UNC Baseball Throttles Pitt to Advance to ACC Tournament Championship

The Diamond Heels banged out 22 total hits and hit a season-high six home runs in a 13-5 win against Pitt in the ACC Tournament semifinals in Charlotte Saturday afternoon. UNC, the No. 2 seed in the field, will face No. 1 seed Georgia Tech in the championship game Sunday.

UNC trailed early after the Panthers scored two runs in the top of the first inning, but quickly erased that deficit after Gavin Gallaher launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the frame. Carolina scored three runs in the first and three more in the second to take control, with Rom Kellis hitting a two-run homer of his own in the latter frame. Kellis, who entered Saturday’s game with only two home runs on the season, would hit his second home run of the day – to almost the exact same spot in the ballpark – as part of a four-run bottom of the sixth inning.

Erik Paulsen, Cooper Nicholson and Colin Hynek all joined in on the fun before the day was done in Charlotte. Every UNC starter ended his day with at least one hit and eight had at least two. Carolina’s 22 total hits were its most in a single game all season. The hit parade forced the Panthers – who were playing their fourth game in four days as the tournament’s No. 14 seed – to burn through seven different pitchers.

On the other side, Walker McDuffie earned the win for UNC with 2.2 innings in relief of starter Ryan Lynch, who allowed nine hits and didn’t escape the fifth inning. Matthew Matthijs and Cameron Padgett recorded the game’s final seven outs.

UNC’s game against Georgia Tech tomorrow is scheduled for 12 p.m. in Charlotte, though inclement weather has forced numerous adjustments in recent days. The Diamond Heels won two of three meetings with the Yellow Jackets in the regular season.

Featured image via UNC Baseball on Twitter

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