The ACC baseball opener for both teams Friday night saw the 20th-ranked Tar Heels come up just short in a 5-4 road loss against the No. 13 Louisville Cardinals at Jim Patterson Stadium.

Sophomore catcher Brandon Martorano hit a solo home run on the first pitch of the eighth inning–his team-high fifth of the season so far–that tied the game at 4-4.  However, a wild pitch from UNC reliever Cooper Criswell in the home half of the frame allowed Louisville (13-0, 1-0 ACC) to bring home the deciding run.

It was a back-and-forth finish to a game that featured three ties and three lead changes, not to mention 10 runners stranded on base by the Tar Heels (7-6, 0-1 ACC).

With both teams recording just six hits, opportunities to score were limited to timely hits and pitching mistakes.

In addition to the wild pitch that decided the game, UNC hit back-to-back hitters in the bottom of the seventh inning to set up an RBI single by Jake Snider that gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead.

Prior to that, the Tar Heels had used a hit batter and three straight walks to tie the game 3-3 in the top of the same inning.

UNC starter Tyler Baum pitched the early portion of the game with a 2-0 lead after second-inning RBI singles from Dylan Enwiller and Ike Freeman.

Louisville broke through in the sixth inning, however, with a three-run triple from Logan Wyatt–yet another hit that followed back-to-back walks.

The win kept the Cardinals undefeated through 13 games this season, while handing the Tar Heels–who started the year ranked higher–their sixth defeat over the same span.

Up Next:

UNC will look to even the series on Saturday, when the teams take the field for first pitch at 1 p.m.

 

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

 

 

Photo via UNC Athletics