Honeycutt's Home Runs Help UNC Baseball Beat LSU in Saturday Showdown

In front of a standing-room-only crowd at Boshamer Stadium, Vance Honeycutt clubbed two home runs against LSU ace Luke Holman to help the Diamond Heels defeat the defending national champion Tigers 6-2 on Saturday night.

On to the championship game!!#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/YpD7YlL2ql

— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) June 2, 2024

“That’s as good an atmosphere as we’ve had two nights in a row at the Bosh,” said UNC head coach Scott Forbes after the game. “And I expect it to be like that again on Sunday night.”

Honeycutt is the sixth player in ACC history to hit 60 home runs in a collegiate career, but the records don’t stop there. Saturday was also Honeycutt’s seventh career multi-homer game, tying a UNC program record. His home runs also gave Carolina 109 in total on the season, which is also a school record.

Honeycutt’s first blast – a 413-foot three-run shot to left field – broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth and electrified the Boshamer Stadium crowd.

“It’s incredible how hard he hits the ball and how far it goes,” said UNC starting pitcher Shea Sprague, who held the Tigers scoreless for 4.1 innings. “It’s a lot of fun to watch, and I’m glad he’s in our lineup and we don’t have to pitch against him.”

LSU threatened that 3-0 lead in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with one out and then drawing a pair of walks against relievers Ben Peterson and Dalton Pence to cut the deficit to 3-2. But Pence held his nerve, inducing a double play to end the inning and preserving Carolina’s lead.

“Credit Pence. He made three really good pitches in a row,” said LSU head coach Jay Johnson. “He made three really difficult pitches to do anything with, other than to hit a ground ball… that was probably the one. If we can cash in right there, I definitely believe the end of the game goes differently.”

UNC’s lead got some insurance in the bottom of the inning on Honeycutt’s second blast, a solo shot to push the advantage back to two runs at 4-2. An RBI single from Gavin Gallaher in the eighth, followed by an Alex Madera RBI ground out, extended that edge to 6-2. Pence, who was less than 24 hours removed from throwing 32 pitches against Long Island, retired the Tigers in order in the ninth. He logged 2.2 innings of no-hit relief, throwing 27 more pitches.

Carolina will now play the winner of Wofford and LSU on Sunday at 6 p.m. for the right to advance to next weekend’s Super Regionals.

“I told the guys I don’t want to hear anybody saying, ‘One more, one more,'” said Forbes. “That can get you in trouble. Keep your eyes forward, get that sleep, and then you come out here and you play.”

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Anthony Sorbellini

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Honeycutt’s Home Runs Help UNC Baseball Beat LSU in Saturday Showdown

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