Three home runs from Virginia star Henry Ford, including the tying and go-ahead blasts in the sixth and eighth innings, were too much for the Diamond Heels on Thursday night as the No. 15 Cavaliers took a wild 14-11 victory.
Carolina lead 11-6 after three innings, but would not score again as Virginia rattled off eight unanswered runs against the Tar Heel bullpen. Ford had already struck once in the game, crushing a grand slam off starter Folger Boaz in the first inning as part of a six-run rally. UNC had scored two runs on a Luke Stevenson double in the top of the first but found themselves trailing by four entering the second.
RBIs from Casey Cook and Anthony Donofrio cut that lead to 6-4 entering the third, where the Tar Heels batted around and exploded for seven runs. A two-run triple by Colby Wilkerson tied the game, and RBI knocks from Cook, Donofrio, Alberto Osuna and Stevenson kept the line moving.
But the Tar Heels would only register three hits in the final six innings and had no answers for Ford or the rest of the Virginia bats. Every Carolina pitcher to enter the game was tagged for at least one run, with Dalton Pence taking the loss. Virginia’s Matt Augustin earned the win with 1.1 perfect innings of relief.
The loss drops Carolina to 25-5 on the season and 10-3 in ACC play. The Diamond Heels will be back in action in the second game of the series on Friday night at 6 p.m.
Featured image via UNC Baseball on Twitter
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