CHAPEL HILL – The No. 1 UNC baseball team continued its dominance over non-conference teams Wednesday night with a 6-3 win over Winthrop in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels got on the board quickly with two runs in the bottom of the first. On the second pitch to a player in Carolina Blue, sophomore shortstop Michael Russell doubled to left field. Two pitches later, freshman designated hitter Landon Lassiter singled to left. After a fielding error, Lassiter reached second and Russell made it home. Later in the inning, freshman right-fielder Skye Bolt batted Lassiter in on a sacrifice fly to center to give the Tar Heels the early 2-0 advantage.

Freshman right-hander Trent Thornton continued his scoreless inning streak from the mound as he started for Carolina. The streak was snapped at 20.1 innings when a fielder’s choice with runners on second and third scored Winthrop’s Luke Maldonado. With the win, Thornton improved to 5-0 on the season and is throwing a 0.81 ERA.

The Eagles tied the contest in the top of the sixth and could have taken the lead, but the Tar Heels stranded the go-ahead run.

Carolina took charge in the bottom of the seventh when Winthrop’s second error once again put the Tar Heels in scoring position. Sophomore second-baseman Mike Zolk stole second and after a passed ball made it to third. Junior pinch hitter Parks Jordan scored Zolk on a single up the middle. With two on and two out, junior third-baseman Colin Moran hit his team-leading fifth homerun to extend the lead to 6-2.

Sophomore right-hander Trevor Kelly pitched a clean eighth inning for the Heels, and sophomore right-hander Mason McCullough closed the game out in the ninth.

With the win, Carolina improved to 23-1, which is the best Carolina Baseball record in its first 24 games; Winthrop fell to 8-17. The Tar Heels step back into ACC play this weekend with a three-game home series against Clemson. You can hear the entire series on WCHL beginning with the first pitch Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
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