UNC Baseball Falls in Series Sweep at Miami

The Diamond Heels suffered their first true setback of the season last weekend in Miami, falling in three straight games to the Hurricanes in a series sweep. It’s the first three-game series the team has lost this season, and drops the team’s record to 18-6 overall and 5-4 in conference play.

Carolina dug itself a hole it couldn’t quite get out of in the first game on Friday night. Starter Brandon Schaeffer took his first loss of the season after surrendering three runs on six hits through just 2.1 innings. Nik Pry, Gage Gillian and Davis Palermo each gave up runs of their own out of the bullpen, and Carolina trailed 8-1 after seven innings. The Tar Heels scored four runs over the final two innings and actually outhit the Hurricanes 13-11, but could not fully erase the seven-run deficit in an 8-5 loss. Alberto Osuna was one of the only bright spots on offense, hitting a three-run home run in the ninth inning. Hurricanes third baseman Yohandy Morales tortured UNC pitchers all night, going 4-4 with three RBI and two runs scored.

Carolina came out on the front foot in game two, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first inning on a home run from Johnny Castagnozzi. But that lead only lasted half an inning, as the Hurricanes answered with two runs in the bottom of the first. Angel Zarate slapped an RBI single up the middle in the top of the sixth to give UNC the lead back at 3-2, but a four-run seventh inning from Miami ensured the Hurricanes would blow by Carolina again. Kyle Mott took the loss out of the bullpen, giving up four runs on five hits in his two innings.

Game three would be a marathon, but like Friday and Saturday, it would ultimately end in disappointment for the Tar Heels. Carolina once again took an early lead, scoring twice in the top of the fourth on an RBI single from Hunter Stokely, but the bats fell silent after that. Vance Honeycutt had one of his worst games at the plate as a Tar Heel, going 0-6 out of the leadoff spot and striking out four times. The lack of insurance came back to bite UNC in the end, as Miami scratched a run across in the sixth and then tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, after being down to its last strike.

Carolina loaded the bases in the top of the 10th with two outs, but couldn’t strike what would’ve been a fatal blow. The Tar Heels went down in order in the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th innings, before Miami finally ended things on a RBI single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 14th. The loss wasted an outstanding start from pitcher Max Carlson, who went five innings while allowing just one run and striking out 11 batters. Gage Gillian took the loss in extra innings.

Perhaps the only bright spot from the weekend was Zarate extending his hitting streak to 24 games and his on-base streak to 47 games.

The Tar Heels will return home looking to recapture the good vibes of the early season for four straight home games, the first of which comes against UNC-Wilmington on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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UNC Baseball Falls in Series Sweep at Miami

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