Miller Time: UNC Baseball Walks Off Again Vs. No. 12 Oklahoma State

There’s no way anybody–even Steven Spielberg himself—could have scripted it any better for the UNC baseball team.

Two home games. Two walk-off victories.

That’s how things have gone for the No. 10 Tar Heels this weekend after Brian Miller’s 10^th-inning single capped a wild 7-6 win over No. 12 Oklahoma State (2-4) on Saturday—clinching the series for UNC as well.

Despite falling behind by four runs before having a chance to bat–thanks to a first inning grand slam off starting pitcher JB Bukauskas by Oklahoma State first baseman Dustin Williams—the Tar Heels refused to back down, scrapping their way back to improve to 4-1 this season.

And after a freshman, Kyle Datres, got to play hero on Friday, it was a sophomore, Miller, who came to the plate with the bases loaded and only one out in the 10^th.

Coming into the game hitting .444, it was a safe bet that the Tar Heel lead-off man would come through.

“I was just trying to get something to drive,” Miller said about his final at-bat. “Mainly in the air, get that run in, but they had the infield in so I wasn’t trying to hit anything on the ground.

“But I got one close enough up the middle and got the run in.”

Miller, a local product out of Millbrook High School in Raleigh, walked on to the team last season and was considered the squad’s secret weapon by head coach Mike Fox.

That surely will not be the case this year, as the first baseman went 2-for-5 Saturday and was one of just three Tar Heels to pick up multiple hits.

“Down four in the first, that’s tough against a top-ten team like that,” Miller said. “We’re tough. We’re not going to go away no matter if we’re down ten or if we’re down one.

“Two walk-offs in a row,” he added. “That’s pretty impressive.”

While it wasn’t the prettiest exhibition of offense for UNC as a team, Miller partnered with a pair of young guns—Datres and freshman catcher Cody Roberts—to get the job done.

Datres certainly wasn’t dwelling on yesterday’s clutch performance, going 2-for-5 with a first-inning RBI.

Roberts, meanwhile, picked up three hits in his five at-bats—driving in a pair with his single in the fifth.

Not bad for a couple of guys new to the college game, right Coach Fox?

“Well we needed some freshmen to come in and be able to play for us, and play at a high level,” the coach said. “We knew pretty early on in the fall that Kyle Datres was gonna be a pretty special player. Besides his ability, just his makeup—you saw it yesterday, you saw it again today.

“And then Cody, he’s caught every inning for us so far,” Fox added, noting how impressive it is for a young player to go through that kind of physical toll.

With the bitter way 2015 ended for this group, missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years, there was plenty that could be determined about the state of the program after opening 2016 against two of the nation’s top programs.

Now with a pair of series wins under their belt against those teams, it’s easy to conclude this bunch should be just fine going forward.

“I’ve tried not to guess how things are gonna go,” Fox said. “The game’s too unpredictable. I just know how we need to try to be and manage.

“[The players] believe right now,” he continued. “I don’t think anybody thought during the course of the game that we were gonna lose.”

Up Next:

UNC will look to finish off the sweep over the Cowboys on Sunday, with first pitch set to be thrown at noon.

Game Notes:

• Fox singled out his bullpen as the key to the game for the Tar Heels. In 7.2 IP, UNC’s combination of five relievers allowed just one run on three hits, striking out nine hitters during that time.
• Starter JB Bukauskas struggled to control his famous 96 mph fastball, causing him to last just 2.1 innings.
• Not only did Datres have two hits in the game, he also stole second base both times he got on.

 

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