Locked in a tight battle between a pair of top five teams Friday night at Boshamer Stadium, the No. 4 UNC baseball squad entered the seventh inning against No. 3 Clemson with just two hits in the box score.

The Tar Heels finally tied the game at 1-1 after a wild pitch from Tigers’ starter Charlie Barnes in the seventh–which led to head coach Mike Fox inserting freshman Michael Busch, who boasts just a .206 average this season, as a pinch hitter.

Busch followed up with a three-run double that ultimately put the home side ahead for good, on the way to a 5-1 victory over the hard-hitting Tigers (34-9, 16-6 ACC).

Brian Miller added an RBI single before the end of the frame to give the Tar Heels another insurance run down the stretch.

UNC (34-9, 16-6 ACC) recorded four of its six total hits in the seventh, and did the entirety of its damage with two outs.

The rally helped junior right-hander JB Bukauskas improve his individual pitching record to 8-0 after a duel with Barnes for much of the night. He became the first UNC pitcher to do so since Trent Thornton in 2013.

Bukauskas kept the Tar Heels afloat all game long, as they desperately searched for the offense needed to earn the victory.

The Ashburn, Virginia native surrendered just five hits over his seven innings of work–while his seven strikeouts moved him into 10th on the school’s all-time strikeout list.

Up Next:

UNC will go for the series victory over Clemson on Saturday when it sends freshman phenom Gianluca Dalatri to the mound. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

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