Tar Heel baseball takes two of weekend’s three against Seton Hall Pirates

The familiar ping of aluminum bats redirecting baseballs returned to UNC’s Boshamer Stadium this weekend.

The North Carolina baseball team had its first home games of the season, facing off versus Seton Hall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Tar Heels (6-1) won the first two games by scores of 10-5 and 7-1 but were shut down Sunday 3-1.

Despite losing the series finale, shortstop Levi Michael was happy to be back playing at home.

“It feels great to be back at the Bosh with a beautiful weekend and a lot of fans coming out making an exciting atmosphere,” Michael said.

That atmosphere was felt Friday in the home opener where UNC got the victory with an impressive offensive outpour. They took the lead with a four-run-second inning that was capped by a two-RBI double by Michael and never looked back.

Michael had an impressive weekend, filling up the stat sheet by getting on base nine times in 12 plate appearances, scoring three runs and driving in five more.

“I feel like I’m seeing the ball real well,” Michael said. “I’m not chasing anything out of the zone, I’m just trying to stay within myself and just doing what I can to get on the bases and get some momentum going.”

Saturday, UNC’s offense once again came up big as they got to Seton Hall pitcher Greg Terhune the second time through the lineup. Colin Moran broke open the game with a two-RBI single in the fifth inning that helped give the Tar Heels a 7-1 lead that would stand for the final.

The run support was more than enough for pitcher Patrick Johnson, who had his second solid outing of the year, lasting seven innings and only giving up one run via a solo home run in the fourth.

“I thought P.J. really threw the ball well,” UNC coach Mike Fox said. “He settled in the middle part of the game and after the home run he came back and really really pitched well.”

But even the Tar Heels’ new Carolina blue throwback jerseys couldn’t help them complete a sweep on Sunday, as the Pirates’ pitching halted North Carolina’s offense.

UNC starting pitcher Michael Morin had a career-high nine strikeouts but got the loss as Seton Hall’s ace Joe DiRocco was even better, giving up only four hits and one run in 6 1/3 innings of work.

The Tar Heels got their leadoff hitter on base only once, which Fox believed was a main reason for his team’s lack of offense.

“Every inning we’re trying to scratch for runs and we already got an out,” Fox said.

The Tar Heels came close to scraping across some runs late, getting men on base in each of the last four innings, but Seton Hall’s bullpen was clutch and able to get out of each jam.

“You’re just hoping for a big hit,” Fox said. “I like the way our guys fought and we had some better at bats at the end of the game.”

The loss Sunday is UNC’s first of the year and prevented them from the sweep. Fox was happy with the weekend overall but was disappointed in losing on Sunday — a day that he tells his players is the key to a series.

“Sunday is the most important day and I’m sure Seton Hall feels good that they got out with a win,” Fox said. “We don’t, but the loss is what it is. We’re going to lose games this season. It’s the nature of baseball.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.