Gale blows away Davidson

Andy Gale’s focus was so intense, he never stood a chance.

The freshman pitcher’s post-game television interview quickly ended with a splat when North Carolina teammate Robert Woodard nailed his fellow hurler in the face with a paper towel pie crust full of shaving cream.

It was the only time Tuesday that Gale’s focus worked against him.

The righty struck out a career-high 10 batters, walked none and tossed his first complete-game shutout — the Tar Heels’ first of the season — as UNC soundly beat Davidson, 4-0.

“I think we learned a lesson from last week (against Elon),” said UNC coach Mike Fox. “We weren’t great offensively, but we did enough. If we pitch well and don’t make any errors, we’re in there.”

After Gale set down the Wildcats (15-16) in order in the opening stanza — the first two of them on strikeouts — the seventh-ranked Tar Heels (28-6) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom half of the frame.

Senior Justin Webb — playing third base to break up the catching grind — reached first on a one-out single. Then UNC’s Matt Ellington singled to right, putting two men on for Chad Flack, who singled home Webb.

BASEBALL Davidson 0 UNC 4

Senior Justin Webb — playing third base to break up the catching grind — reached first on a one-out single. Then UNC’s Matt Ellington singled to right, putting two men on for Chad Flack, who singled home Webb.

After Jay Cox hit into a fielder's choice, Seth Williams bombed a double off the base of the fence in right-center, scoring both runners — the freshman’s 19th and 20th RBIs of the season — and giving the Tar Heels a 3-0 cushion that would hold up the rest of the way.

“It’s pretty solid if your team steps up and get a couple of runs early, especially in the first inning,” Gale said. “From there you just kind of ride it along. And we ended up getting another one in the game, and that was good for my confidence.”

Gale dominated the Wildcats just a week after being shelled for five runs (three earned) against Elon — a 10-3 loss by the Tar Heels that ended the team’s nine-game win streak.

In that loss, Gale lasted only 4.1 innings, allowing those five runs on five hits and three walks.

The difference might be as simple as a pitch.

“Curveball,” Fox said. “Curveball, curveball for strikes. When he throws that really good curveball of his for strikes, defensively it just sets up everything else that he does, and he did that tonight.

“And that’s what we saw many times when we were recruiting him, and until today, we hadn’t seen it since he got on campus. We’d been wondering where it was.”

Gale himself cited his command — which allowed him to continually get ahead in the count — the defense behind him and the rhythm he fell into after the smooth start to the game as the catalysts for his dominant performance.

Gale quickly worked out of his only real jam when he struck out Davidson’s Taylor Shoop and forced Sam Navarro into a groundout to short with two men on.

Maybe more impressive was that Gale held Wildcats third baseman Jay Heafner without a hit in four at bats. Entering the game, Heafner’s .448 batting average was second in the Southern Conference. The junior was one of Gale’s 10 strikeout victims.

The freshman was focused.

Now he’s got pie on his face.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.