Seton Hall center fielder Zach Granite led off the third inning of Sunday’s game at Boshamer Stadium with a bunt single and proceeded to do something anyone in attendance the prior two days would find extremely ill-advised.
On the first pitch of the at-bat, Granite tried to steal second base with North Carolina’s Jacob Stallings behind the plate, a move that had led three earlier Pirates back to the dugout with a tag from shortstop Levi Michael.
This time Michael Morin’s pitchout came in wide and Stallings usually perfect throw sailed into center field, allowing Granite to go to third and score on a groundout one batter later.
The rare misfire was the beginning of a poor performance that capped what had been an outstanding start to Stallings’ junior season.
“Mike said it was his fault, I said it was my fault. He threw it probably a little too far outside,” Stallings said. “I slipped, it was pretty wet back there and my cleats were pretty muddy. But that’s not an excuse. We should have executed that better and he would have been out by a mile.”
Prior to Sunday afternoon, Stallings had been a menace to would-be base stealers on either side of the country. In the Tar Heels’ four-game swing through California, Stallings gunned down four runners. Though UNC’s opponents did manage to swipe four bases on the trip, two came on a double-steal and the other two came on fielding mistakes by UNC infielders.
In the home opener against Seton Hall on Friday, Stallings eliminated two Pirates from the basepaths, then made Patrick Johnson’s first baserunner of the afternoon disappear on Saturday.
“It’s unbelievable,” Johnson said. “It looked like he took his time, he didn’t even rush, and he threw the dude out by five feet. It’s unreal how good he is back there.”
Stallings had also been enjoying a hot streak at the plate coming into the series finale. The wiry 6-foot-5 catcher spent this offseason gaining 15 pounds in order to improve his strength and durability.
