The Diamond Heels opened their 2022 season in a big way Friday afternoon, riding five home runs to a 14-3 win over Seton Hall at Boshamer Stadium.

The Pirates plated two runs in the top of the first inning off starter Brandon Schaeffer, who was making his first appearance as a Tar Heel after transferring in from a junior college in West Virginia. But the Carolina bats wasted no time picking Schaeffer up in the bottom of the frame, with right fielder Angel Zarate leading off with a homer on the first pitch he saw, and shortstop Danny Serretti following up with one of his own to knot the game at 2-2.

Second baseman Patrick Alvarez, batting in the No. 9 spot, would do major damage in the bottom of the second, lifting a no-doubt three-run blast over the left field fence. Highly-touted freshman Vance Honeycutt, getting the opening day start in center field, scored on Alvarez’s homer, then joined in on the fun himself two innings later to make it 6-2 Carolina.

RBI knocks from Serretti and catcher Tomas Frick would follow in the sixth and seventh innings, before Honeycutt once again showcased his power with a three-run homer in the eighth inning to make it 14-3. Honeycutt, who head coach Scott Forbes compared to former World Series MVP George Springer before the season, finished 4-5 with four RBI, four runs scored, a walk and a stolen base in his first collegiate game. He was among three Tar Heels to record at least three hits: first baseman Johnny Castagnozzi finished 3-4 and Serretti finished 4-5 with four RBI of his own.

The lefty Schaeffer settled down after his rocky first inning, giving Forbes six innings of work and allowing just five hits (three of which came in the first) and striking out six while walking two. After Nik Pry got himself into a jam in the seventh, Shawn Rapp and Kyle Mott combined for three shutout innings and five strikeouts to shut the door on the Pirates.

Carolina banged out 15 hits in all on Friday, and will hope their bats stay as unseasonably warm as the February weather on Saturday for game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

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