Freshman phenom Vance Honeycutt stayed hot at the plate Friday at Boshamer Stadium, launching a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth inning to give the Diamond Heels a 3-2 lead over Wake Forest. They wouldn’t relinquish it for the rest of the game.

It was a more subdued day overall for the Carolina bats, after the team scored 24 combined runs in its last two games. UNC fell behind early after the Demon Deacons plated two runs in the top of the second off pitcher Max Carlson, but Mac Horvath sliced that deficit in half with an RBI fielder’s choice in the third.

Carlson settled down from there, shutting Wake Forest out over his next three innings of work. He ended his day with a solid line of five innings and just two runs on four hits, but was on the hook for a tough-luck loss until the sixth.

That’s when Honeycutt came through, sending a 2-2 pitch over the left center field wall to give Carolina the lead. Honeycutt would finish the day 2-3 with a walk. Over his last four games, Honeycutt is batting 10-15 and has home runs in each of those contests. In the process, he’s raised his average from .251 to .284. His 15 home runs are now tied for the team lead with Alberto Osuna.

Shawn Rapp and Davis Palermo combined to toss four innings of shutout relief behind Carlson, with Rapp picking up his second win of the year and Palermo lowering his season earned run average to 2.00, by far the lowest on the team among pitchers with at least 10 appearances. Palermo’s 27 appearances this season are second only to Rapp, who has 35. The Carolina trio of Carlson, Rapp and Palermo combined to strand 10 Demon Deacon runners on base.

With the win, UNC is now 30-18 on the season, having already topped its 2021 win total of 28. The Tar Heels have won four games in a row and seven of their last eight. Weather permitting, the team will take the field Saturday looking to win consecutive ACC series for the first time since late March. Though there is rain in the forecast for Chapel Hill Saturday, first pitch is still scheduled for 2 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Baseball on Twitter

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