Monday night at Boshamer Stadium saw the UNC baseball team explode for a whopping 21 runs in a 21-8 win over Duke–clinching the three-game rivalry series.

The Tar Heels hit five home runs in the game–including two by Brett Centracchio in the fifth inning–on their way to their highest scoring total since they scored 21 exactly eight years ago against Virginia Tech on April 12, 2013.

Tomas Frick hit a three-run homer for UNC (17-13) in the bottom of the first inning to help erase an early 2-0 Duke lead, while Dallas Tessar added another three-run blast in the second inning.

The Tar Heels led 9-3 through two frames on Monday, but Duke managed to close the gap to 9-6 heading into the home half of the fifth.

In that fateful inning, UNC reeled off nine runs–three of which came by way of the long ball. Centracchio became the first Tar Heel to homer twice in the same inning since Chris Maples did it in 2002, with the second home run traveling 460 feet–the longest for a Tar Heel since 2015.

Justice Thompson also hit a three-run blast in the fifth as UNC put together its highest-scoring inning since racking up 12 runs in the sixth inning of a win against Boston College on April 21, 2019.

UNC added three more runs in the sixth inning on Monday, before Duke (13-15) completed the night’s scoring with back-to-back home runs in the eighth.

Together the teams combined for 10 home runs in the game, as UNC wrapped up its fourth ACC series victory of the season.

Up Next:

UNC returns to action on Friday in Pittsburgh to begin a three-game series against Pitt, after Tuesday’s scheduled game against Charlotte was postponed. First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m.

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

 

Photo via UNC Athletics

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