Zac Gallen shines as UNC baseball beats Notre Dame, 3-0

The No. 20 North Carolina baseball team defeated Notre Dame 3-0 in the opening game of the series at Boshamer Stadium on Friday night. The shutout likely marked junior pitcher Zac Gallen’s final home start of the season.

What happened?

For the Tar Heels (32-18, 11-14 ACC), the offense clicked in the third inning after Cody Roberts singled then reached second base on a throwing error by the Fighting Irish (26-23, 10-13 ACC). Roberts went on to score UNC’s first run of the game off a bases-loaded walk of Tyler Ramirez. Logan Warmoth extended the lead to 2-0 with a sacrifice fly to right field.

Notre Dame found its chance in the sixth inning when a hitter reached third base off an error by UNC. But Gallen didn't let Notre Dame capitalize on the mistake. He threw his seventh strikeout of the night to strand the runner at third and kill the Fighting Irish's best chance at scoring.

Warmoth locked in the win in the eighth inning with a solo home run that landed above the wall at the scoreboard. The home run, Warmoth’s third of the season, was UNC’s only hit in the final six innings of play.

Who stood out?

In likely his last time pitching at Boshamer Stadium this season, Gallen did not disappoint. .Starting off the game with four perfect innings, the junior didn’t give Notre Dame much room to score. He retired the first 14 batters he faced, allowed two hits and tallied eight strikeouts to shut out the Fighting Irish.

On the offensive end, Logan Warmoth was the spark. Warmoth gave UNC its first hit of the game with a single to left field, and his sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third inning extended UNC’s lead to 2-0. Warmoth went 2-for-2 while the rest of the lineup went a combined 2-for-23. His night culminated with the solo home run in the eighth inning.

When a Notre Dame batter whacked a liner to right center in the fifth inning, Ramirez made a diving catch to turn a potential hit into an out. Notre Dame hit a double on the next at bat. But already two outs deep, a strikeout by Gallen was enough to keep the Fighting Irish from capitalizing on the play.

When was it decided?

The Tar Heels captured the lead in the third inning, but tonight’s game was decided by defense. It’s extremely difficult to compete against a team that holds you hitless until the fifth inning. 

Tallying four hits on the night, UNC struggled at the plate. But with Gallen dominating on the mound, that wasn’t a problem for North Carolina.

Why does it matter?

The Tar Heels haven’t won the first game in a series since they defeated Virginia Tech 6-0 on April 8. That was also the last series UNC has won.

North Carolina needs to claim the series over Notre Dame in order to have a chance to reach both the ACC Tournament and possibly the NCAA Tournament. But the Tar Heels haven’t won the third game in a series since an 8-2 win over Duke on March 20. 

If UNC did not win Friday, its chances of a series win were pretty low. There is still plenty of baseball left, but winning Game 1 was a crucial first step for North Carolina.

Where do they play next?

The Tar Heels will take on the Fighting Irish for Game 2 of the series Saturday at 6 p.m.

@BlakeR_95

sports@dailytarheel.com