The red-hot Diamond Heels bats stayed that way Saturday afternoon against Wake Forest, as Carolina scored 12 runs for the third time in four games in a blowout win over the Demon Deacons. It was UNC’s fifth straight win and eighth in its last nine games.

Mac Horvath opened the scoring in the bottom of the third, lifting his 15th home run of the season over the right center field fence. Horvath is now tied with Vance Honeycutt and Alberto Osuna for the team lead in long balls. Honeycutt would score Carolina’s second run of the day on a passed ball in the fourth, but the Demon Deacons knotted the score at 2-2 with a home run the next inning.

But the tie didn’t last very long, as the bottom of the fifth saw Carolina pile on 10 runs to blow the game open and effectively seal the win early. Horvath and Serretti notched RBI singles each to give Carolina its first two runs of the frame before Mikey Madej truly opened the floodgates, lacing a triple into the right field corner with the bases loaded. All three Carolina runners scored on the play.

With the score now 7-2, Carolina didn’t let up. Tomas Frick sent a double into right field to score Madej from third base, then came in himself on two consecutive wild pitches. The wheels came off for Wake Forest after that, as Hunter Stokely and Colby Wilkerson drew two straight walks. Stokely advanced to third then scored on a passed ball and a wild pitch, with Wilkerson moving to third in the same sequence. He would eventually score on Serretti’s second RBI single of the inning. A Honeycutt walk loaded the bases again, and Osuna then picked up an RBI without putting the ball in play, drawing a walk to drive in UNC’s 10th run of the inning. All in all, 16 batters came to the plate for the Tar Heels in the fifth.

The marathon inning gave UNC starter Brandon Schaeffer all the run support he’d need. Schaeffer put together perhaps his best start in a Tar Heel uniform, tossing 7.1 innings while only allowing three runs on eight hits. He picked up his fifth win of the year after Gage Gillian got the final five outs of the ballgame.

The Tar Heels have now won consecutive ACC series for the first time since March, and will go for just their second sweep in conference play Sunday in game three of the weekend series with the Demon Deacons. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

 

Featured image via D1 Baseball on Twitter

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