Having spent the last two seasons missing out on the NCAA Tournament–not to mention last year’s failure to qualify for the ACC Tournament–the third-ranked UNC baseball team has spent all of 2017 announcing to the world that the program is back on track.

After taking two out of three games against Virginia Tech this past weekend in Blacksburg–including a 20-0 blowout on Sunday–the Tar Heels officially clinched the ACC Coastal Division title.

Although star pitchers JB Bukauskas and Gianluca Dalatri each put forth uncharacteristic outings on the mound, the Tar Heel offense did more than enough to help the team win its ninth consecutive ACC series.

Tyler Lynn’s two-run homer on Saturday helped UNC (41-10, 21-6 ACC) claim the first leg of a doubleheader by a score of 9-4.

The Hokies (22-29, 9-18 ACC) would rebound to take an 8-4 victory in the nightcap on Saturday, but the Tar Heels responded on Sunday with their biggest shutout win over an ACC opponent in program history.

Kyle Datres and Zack Gahagan each hit two-run homers for UNC in the seventh inning of the series finale, with Logan Warmoth crushing a three-run blast later in the frame.

The trio of home runs helped the Tar Heels put together back-to-back seven-run innings–as they also put up seven runs in the sixth inning.

Throughout head coach Mike Fox’s 19 seasons in Chapel Hill, UNC has won 40 games in 14 of those campaigns.

Up Next:

Before heading into postseason play, however, the Tar Heels will return home to Boshamer Stadium for four more games. First up, is a matchup against UNC-Wilmington on Tuesday, followed by their final ACC series of the year against Duke–which will run from Thursday through Saturday.

 

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