Baseball team takes second ACC series win versus 'Pack

For North Carolina in its weekend series against North Carolina State, it was all about the seventh inning.

In both wins of the three-game series against the Wolfpack, the Tar Heels scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh to top their foes and grab the series victory.

The 9-6 win on Sunday makes UNC 6-9 in ACC play, and the Tar Heels remain in next-to-last place in the Coastal Division. But UNC has now taken two straight series against conference foes after last week’s three-game set at Maryland.

“I told them back there, I want us to learn and get better and improve as we go,” UNC coach Mike Fox said.

Fox put Chris Munnelly on the mound Sunday after the righty gave up a grand slam the previous night in N.C. State’s 14-6 win.

He and assistant coach Scott Forbes spoke after Saturday’s game and came to a consensus on the rubber game’s starter.

“It was kind of a little gut,” Fox said. “We wanted a strike thrower; we felt like it was very important to start the game off in a good way.”

The move paid off as Munnelly went 4 2/3 innings giving up only one run and four hits.

The Wolfpack took a 3-2 advantage in the top of the seventh after Dallas Poulk’s RBI double and Drew Poulk’s RBI groundout. The lead was in trouble when Tommy Coyle opened the bottom of the seventh with a triple to deep center.

UNC picked up two quick outs and, with the possibility of a lead-off triple going for naught, Ben Bunting found the middle of the infield and drove Coyle to tie the game at three. A Jesse Wierzbicki double brought home Bunting and Mike Cavasinni, who was hit by a pitch, to bring the score to 5-3.

“That gave us some momentum,” Bunting said. “I was just fortunate enough to get a pitch I could hit. We got big hits after that to come up clutch.”

The Tar Heels would score three more runs with one hit and the help of poor Wolfpack fielding. Two fielding errors, two stolen bases, a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice let UNC stretch its lead to six.

On Friday, Matt Harvey turned in another solid performance by tossing seven innings and allowing only one earned run to improve to 4-1. UNC scored 10 runs in the final three innings of play to win 14-7.

UNC drew six walks in the bottom of the seventh and put six on the board to give UNC a 13-3 lead.

Friday and Saturday’s games combined to go seven hours and 50 minutes. N.C. State won 14-6 on Saturday while the Tar Heels threw seven pitchers in their longest game of the season.

UNC has 12 losses after just passing the halfway mark of the season. In the previous four years, the most losses the Tar Heels had at the end of their College World Series seasons was 18.

“I think we’re still looking at the small picture,” Bunting said. “It puts us where we want to, and it gives us that confidence.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.