Called on as a pinch hitter Saturday night with UNC down to its final out–and on the verge of being on the wrong side of a no-hitter–freshman Michael Busch came up clutch with a game-tying RBI single.

He then found himself in a similar situation during Sunday afternoon’s series finale.

Fittingly enough, Busch homered and broke a tie game with two outs in the top of the ninth to lead the 8th-ranked Tar Heels to a 9-7 win over the No. 12 Florida State Seminoles at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee.

UNC (22-6, 9-3 ACC) was forced to go deep into its bullpen after the Seminoles (18-11, 6-6 ACC) broke through with six runs against starter Rodney Hutchison over the first 1.2 innings.

Freshman Ashton McGee–along with Busch–played a key role offensively in making sure UNC was able to recover for its first ACC series sweep of 2017, and its first ever on the road at Florida State.

McGee blasted a two-run homer in the top of the first inning to kick off the game’s scoring, while ultimately finishing with three of the Tar Heels’ season-high 15 hits.

After making six errors in Saturday’s game, Florida State added another five on Sunday–which played a large role in UNC’s comeback bid once again.

By the seventh inning, the Tar Heels had rallied from four runs down to take a 7-6 lead.

Florida State scored its only run against the UNC bullpen in the bottom of the seventh–setting the stage for Busch’s heroics in the ninth.

Mid-week starter Tyler Baum then came on for his first career relief appearance, and retired the Seminoles in order to close the game out.

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will return to Boshamer Stadium on Tuesday for a home game against East Carolina.

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

Related Stories
‹
Tar Heels Fall Short On Senior Day: Virginia Sweeps
The Virginia Cavaliers scored five runs in the sixth inning against five different Tar Heel pitchers on Saturday, en route to an 8-2 victory over the UNC baseball team at Boshamer Stadium–giving the senior day festivities for Benton Moss and Trevor Kelley an unpleasant ending. Carolina has now been swept in each of its last […]
Virginia Chases Bukauskas Early and Shuts UNC Down to Take Series
An early offensive spark, paired with another impressive pitching performance, delivered the Virginia Cavaliers a 6-2 victory over the UNC baseball team on Friday night at Boshamer Stadium. Their fifth consecutive conference loss drops the Tar Heels to 13-15 in the ACC and 32-21 overall, but there was a silver lining. They clinched a spot […]
Cavaliers Spoil Gallen's Night, Rally to Win in Extras
Zac Gallen was two outs away from his third complete game of the season for the Tar Heels when it all fell apart. “Any time you get in a good groove you don’t really want to come out,” says Gallen, “But it’s Coach’s decision, so you gotta do what he says. I mean, I would […]
UNC-UVA Series Holds Major Post-Season Implications
It’s now or never for the UNC baseball team this weekend, as it hosts the Virginia Cavaliers at Boshamer Stadium in the final ACC weekend series of the year–with each team looking to put themselves in a favorable position heading into next week’s conference tournament. The Tar Heels come into the matchup placed seventh in […]
Diamond Heels Avoid Sweep, Take Down No. 1 Cavs
The North Carolina baseball team avoided a series sweep Sunday afternoon by downing top-ranked Virginia 4-2 at Davenport Field thanks to a two-run home run blast by Michael Russell.
No. 5 North Carolina Tops No. 8 Florida State In Regular-Season Finale
The ACC divisional champions went head to head in their season finales, and the outright conference champion came out on top.
Virginia Keeps Coastal Title Hopes Alive
Virginia's bats got hot in the middle innings while Carolina couldn't keep up.
UNC Baseball Adds One Game Vs. FSU
UNC's regular season finale could pit the Atlantic and Coastal division champions against each other.
Florida State Upsets No. 2 UNC to Claim ACC Baseball Championship
Ranked second in the country–with a squad hell bent on righting some of the wrongs of the past two seasons–the UNC baseball team ran roughshod through the regular season and all three of its tournament opponents on the way to Sunday’s ACC Championship Game in Louisville. The Florida State Seminoles, on the other hand, failed […]
Busch's Home Run Lifts Tar Heels Past No. 12 Florida State, UNC Completes Sweep
Called on as a pinch hitter Saturday night with UNC down to its final out–and on the verge of being on the wrong side of a no-hitter–freshman Michael Busch came up clutch with a game-tying RBI single. He then found himself in a similar situation during Sunday afternoon’s series finale. Fittingly enough, Busch homered and […]
›