The UNC baseball team opened the season on a high note, defeating the Seton Hall Pirates (0-1) by a score of 7-1 Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.

The win improved coach Mike Fox’s record in season openers to 16-1, giving his bunch a record of 1-0 for yet another time in his illustrious career.

On a day where temperatures hovered just above freezing, the Tar Heels wasted no time getting the crowd heated up, as sophomore right-fielder Tyler Ramirez blasted a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, following a base hit by Skye Bolt that got things rolling.

The blast came as a bit of a shock for fans, as the sophomore hit just two long bombs in all of last season.

“I worked really hard in the offseason in the weight room, and on my swing, so I think it’s gonna start paying off this year, power-wise,” Ramirez says.

Things continued to work in the Heels’ favor from there. The next inning , designated hitter Joe Dudek sent a pitch from Seton Hall starter Luke Cahill deep over the wall in right-center field.

After walking Logan Warmoth in the following at-bat, Cahill, the preseason Big East co-pitcher of the year, would leave the game due to an injury, replaced by junior Sam Burum. To his credit, Burum was able to pitch nearly seven innings, helping to preserve some bullpen arms for the Pirates in the process.

Trent Thornton did an admirable job on the mound for UNC in his first start of the season, striking out six batters and allowing just one run on 76 pitches. Coach Fox decided to go to his bullpen with one out in the top of the fifth, after Thornton walked Pirate right-fielder Jackson Martin to put runners on first and second base.

Spencer Trayner was excellent in relief for the Tar Heels, retiring the first 10 batters he faced after replacing Thornton, and pitching shutout ball while giving up just one hit in two and two thirds innings of work. He also was awarded with the win for his efforts.

Coach Fox certainly stayed true to what he’s been saying in the pre-season, maintaining that he has supreme confidence in his bullpen.

“We’ve got all those relievers down there itching to pitch and we didn’t use (Zac) Gallen, didn’t use (Reilly) Hovis, didn’t use (Chris) McCue, and we’ve got 18 innings tomorrow, so that’s a good thing,” Fox says, “We’re gonna use our bullpen to death here early, so we don’t tax anybody.”

As the game wore on, UNC turned to its normal “small-ball” strategy using bunts and clever base-running to increase their lead after the early home runs, with Wood Myers, Landon Lassiter, Skye Bolt, and freshman Logan Warmoth each driving in a run.

Next up for the Heels is a doubleheader tomorrow against the Pirates, with the first game starting at 11 A.M., and the second game beginning approximately 40 minutes after completion of the first.

FINAL BOX SCORE

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