Week after week, UNC junior right-hander JB Bukauskas is proving why MLB scouts feel he should be one of the first players chosen in this June’s draft.

His latest trick was to strike out a career-high 14 hitters on Friday, as the Tar Heels hung on for a 6-5 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta.

Closer Josh Hiatt pitched himself out of a tricky jam in the ninth inning, which allowed a monstrous solo home run from shortstop Logan Warmoth to provide the final difference for UNC (14-4, 3-1 ACC) in what was a back and forth affair all night long .

In total, there were five home runs hit on the night.

Logan Warmoth’s ninth inning solo shot provided the game-winning run for UNC against Georgia Tech on Friday. (Joe Bray/ UNC Athletics)

Tyler Lynn and Kyle Datres each added solo shots for UNC in the fourth inning to break what had been a 2-2 tie.

The Yellow Jackets (11-5, 1-3 ACC) then found a chink in Bukauskas’ armor in the sixth, as Joey Bart and Trevor Craport put together back-to-back homers that evened things up yet again.

Bukauskas stayed strong on the mound following that minor blip on the radar, however, striking out two more batters in his seventh, and final, inning of the evening.

He was replaced by Hiatt–the freshman bullpen sensation–at the beginning of the eighth inning. After cruising through his initial frame without troubles, Georgia Tech nearly stole the game from the rookie in the bottom of the ninth.

After putting two men on base with no outs, the Tar Heels benefited from a fantastic throw by catcher Cody Roberts–who nailed a runner at third base on an attempted double steal.

Hiatt ultimately picked up a couple of strikeouts to seal up his sixth save of the season, but not until Georgia Tech was able to cut the UNC lead in half with an RBI single from Keenan Innis.

It was a hard-earned win for the Tar Heels, who were playing in their first road game of the season after starting the year with 17 straight games at home.

Bukauskas continued to set the tone for UNC with another dazzling pitching performance, while the X-factor for this team–its offense–stepped up when it mattered most to take the series opener.

Up Next:

The Tar Heels and Yellow Jackets will begin the second game of their three-game series on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Game Notes:

  • With his 14 strikeouts, Bukauskas now has the second-most by a Tar Heel this season. Freshman Luca Dalatri struck out 15 against Radford earlier in the year.
  • Brian Miller, Logan Warmoth, Cody Roberts and Kyle Datres combined for nine of UNC’s 11 hits in the game.

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

Related Stories
‹
Diamond Heels Stage Late-Inning Rally, Steal Series Win at Georgia Tech
Trailing 4-0 against Georgia Tech entering the sixth inning on Sunday, the No. 11 UNC baseball team took advantage of some untimely mistakes and rattled off seven consecutive runs on the way to a 7-4 victory in Atlanta. The win also clinched the series for the Tar Heels (15-5, 4-2 ACC) who have now won each […]
Georgia Tech Evens Series vs. UNC on 12th Inning Walk-Off Home Run
Baseballs continued to fly out of Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, but this time it was Georgia Tech that would get the last laugh against UNC. Junior first baseman Kel Johnson–a Second Team Preseason All-American–crushed a walk-off two-run homer off of Tar Heel reliever Rodney Hutchison in the bottom of the 12th inning […]
Georgia Tech Shuts Out Tar Heels In Series Finale
After following up Thursday’s loss to Georgia Tech with a dominating 8-0 victory on Friday, the No. 4 Tar Heels had the tables turned on them Saturday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium–falling 6-0 to the Yellow Jackets in the series’ rubber match. UNC (19-4, 6-3 ACC) was able to muster up just four hits all day […]
Opportunistic Yellow Jackets Knock Off No. 4 UNC Baseball
Thursday at the first annual Bark at the Bosh night—where fans at Boshamer Stadium were allowed to bring their dogs to watch some baseball—the No. 4 Tar Heels couldn’t quite find their own bark in a 3-2 loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the series opener. UNC—now 18-3 this year, with a 5-2 […]
UNC Baseball Wins Series, Splits Doubleheader With Yellow Jackets
In some exciting ACC action on Saturday, the 22nd ranked UNC baseball team split a doubleheader with their Coastal Division foes, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech rallied from a five run deficit to take the first game 6-5 on Thomas Smith’s walk-off single, before Benton Moss pitched Carolina to a 5-1 victory in […]
Dunbar's Ninth Inning Homer Leads UNC Past Georgia Tech
The UNC baseball team came into Friday’s series opener at Georgia Tech needing to make a statement. Having slipped to 22nd in the polls, and lost five of their past seven games, North Carolina got what they were looking for when catcher Korey Dunbar played hero, hitting a two-run homer in the top of the […]
Tar Heels Hope Atlanta Will Bring New Life
During head baseball coach Mike Fox’s 17 year tenure at UNC, there’s been one letter many have come to associate with the program: the W. That’s why five losses over the past seven games by Fox’s 22nd ranked Tar Heels, paired with a sub-standard 12-8 overall record (3-3 in conference), have raised some eyebrows as […]
Georgia Tech Stymies Carolina, Claims 2-1 Series Win
The No. 12 North Carolina baseball team dropped an ACC series to Georgia Tech 2-1 over the weekend to fall to 15-8 on the season and 5-4 in ACC play.
Diamond Heels Meet Yellow Jackets for Three-Game Set in Chapel Hill
The No. 15 North Carolina baseball team, 14-6 on the season and 4-2 in conference, opens up a three-game ACC series with 13-8 Georgia Tech Friday at 5 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium.
Georgia Tech Takes Regular Season Finale Over UNC Baseball
The UNC baseball team dropped its regular season finale on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, falling to Georgia Tech by a score of 10-6. It didn’t take long for the Yellow Jackets (28-21, 21-15 ACC) to pick up where they left off on Friday night with the bats, scoring three times in the second inning, six […]
›