Shea Sprague allowed just one run over 6.2 innings against Virginia Tech on Saturday, and the Diamond Heels earned a 6-3 home win against the Hokies to clinch the three-game series.
Vance Honeycutt stayed hot at the plate, reaching base four times with a single, a double and two walks to increase his batting average to .329. Honeycutt also stole four bases, becoming the first Tar Heel to steal at least four bases in a game since 2016. He came in to score on a Casey Cook two-run home run in the bottom of the third which gave Carolina the lead. Virginia Tech had gone ahead in the top of the first, but was limited to just one run despite loading the bases with nobody out.
The score stayed 2-1 until the sixth, when RBI singles from Alex Madera and Gavin Gallaher, plus a well-executed RBI squeeze bunt from Colby Wilkerson, pushed three more runs across. Honeycutt scored again in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Parks Harber.
Three UNC relievers combined for the final 2.1 innings. The Hokies cut the deficit to 6-3 on a two-run blast in the eighth and brought the tying run to the plate with one out in the ninth, but Dalton Pence shut the door by recording the final two outs on just four pitches.
The win improves Carolina to 33-10 overall and 17-6 in ACC play on the season. The Diamond Heels will look to complete their eighth sweep of the season on Sunday in the series finale, scheduled for 1 p.m.
Featured image via UNC Baseball on Twitter
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