Just two starts into his UNC baseball career, freshman right-hander Luca Dalatri has made the transition from high school to college look like a walk in the park.

After striking out an incredible 15 hitters in eight innings of work Sunday in the team’s 7-5 win over Radford, Dalatri was named the ACC’s Co-Pitcher of the Week.

Since head coach Mike Fox took over at UNC in 1999, he had previously never had a freshman tally that many strikeouts in a single game.

It was also the most by a Tar Heel since current New York Met starter Matt Harvey fanned 15 Clemson Tigers back in 2010.

Florida State’s Tyler Horton will share the weekly award with Dalatri after striking out 11 batters over seven shutout innings in the No. 3 Seminoles 8-0 win over Samford on Saturday.

The UNC freshman, however, has made the future in Chapel Hill appear much brighter following a pair of seasons that ended just short of the NCAA Tournament.

Dalatri–now 2-0 in 2017–is similar to recent Tar Heel ace Zac Gallen in that they each hail from New Jersey, and possess great control and command of the strike zone.

In his masterpiece on Sunday, the 6-foot-6 righty needed just 99 pitches to get through eight innings–with 75 of those recorded as strikes.

Spectacular performances like Sunday’s–albeit against a weaker team like Radford–only go to show that Dalatri has all the potential needed to become special in his own right.

Earning ACC Pitcher of the Week honors this early into his career, whether shared or not, only goes to show that the rest of the league is already beginning to take notice.

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