Tar Heels Lay the Smackdown on NC State, Move On to ACC Baseball Semifinals

As soon as UNC junior centerfielder Brian Miller led off the home half of the first inning against NC State on Friday with his seventh home run of the season–it was clear what kind of night was getting ready to unfold.

The No. 2 Tar Heels put the Wolfpack in front of the firing squad in their ACC Tournament matchup at Louisville Slugger Stadium, ultimately scoring 10 runs in the first inning on the way to a 12-4 blowout win.

In total, UNC sent 14 batters to the plate–and put together nine hits–in the deciding frame against NC State (34-23).

Wolfpack starter Brian Brown recorded just two outs during his stint on the mound. A pair of relievers, Michael Bienlien and Austin Staley, were then needed to get head coach Elliot Avent’s team off the field before the damage grew any larger.

Junior right-hander JB Bukauskas–the league’s Pitcher of the Year–threw seven solid innings for the Tar Heels (46-11) as he surrendered just three runs on four hits.

Offensively, sophomore Brandon Riley led the charge by going 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the game. Riley received plenty of help, however, from Logan Warmoth, Tyler Lynn and Cody Roberts–who each drove in a pair of runs themselves.

The outburst also helped the Tar Heels become the only one of the tournament’s top four seeds to avoid the upset bug and advance to the championship weekend.

It was a beatdown reminiscent of the UNC men’s basketball team’s 51-point shellacking of the Wolfpack handed out at the Dean Dome earlier this year.

While that group of Tar Heels later went on to win a national championship, this group appears to have all the tools necessary to challenge for one of its own.

Up Next:

The win over the Wolfpack means the Tar Heels earned a place in the ACC Tournament Semifinals–where they will play No. 6 seed Miami (32-26) on Saturday at 4 p.m.

FINAL BOX SCORE

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