Pitchers power 3-game sweep

In the concourse of Boshamer Stadium, there is a plaque displaying the North Carolina baseball team’s statistical leaders.

Under Earned Run Average, the board simply states: “10 tied with 0.00.”

After three victories against Seton Hall this weekend, the No. 14 Tar Heels moved to 4-0, and the pitching staff still has not allowed an earned run.

UNC shut out the Pirates (0-3) in each of the first two games, which, along with a 5-0 victory against Appalachian State on Wednesday, marked the first time since 1922 that UNC has posted three consecutive shutouts.

The 32-inning streak was snapped in the sloppy sixth inning of Sunday’s 5-2 victory, in which UNC surrendered two unearned runs.

Errors had been a lingering problem for the Tar Heels in their easy wins in the first two games — UNC had six for the weekend — but Craig Corrado’s mistakes proved costly Sunday.

BASEBALL Seton Hall 2 UNC 5 Seton Hall 0 UNC 5 Seton Hall 0 UNC 17

The shortstop airmailed a throw to allow Seton Hall’s first run to get on base. Four batters later, Corrado botched another throw on a potential double play to allow Tim Pahuta to score from third.

“When you make a throwing error, most of it’s just a mental thing — it’s between your ears,” said UNC coach Mike Fox.

“Just trying to be too cautious and trying not to make a mistake. You can’t play that way; you’ve got to play aggressive and have no fear, and we’ve got to get that out of a couple guys.”

But the Tar Heels fought back from the bad inning to secure the win.

“It’s good to see when we battle some adversity, and we still win,” Fox said. “It was good for us. Let’s play a game from behind, see what we’re made of.”

Justin Webb homered over the left field wall to start the bottom of the sixth, and the Tar Heels tied the score when Jay Cox scampered home on a passed ball.

In the eighth, Mike Daniel got on with a single to left field, and Chase Younts broke the tie with a triple down the right field line.

“It was just a fastball inside,” said Younts, who also belted a home run in Friday’s 17-0 massacre of the Pirates. “It was a hit and run, so I was trying to keep it on the ground. … Fortunately, it stayed fair.”

Despite the center fielder's heroics, he said he much preferred Friday's outcome.

“That was a little too close, right there,” Younts said.

Of North Carolina’s 34 players, only 10 are juniors and seniors, and much of the preseason buzz has focused on sophomore pitchers Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard.

But it was the two seniors who proved their worth in the clutch Sunday — on the field and in the dugout. Fox said the upperclassmen were able to calm a nervous team when the Tar Heels faced a two-run deficit.

“You see what experience will do for you,” Fox said. “Our veterans were like, ‘Hey, it’s only the sixth inning. That’s only the second half of a basketball game.’”

Friday’s game was an offensive explosion for the Tar Heels, who scored in each of the first six innings, as opposed to waiting until the sixth to get going Sunday. Seton Hall starter Dan Merklinger gave up only two hits and no runs in his five innings of work.

“We have some guys I think that may be off to a bit of a slow start,” Fox said. “We got a lot of fastballs (Sunday). We just didn’t put good swings on them.”

On Saturday, junior Adam Kalkhof worked 5.2 strong innings in the 5-0 Tar Heel win, scattering four hits. Kalkhof struggled last season as he battled shoulder tendonitis, but two years ago he was a freshman All-American, and he appears to be on track to secure the third spot in the weekend rotation.

The sweep in the first of UNC’s 12 weekend series has the Tar Heels off to a fast start, marking an important step for the youthful team.

“This is a pretty young team, so obviously confidence is going to play a major role in how well we do,” said closer Matt Danford. “I feel the team right now is pretty confident.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.