Familiar company helps pitcher Hobbs Johnson earn his first win for UNC

Making the first start of his career against UNC-Asheville on Wednesday, Hobbs Johnson was in unfamiliar territory. But he was throwing to a familiar face.

Matt Roberts — who has known Johnson for years and was his roommate their freshman year — was starting at catcher for the No. 8 North Carolina baseball time for the first time this season.

“It was just like old times,” Roberts said. “We grew up playing together.”

Roberts started in place of Jacob Stallings, who has caught 31 of UNC’s 32 games. Stallings started at designated hitter against the Bulldogs.

With his roommate behind the plate, Johnson pitched a strong game and led the Tar Heels to a 10-5 win.

“It definitely helped, the familiarity part of it,” Johnson said.

Johnson got the win, pitching 3.1 innings for the Tar Heels without giving up a single hit. He walked three and hit a batter, struck out six and allowed one earned run.

He was charged with the run because after he was lifted with one out and a man on first in the fourth inning, reliever Shane Taylor gave up an RBI double that scored Johnson’s runner.

But even though he held the Bulldogs hitless, Johnson said he was unhappy with the free passes he allowed.

“I felt like it was by far my worst day of the year,” Johnson said. “I threw the ball well, but nowhere near the location that I wanted.”

Coach Mike Fox said he thought Johnson was being too hard on himself because there are more chances to make mistakes in a start than a shorter relief appearance.

He also said he took Johnson out early to save his arm for North Carolina’s important series at No. 24 Virginia this weekend.

“We’ve got to have him ready for the weekend,” Fox said. “(Reliever) Chris O’Brien is out, so we need Hobbs ready to come out of the bullpen. That’s why we got him out of there.”

The Bulldogs couldn’t seem to get a handle on Johnson. He pounded the outside corner of the plate with fastballs that hovered around 89 mph and got excellent movement on his slider.

But there were some control issues for the UNC starter, who had to work out of trouble in the first and third innings. In the first, he allowed a walk and stolen base but got out of the inning behind a nice charging play on a slow chopper by shortstop Tommy Coyle.

And in the third, a walk, hit batter and wild pitch put runners on second and third, but Johnson stranded them there when he struck out Hunter Bryant on a high fastball.

Roberts helped his roommate out in the inning as well, catching a high pop-up just in front of home plate that wasn’t a routine play because of swirling wind inside Boshamer Stadium.

Johnson also gave up a leadoff walk in the fourth but struck out the next batter, Patrick Koontz, on three pitches, blowing him away with one of the fastballs that painted the outside corner.

But his best inning was the second. He struck out the side — ringing up Ian Graham on a beautiful slider that just caught the outside corner and catching Eli Miller looking at a fastball in the same spot.

“I was on and off,” Johnson said. “My curveball was definitely on, and fastballs here and there when I stayed closed and didn’t open up too early. But when I missed, it wasn’t down in the zone where I need to be. The balls were up.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.