Playing on the road for the second weekend in a row, the North Carolina baseball team took two games out of three from ACC foe Maryland to improve to 5-1 in conference play.
After giving up two runs in the first inning Friday night, the Tar Heels’ ace Kent Emanuel settled down and gave UNC 7.1 innings while allowing just eight hits and striking out seven batters.
Emanuel picked up his fifth win of the year and has now won his last 12 decisions.
“Kent gave up some runs early in the first inning, and we’re down right out of the gate on Friday night,” coach Mike Fox said. “But he settled in and really pitched well for us for a pretty good stretch there and let us get back in the game. We finally put together a few runs in the middle of the game. It was a close game, and we just held on.”
The Tar Heels took the series opener 4-3, but the Terrapins threatened to steal the game in the ninth, getting two runners on. Closer Michael Morin came on and finished off the game with 1.2 hitless innings.
The save was Morin’s seventh on the year, which gives him the most in the ACC.
“He’s been huge. We wouldn’t have the record we have without Michael Morin,” Fox said. “He’s the guy at the end of games that we want him to have the ball in his hands. He’s been there and done that before and he’s not scared, and he throws strikes so other teams have to hit him. If we play good defense behind him, he gives us a chance.”
After taking the middle game on Saturday 9-5, the Tar Heels dropped a pitcher’s duel 1-0 in the finale Sunday.
Fox said that starter Benton Moss and reliever Chris McCue gave sensational performances for the Tar Heels but weren’t quite as strong as Maryland’s Sunday starter Brett Harman.
