The 11th-ranked UNC baseball team closed out its 17-game homestand to begin the season on Tuesday with a statement victory over an old-time ACC rival.
Four Tar Heel pitchers combined to throw a one-hitter in a 9-2 win over the Maryland Terrapins at Boshamer Stadium.
Freshman Tyler Baum started on the mound for head coach Mike Fox, lasting through five innings in total.
Maryland (9-6) scored its only two runs of the game in the third inning after Baum issued a pair of walks, which were then followed by a two-run single–the Terrapins’ lone hit in the game–by second baseman Nick Dunn.
The Tar Heels (13-4, 2-1 ACC), meanwhile, received a huge day at the plate from freshman Ashton McGee.
Batting in the number three spot for UNC–and in the lineup as the designated hitter–McGee hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning, while ending up with four RBIs by the end of the game.
The game was essentially put out of reach after McGee’s long-ball gave the Tar Heels a commanding 8-2 lead entering the fifth inning.
Other top offensive contributors for UNC on Tuesday included second baseman Zack Gahagan (1-for-4, two RBIs) and freshman infielder Ike Freeman, who came off the bench to go 1-for-2 with two RBIs.
But the real story, of course, was the pitching staff and its refusal to bend–let alone break–against the Terrapins.
Once Baum was done on the mound, the combination of Austin Bergner, Rodney Hutchison Jr. and Cole Aker cruised through the final four frames without surrendering a hit.
After scoring its only runs in the third inning, Maryland never had a runner advance past second base the rest of the game.
Up Next:
UNC will travel to Atlanta this weekend to face Georgia Tech in a three-game ACC series. The games will be the Tar Heels’ first on the road this season.
Game Notes:
- It was the team’s first one-hitter since a 10-0 victory over North Carolina A&T back in 2014.
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