Catcher Brandon Martorano went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a two-run home run in the fourth inning on Thursday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium, helping carry the No. 7 UNC baseball team to a 9-1 victory in the series opener against the Virginia Tech Hokies.

With the victory, the Tar Heels (35-17) are now just one win away from locking up the ACC Coastal Division title. The Hokies slip to 21-31 this season with the loss.

Martorano and senior Zack Gahagan kicked things off on Thursday with back-to-back RBI singles in the bottom of the second inning to give UNC an early 2-0 lead.

That lead was then doubled two innings later when Martorano launched a towering home run over the wall in left field.

Ike Freeman and Kyle Datres each picked up RBI singles in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively, before a questionable fielding decision by Virginia Tech–and an untimely wild pitch in the next inning–put UNC ahead by eight.

Another RBI from Martorano in the seventh represented the end of the scoring for the Tar Heels, who finally allowed the Hokies to get on the board in the top of the eighth.

On the mound, Cooper Criswell threw seven shutout innings for UNC to earn his fourth win of the year.

Up Next:

The teams will meet again on Friday, with the game time moved up to 1 p.m. yet again due to inclement weather in the area.

 

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

 

 

Photo via UNC Athletics

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