The Diamond Heels aren’t dead yet.
Carolina won its second game of a Sunday doubleheader against VCU at Boshamer Stadium, staving off elimination for a second time and forcing a seventh game of the regional Monday evening in a 19-8 rout. The 19 runs are tied for Carolina’s most ever in a regional game.
It all comes down to Monday night.#GoHeels x #FreakinAwesome pic.twitter.com/jFkDzKrEGs
— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) June 6, 2022
The win snapped VCU’s 17-game winning streak.
The Tar Heels, so often frustrated by Ram pitching in Saturday’s loss, had their way early and often Sunday night. UNC answered a two-run top of the first from VCU with seven runs in the bottom of the inning, including a Vance Honeycutt two-run blast in his first plate appearance since robbing a home run against Georgia. It was one of four long balls Carolina would hit on the day.
“It was great to be able to do that, and then not only do it right out of the gate but continue doing it,” acting head coach Bryant Gaines said. “I thought that was probably one of the more impressive parts of it, offensively.”
After Carolina left 12 men on base against VCU on Saturday, the team hit 5-9 with runners in scoring position and 5-12 with two outs. The team clubbed 15 hits in total, bludgeoning starter Maddison Furman, who came into the game with a 6-0 record and a 2.25 earned run average. Eight of Carolina’s nine starters recorded at least one hit.
Johnny Castagnozzi, Alberto Osuna and Angel Zarate provided the other three home runs for Carolina. Honeycutt and Osuna are the first pair of UNC teammates to each hit 20 or more home runs in a season in program history.
But the most impressive performance of the night may have been veteran relief pitcher Caden O’Brien, who came out of the bullpen to gut through four innings of relief and allow just three runs. It was O’Brien’s longest outing since the 2018 College World Series, and provided valuable rest for a bullpen which wore itself out in the day’s first game against Georgia. O’Brien recorded the final out against the Bulldogs.
“[It] just shows the competitiveness and the work ethic and the makeup of him,” Gaines said. “We tell guys all the time, ‘You’ve gotta be prepared for that opportunity when we need you the most.’ Obviously, this was when we needed somebody the most.”
“It doesn’t matter who goes in, it doesn’t matter what happens. Every single guy that steps out there has to just give everything they have,” said O’Brien.
Connor Ollio started the game, but only went an inning while giving up five runs. Nik Pry and Connor Bovair (both of whom pitched against the Bulldogs) also came in out of the bullpen.
The win not only means Carolina’s season lives on a little longer, but also that head coach Scott Forbes will be able to return to the team Monday evening after a two-game suspension. Forbes was assessed the punishment after being ejected on Saturday. The Tar Heels hung Forbes’ jersey in their dugout during both of Sunday’s games, and Carolina fans chanted his name as the game wound down.
“To get that kind of support, not just for our team but for our head coach, just shows that they know how hard he works,” said O’Brien.
The Tar Heels and Rams will meet again Monday night at 6 p.m. in Boshamer Stadium. With Forbes re-joining the team, Gaines admitted he hadn’t given much thought to the pitching situation for the game. The bullpen, while exhausted, will get a critical night of rest before the contest. A Max Carlson sighting is also not out of the realm of possibility, as the UNC starter now has two days of rest under his belt after starting Friday.
Carolina also has its eyes on the Stillwater Regional, where No. 7 overall seed Oklahoma State and Arkansas have been dueling all weekend. Should the Razorbacks advance out of the region and the Tar Heels do the same, UNC would host them at Boshamer Stadium next weekend. A win for the Cowboys would mean the Tar Heels would travel to Oklahoma for the three-game series.
Featured image via Inside Carolina/Jim Hawkins
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