Blue team keeps winning in UNC baseball's Fall World Series

Some things change. Some stay the same.

After the Blue team beat the Navy team handily in the first three games of the North Carolina baseball team’s intrasquad Fall World Series between Oct. 3-5, coach Mike Fox decided that it was time to switch up the two team’s lineups.

But despite the change, Blue again found itself the victor of both games this weekend, defeating Navy 6-2 and 7-3, and clinching the series in the process.

“We tried to put an equal number of freshmen and returners on different teams, and I think it showed a little bit out there,” Fox said.

“The scores don’t tell the whole story, but I thought these games were much more balanced.”

Those words were fairly accurate, as Friday showcased a new level of competitiveness that was absent from the series’ opening weekend.

On Friday, freshman Hunter Williams lined up on the bump for Blue to open the weekend.

Williams pitched the second game of the series for the Navy side on Oct. 4, and struggled mightily in just 1.2 innings.

But when Williams began to find himself in trouble early on Friday, walking Eli Sutherland to load the bases with one out in the second inning, rather than rushing, he slowed himself down, and was able to get out of the inning without letting things get out of hand.

“In my last outing I was just trying to work too fast,” Williams said.

“I took coach’s advice and slowing down really helped me pound the zone pitch after pitch. That was the best I’ve felt in a long time.”

Williams finished strong, giving up only two runs and three hits in six innings of work.

The game itself was much closer than the score-line indicated. The two sides took turns throwing punches in the game’s first four innings, before a four-run fifth inning for Blue put the game out of reach. Sophomore Wood Myers, who like Williams had his fair share of miscues the previous weekend, shined after also making the switch to the Blue team.

With a new cast of players behind him, Myers went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in fifth that extended his side’s lead to 6-2. 

Saturday arguably brought more excitement than the first four games combined, perhaps a result of Fox’s lineup tinkering.

In the bottom of the first, sophomore Tyler Ramirez blasted a solo homerun far into the trees behind right-field. The shot gave Navy just their second lead of the series, 1-0. 

Shortly thereafter, Skye Bolt flashed his power as well, sending a pitch from Brett Daniels deep over the left-field wall for a three-run homer. 

And while the long-ball highlighted the first half of the game, momentum changed in the second half behind the play of Michael Massardo, who is more known for contact hitting than for his power.

In the top of the fifth, Massardo singled in Josh Merrigan, who proved to be the winning run. Massardo finished the weekend batting .750 with three RBI’s. After Saturday’s game, Massardo credited his teammates, rather than himself, for his performance.

“The guys ahead of me have put me in a good spot,” he said. “When we’ve got guys in scoring position and less than two outs, it’s real easy for me to do my job.”

Sunday’s game was cancelled to due to inclement weather, and heading into the final weekend of the series, Blue has already clinched, winning the first five games.

Asked if he’s concerned about motivating the Navy side for the final three games, Fox said he will have to figure something out, including the possibility of another lineup change.

“We’ve sort of got away from the best five-out-of-nine, so we’ll probably end up making more changes,” he said.

“In the end they’re all fighting for playing time right now. If I can’t come up with something, I’ll pull that out. That’s the biggest motivator of them all.”

sports@dailytarheel.com