After resuming a game halted Friday night due to weather, the Diamond Heels earned a back-and-forth victory at NC State Saturday afternoon to take game one of the weekend series.

The game was suspended Friday night in the top of the fifth inning with the teams tied at 1-1. Upon resumption Saturday, Carolina took a 2-1 lead on a Wolfpack error, which allowed Mac Horvath to score from third base. Horvath had been stuck on base for approximately 17 hours, having walked and stolen second to begin the inning on Friday night.

NC State slingshot themselves into the lead in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of an earlier throwing error from Nik Pry to score two runs.

But Carolina answered in a big way in the sixth, with a leadoff home run from Vance Honeycutt tying the game at 3-3 and paving the way for four more UNC runs. After an Angel Zarate single and a walk from Horvath, Hunter Stokely sent a moonshot over the right field fence for his second home run of the year. Tomas Frick followed up Stokely’s blast with an RBI double to score Johnny Castagnozzi all the way from first base, and UNC led 7-3.

The lead wouldn’t last long, as the Wolfpack scored three runs in the bottom of the inning and then another in the seventh, tying the game at 7-7 entering the final two innings. Gage Gillian got the ball in the bottom of the eighth and sent the Wolfpack down in order, erasing a one-out single with a double play to end the inning.

Pinch hitting for Mikey Madej, Max Riemer led off the top of the ninth for Carolina and drew a walk. Riemer was then pulled for pinch runner Reece Holbrook, who advanced to second on a Honeycutt bunt and then to third on a single by Zarate. Horvath then rewarded Holbrook for his baserunning, bringing him in with a go-ahead sacrifice fly.

Though the Tar Heels stranded two runners to end the ninth, Gillian needed only the one-run cushion, retiring the side in the bottom in the ninth on 12 pitches to give UNC the critical win. It’s Carolina’s first win over the Wolfpack since 2019, after the series was cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020 and NC State swept Carolina last season.

The second game of the series, originally scheduled for Saturday, was postponed due to rain. NC State will host a doubleheader for games 2 and 3 on Sunday.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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