The Diamond Heels took the field for the first time in six days Tuesday night and came away with a walk-off win against visiting Charlotte at Boshamer Stadium. The evening marked UNC’s first time winning consecutive games since March.
Sophomore third baseman Mac Horvath accounted for three of UNC’s 10 hits on the night, two of which went over the fence. Horvath’s first blast opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, while his second tied the game at 2-2 in his next at-bat. Horvath’s 12 home runs this season are second on the team, behind only Alberto Osuna with 13.
Carolina took a slim 3-2 lead in the fifth on a single from Danny Serretti, scoring freshman Vance Honeycutt. The pitching trio of Brandon Schaeffer, Nik Pry and Shawn Rapp had kept the Charlotte bats quiet until then, but Rapp gave up a solo home run in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 3-3.
Davis Palermo came out of the bullpen to give the Tar Heels 2.2 scoreless innings and end the brief Charlotte rally. Osuna advanced to third base with two outs in the seventh, but was stranded on a Johnny Castagnozzi groundout. The Tar Heels went down in order in both the eighth and ninth, setting the stage for free baseball in Chapel Hill.
Gage Gillian and Connor Bovair combined to toss a scoreless top of the 10th inning, stranding a leadoff single by Charlotte in the process. Carolina’s half of the inning saw Castagnozzi draw a one-out walk, then leave the game for pinch runner Reece Holbrook. Head coach Scott Forbes’ gamble paid off, as Tomas Frick laced a double into the left-center field gap, allowing the speedy Holbrook to race all the way from first base to home and just beat the relay throw from the outfield. Holbrook’s mad dash gave Carolina its fourth walk-off win of the year and second in extra innings.
Now 25-17, the Diamond Heels have three ACC series left in the regular season to try and improve their shaky postseason resume. The first of those will be a challenging trip to Raleigh to face 2021 College World Series semifinalists NC State. The Wolfpack swept Carolina in Boshamer Stadium last season.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati
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