The Hurricanes swept UNC to take first place in the Coastal Division

The North Carolina baseball team went to Miami this weekend with the chance to build a first-place lead in the Coastal Division standings.

Instead, it left the Sunshine State winless and humbled.

Then-No. 3 UNC’s bats fell silent against the then-No. 9 Hurricanes, plating just three runs in 32 innings as the Tar Heels dropped all three games — 8-0, 4-3 and 4-0.

With the sweep, the Hurricanes (24-8, 11-4 ACC) leapfrogged UNC (23-9, 9-6 ACC) to the top of the Coastal Division standings.

“Obviously, getting swept is never a good thing, but I feel like it’s gonna be good for our team,” junior starter Chris Munnelly said. “Personally, I feel like it was a reality check for us to kind of wake up and realize we can’t just walk into every weekend and expect to win.”

With strong outings by Friday starter Eric Erickson and Sunday starter Steven Ewing, the Hurricanes blanked the Tar Heels in two out of the three weekend games, holding them to just 11 hits in the process.

“It’s just one of those things. It’s just the ebb and flow of the season,” said Munnelly on the team’s offensive struggles.

“It’s hard to put up 10 runs every time you go out there, but I think it’s just one of those times of the year you get in a little bit of slump.”

But the Tar Heels almost turned the momentum in the second game of the series. In the first inning Saturday, a single from shortstop Tommy Coyle and a Mike Zolk sacrifice fly gave UNC a quick two-run lead.

After Miami managed to claw back with three runs in the late innings, the Tar Heels knotted the score at three in the ninth to force extra innings.

Closer Michael Morin gave the Tar Heels a valiant seven innings out of the bullpen — the longest outing of his career — but he was ultimately saddled with the loss when he gave up the game-winning home run to Esteban Tresgallo in the bottom of the 14th.

Typically a short reliever, Morin gave up the home run on his 88th pitch.

“He’s definitely our workhorse. And he’s probably the best competitor I’ve ever played with,” Munnelly said. “He was not going to come out of that game, and what he did was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in a long time … He honestly kept us in the game.”

Minus Friday’s eight-run performance, the Tar Heel pitching staff was able to hold its own in Alex Rodriguez Park.

Munnelly yielded just one unearned run in his five innings Saturday, and freshman Benton Moss turned in a strong performance Sunday with one earned run, four hits and nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

But Moss’s efforts resulted in his second loss of the season, as the Tar Heels once again sputtered offensively.

With a trip to Virginia looming this weekend, it will be important for the UNC offense to rebound. The Cavaliers are just one game behind the Tar Heels in the conference, so another series loss could shake up the standings yet again.

“We’re everybody’s best game on their schedule, and everybody plays up to our level to beat us when we play them,” Munnelly said. “I think our hitters will definitely step up to the challenge this next weekend going into Virginia.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.