After a week full of thrilling finishes, the No. 6 UNC baseball team decided to finally put away a game early—scoring eight runs in the first three innings at Boshamer Stadium Saturday on its way to a 10-2 blowout over the Fairfield Stags.
The Tar Heels have now won six straight games, improving to 8-1 this season. Fairfield falls to 3-2 with the loss.
Sophomore starting pitcher JB Bukauskas was credited with the win for his efforts, throwing 5.1 innings with eight strikeouts—but with the way his teammates were swinging the bats he didn’t need to be Superman.
UNC tallied up 15 hits in the game, with 11 of them coming from just four players.
Senior second baseman Eli Sutherland hit the second home run of his career—and this week—in the second inning: a two-run shot that gave the Tar Heels a commanding 3-0 lead early on.
Sutherland finished the game 2-for-2, but it was freshman designated hitter Brandon Riley who led the way.
Riley entered the game hitting just .100 on the year, but went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, and 3 RBI.
His four hits were twice as many as he had the entire season entering Saturday’s game.
Fairfield scored a pair of runs in the fifth, but UNC responded right back with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the frame.
From there it was smooth sailing, as the Tar Heels rotated in a number of younger players to finish out the day.
The win also clinches UNC’s third series victory in as many tries in 2016.
Up Next:
Sunday’s series finale will see the Tar Heels go for the sweep over the Stags. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Game Notes:
- UNC went 7-for-14 at the plate in situations with two outs.
- The Tar Heels were also .500 (4-for-8) with runners in scoring position.
- Sophomore first baseman Brian Miller stuffed the stat sheet in his own right, going 3-for-4 with an RBI–and also stealing four bases.
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