outs.

UNC was led offensively by Sutherland, who had a pair of hits in the first game since his walk-off hit on Sunday, and sophomore third baseman Zack Gahagan—who was benched in favor of Sutherland in the game Sunday.

In response, Gahagan went 4-for-4 with an RBI on Wednesday–despite hitting ninth in the order.

“Yeah, I’ve been struggling lately,” Gahagan said. “But [I] just gotta keep playing. Today I got some good pitches and put some good swings on them—so that’s a plus.”

As it turns out, Gahagan’s performance was exactly what Fox was hoping for when he made the decision to sit him out on Sunday.

“There’s something to that,” Fox said. “I know there is.

“So I tried to point that out to our players,” he added. “Being excited and anxious to play, and not taking it for granted that you are gonna play—sometimes takes you to another level as a player.”

With a team so heavily reliant on freshmen and sophomores, Fox was interested to see how the Tar Heels played in an environment lacking the fan fare that the Oklahoma State series provided.

Although he wasn’t happy with the mistakes his team made, he said he’d rather have teachable moments come in a win than a loss.

“I knew this would be a tough game,” the coach said. “These mid-week games—it’s [our] first one, half the team’s never played a mid-week game before—so they’re different.

“There’s not a lot of energy in the stadium, and teams play well against us,” he continued. “They’re always a battle.”

Up Next:

After a day off on Thursday, the Tar Heels will get back to action on Friday at 3 p.m, as they welcome the Fairfield Stags for a three-game series.

Sunday’s game against Fairfield was originally scheduled for noon, but has been moved to 1 p.m.

Game Notes:

• Sutherland started at shortstop for the Tar Heels in place of sophomore Logan Warmoth–who was benched shortly before game time for a violation of team rules. Warmoth, as a freshman, was the only player to start all 58 of UNC’s games in 2015.
• Freshman J.T. Rogoszewski started on the mound for UNC, but lasted just two innings. He was pulled in the third after allowing a walk, making a throwing error, and giving up a bunt single on the first three at-bats.
• Seven different Tar Heels drove in a run, but only center fielder Tyler Ramirez drove in two. Three of the team’s runs resulted in no RBI being handed out due to errors on the play.

 

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