Hitting woes plague UNC baseball in first series loss

Brian Miller thought the momentum had shifted.

With No. 7 North Carolina down by six runs on Saturday and runners on second and third base, the sophomore stepped up to bat in the seventh inning, hoping to ignite a spark in UNC’s offense against No. 25 Georgia Tech. 

But that spark didn’t come.

Miller hit a grounder to second base and sprinted for first. The ball reached first just as Miller darted across it, and the umpire ruled him out. Missed by milliseconds. 

The call — met with a chorus of boos from UNC fans — ended the inning and the Tar Heels’ chance at a comeback. North Carolina (19-4, 6-3 ACC) went on to lose 6-0 to the Yellow Jackets (18-5, 5-4 ACC), costing UNC its first series loss of the season. 

“I’ve been telling our guys, in this league when you’ve got a starter that doesn’t walk you and a defense that doesn’t make mistakes, somebody’s got to step up and get a big hit,” Coach Mike Fox said. 

That didn’t happen on Thursday or Saturday. UNC fell 3-2 in the first game of the series, then managed just four hits in the series finale. 

On Saturday, Georgia Tech starting pitcher Zac Ryan only tallied three strikeouts and walked three batters. But when UNC’s bats connected, the balls fell close enough to Yellow Jacket gloves to prevent the Tar Heels from reaching base. 

While Georgia Tech pitcher Brandon Gold had a strong game on Thursday with five strikeouts, the bulk of UNC’s difficulties came from quick outfield defense. 

“I thought I hit some balls well,” Miller said. “They just didn’t fall a lot of times.”

The Tar Heels did answer Fox’s call for big hits Friday.

North Carolina pressured the Yellow Jackets with a three-run first inning in the second game of the series. The Tar Heels had 10 hits, including a home run from junior Tyler Ramirez, to claim an 8-0 victory. 

Sophomore Logan Warmoth attributed his team’s success on Saturday to two-out hits. Both Warmoth and senior Eli Sutherland came up with one in the first inning, notching three collective RBIs for their team. 

But in the rubber match on Saturday, UNC came up short at the plate once again.

“(We) got a little anxious,” Fox said. “I think we swung at way too many first pitches against a guy that I don’t think had a strong strikeout pitch.”

Fox said he saw multiple opportunities to score when Georgia Tech held slim leads in Saturday’s game. But North Carolina could not capitalize.

When the Tar Heels score in the first inning this season — like on Friday — the team is 14-0. But Fox said his team has struggled when trailing, worsened by its inability to string together hits. 

“I mean, you’ve got to swing your way back into games when you’re behind,” Fox said. “And we obviously didn’t do that today, and we haven’t done it the few times we’ve been behind.

“So you’ve got to learn how to play from behind.”

@BlakeR_95sports@dailytarheel.com