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

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
Ahead of NCAA Super Regionals, UNC Baseball Fueled by Disappointment of 2025
It had been 24 hours since his team’s season had ended in heartbreaking fashion, and Scott Forbes was already laying the groundwork for another successful year. The UNC baseball head coach hosted a sought-after transfer portal recruit in Chapel Hill a day after losing to Arizona in Game 3 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional […]
UNC Baseball 2026 NCAA Super Regional Opponent Preview: USC
The Diamond Heels will host an NCAA Super Regional at Boshamer Stadium for the third consecutive year this weekend. And for a fifth consecutive time, UNC’s Super Regional opponent will be an unseeded team. The USC Trojans (47-16, 20-10 Big Ten) emerged out of their region the hard way, losing Friday to fall into the […]
UNC Baseball in the 2026 NCAA Super Regionals: How to Watch, Cord-Cutting Options and Start Times
The Diamond Heels will host an NCAA Super Regional at Boshamer Stadium for the third consecutive year this weekend. UNC will face USC in a three-game series, with the winner punching its ticket to the Men’s College World Series in Omaha. If you aren’t attending the games in person, here’s how to follow along at […]
'Region of Death for Everybody Else': UNC Baseball Fired Up After Regional Sweep
The Diamond Heels were not impressed with the prognostications of a difficult regional weekend in Chapel Hill.
UNC Baseball Defeats East Carolina Again, Advances to Super Regionals
The Diamond Heels scored eight runs in the first three innings and got four innings of no-hit relief from Jackson Rose in a 9-3 win against East Carolina Sunday at Boshamer Stadium. UNC has now advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals for a third consecutive season. 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐘'𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐃 🥳 For the third straight […]
UNC Baseball in the 2026 NCAA Regionals: How to Watch, Cord-Cutting Options and Start Times
The Diamond Heels will host a regional at Boshamer Stadium for the third consecutive year this weekend. UNC is the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and is looking to return to the Men’s College World Series in Omaha for the second time in three years. If you aren’t attending this weekend’s games […]
UNC Baseball Outlasts East Carolina, Moves to 2-0 in Chapel Hill Regional
A three-run home run from Colin Hynek and clutch pitching from Caden Glauber and Walker McDuffie helped the Diamond Heels beat East Carolina 7-5 at Boshamer Stadium Saturday in the NCAA Regionals. 𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 😤 The Heels are on to the regional final!#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/nS6uxHA7CB — Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) May 31, 2026 “What […]
UNC Baseball Pulls Away Late, Beats VCU in NCAA Tournament Opener
The Diamond Heels scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to blow open Friday night’s NCAA Tournament opener against VCU and win 8-0 at Boshamer Stadium. 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 😤#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/WCeNlIxO6L — Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) May 30, 2026 “Credit to our guys,” head coach Scott Forbes said afterward. […]
'Accepting Those Extra Butterflies': UNC Baseball Previews Challenging NCAA Regional
Members of the Diamond Heels met with the media Thursday at Boshamer Stadium to preview the Chapel Hill Regional of the NCAA Tournament, which begins Friday. UNC is the No. 5 overall seed in the tournament field and is hosting VCU, East Carolina and Tennessee this weekend. Carolina will face VCU Friday at 5 p.m., […]
Breaking Down UNC Baseball's 2026 NCAA Regional Opponents
The Diamond Heels are hosting an NCAA Tournament regional at Boshamer Stadium for the third consecutive season. UNC has reached at least the Super Regional round in each of the last two years, but that will be a difficult task in what projects to be a challenging weekend of baseball in Chapel Hill. Here’s a […]
›