UNC junior starting pitcher Zac Gallen took the mound at UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday night needing to make a statement, both for himself and his team.
After throwing 7.2 shutout innings of four-hit ball–while striking out 11 hitters–in the No. 16 Tar Heels’ 4-0 season-opening victory over the No. 11 Bruins, it’s fair to say he did just that.
Entering 2016 at the top of the UNC’s rotation, Gallen’s performance proved that his impressive finish to last season was no fluke–and that his team has no plans of missing the NCAA tournament again, after missing out a year ago for the first time since 2001.
The right-hander used his pinpoint control to mow through the UCLA lineup all night long–retiring the side on strikes in the third inning, and putting together 1-2-3 innings on four separate occasions.
Freshman Brandon Riley went 2-for-4 on Friday with 2 RBIs in his first college game. (Joe Bray/UNC Athletics)
Gallen led the way on Friday, but head coach Mike Fox also got big contributions from a new-look lineup featuring four players–three freshmen and a junior college transfer–who weren’t even on the roster in 2015.
Two of those players, designated hitter Brandon Riley–a freshman from Burlington, NC–and left fielder Tyler Lynn–the junior college transfer from Alabama–combined for three of the team’s four RBIs.
Riley went 2-for-4 in his first career college game, and connected on a two-run double in the sixth that extended the Tar Heels’ lead to 3-0–after Lynn’s third-inning sacrifice fly gave Gallen some early wiggle room.
All of the offensive work came against UCLA starting pitcher Grant Dyer, widely considered to be among the nation’s best. Against the Tar Heels, though, Dyer lasted just five innings–exiting in the sixth after UNC sophomore shortstop Logan Warmoth drove Riley home with a double of his own.
A pair of sophomore relievers, Hunter Williams and Hansen Butler combined to pick up the final four outs of the game.
Butler entered for Williams in the bottom of the ninth with one out, and runners on first and second. He then forced a pair of swinging strikeouts to hand the Tar Heels the opener in the three-game series.
Up Next:
Saturday’s game between the Tar Heels and Bruins is set to begin at 5 p.m. and will feature UNC sophomore starting pitcher JB Bukauskas–he of the 97 mph fastball–facing off with UCLA righty Griffin Canning (7-1, 2.97 ERA last year).
Game Notes:
- UNC is now 7-4 all-time against UCLA.
- It was the Tar Heels’ first game in California since 2011.
- Sophomore Brian Miller, a former walk-on who had a breakout freshman year in 2015, went 3-for-5 in the lead-off spot for the Tar Heels.
WCHL’s Aaron Keck previewed the Tar Heels’ season before the game with UNC superfan Tom Jensen.
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