Jason DeCaro tossed 5.1 shutout innings to help the Diamond Heels outduel East Carolina 2-0 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Saturday afternoon. The game is the first of a three-game series between UNC and ECU, with the second and third games coming in Chapel Hill and Greenville on Sunday and Monday.

In a showdown between DeCaro and Pirate ace Ethan Norby, the game remained scoreless into the fifth inning. Kane Kepley finally broke the scoreless tie with an RBI groundout to score Gavin Gallaher, and Tyson Bass legged out an infield single to drive home another run later in the frame. Bass’ single was one of just five hits for UNC on the afternoon.

Those two runs were all UNC would need, as Ryan Lynch, Matthew Matthijs and Walker McDuffie combined to allow just two hits and no runs across the final 3.2 innings. Carolina escaped jams in the late innings, with Matthijs ending the sixth with a strikeout after ECU put runners on the corners. The Pirates then loaded the bases in the seventh before McDuffie relieved Matthijs and ended the frame with a strikeout. McDuffie had no trouble in the eighth and ninth, retiring the side in order in both innings. He earned his first collegiate save while DeCaro recorded his second win of the season.

The win improves UNC to 5-0 on the season. Carolina’s game against the Pirates at Boshamer Stadium on Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Baseball on Twitter

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