The Diamond Heels hosted games against Richmond and Longwood at Boshamer Stadium this week and won both to continue their winning streak to begin the season.
Tuesday against Richmond, UNC opened up a big lead early with two runs in the first inning and six in the second. Catcher Macon Winslow stayed hot at the plate with an RBI double to score Gavin Gallaher, then followed it up with a three-run home run in his next at bat. Winslow’s blast was the second long ball of the inning for Carolina after shortstop Jake Schaffner had hit his first UNC home run, also a three-run shot.
Gallaher lifted a sacrifice fly in the third inning to push Carolina’s lead to 9-0, and it stayed that way until Rom Kellis scored on a wild pitch in the seventh. With the score now 10-0, the game ended early via the run rule.
Kyle Percival earned the win for UNC with four innings of relief. It was Percival’s first appearance for the Diamond Heels in nearly a year after the righty missed nearly all of the 2025 season with an injury.
Carolina would need to play the full nine innings Wednesday in a much more competitive game against Longwood. Once again, UNC jumped out to an early lead after Michael Maginnis and Colin Hynek each collected a pair of RBIs in the first inning to give the hosts a 4-0 lead. But the Diamond Heels wouldn’t score again until the seventh, during which time Longwood chipped away with runs in the second, fifth and seventh innings to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Hynek came through again in the bottom of the inning, doubling to right field to score Maginnis after the latter had reached on a throwing error. With the score now 5-3, Caden Glauber and Matthew Matthijs combined for the game’s final six outs. Matthijs had to work his way out of a jam in the ninth, loading the bases with two outs following two walks and a hit batsman before inducing the game-ending flyout.
Matthijs was credited with the save while Walker McDuffie earned his first win of the season with 1.1 innings of perfect relief. Boston Flannery and Cameron Padgett also pitched for Carolina.
UNC is now 5-0 on the young season. Up next for the Diamond Heels is their annual three-game, three-park series with East Carolina, which begins Friday at 5 p.m. in Greenville. The second game of the series will be played at Durham Bulls Athletic Park Saturday at 2 p.m., and the finale will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Joe Bray
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