A battle between two of the top college baseball programs in North Carolina went in favor of the 11th-ranked Tar Heels on Tuesday night at Boshamer Stadium, as UNC defeated No. 8 East Carolina by a score of 8-1.

The game was tied 1-1 through two innings, but the Tar Heels (13-6) would go on to score at least once in six of the final seven innings while holding the Pirates (16-4) scoreless over the same time period.

Freshman Tomas Frick had three hits–including a home run–and three RBIs to lead the UNC offense, while shortstop Danny Serretti stayed hot with two RBIs of his own.

Johnny Castognozzi also homered for the Tar Heels, who now lead the ACC with 24 long balls through their first 19 games–a number no UNC team has posted this quickly since 2009.

In addition, Justice Thompson scored four runs to represent half of UNC’s total scoring.

On the mound, reliever Nik Pry was awarded the win for pitching 3.2 innings and striking out five East Carolina hitters.

“We talked about it as team about it being rivalry week,” UNC head coach Scott Forbes said afterwards. “Recognizing that it is rivalry week from the standpoint of-in state baseball for us. We had East Carolina first, then NC State. We talked about the importance of those games and of this week.”

Up Next:

The Tar Heels host NC State this weekend for a three-game series set to begin on Friday at 6 p.m.

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

 

Photo via Abe Loven (UNC Athletics)

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