UNC baseball keeps up season’s hot start

At the conclusion of the North Carolina men’s baseball team’s game against Winthrop on Wednesday, the team still had only one blemish on its record.

The No. 1 Tar Heels (23-1) used hot bats in the seventh inning to overpower the Eagles 6-2 and post one of its best starts in school history.

With the game tied 2-2 and Mike Zolk on first base in the seventh, coach Mike Fox looked to Parks Jordan to take the lead back as a pinch hitter.

“It’s a lot harder to pinch hit,” Jordan said. “I have been hurt for the majority of the year, so I’ve had to come in and pinch hit a lot.

“As far as my mentality … just trying not to put to much pressure on myself, just trying to relax during the at bat.”

The pressure didn’t get to him this time.

Jordan took a couple pitches — allowing Zolk to advance to third with a stolen base and a passed ball — and fouled off a few breaking balls before getting a base hit up the middle to give UNC a 3-2 lead.

The Tar Heels jumped on the scoreboard in the first inning when Michael Russell and Landon Lassiter, the first and second hitters in the order, both reached base and eventually scored.

Colin Moran — who Fox said has to deal with the most pressure on the team — added a three-run home run in the seventh inning.

Moran, like Jordan, handles that pressure pretty well.

“There’s really not that much pressure with the lineup we have,” Moran said. “Hitting in front of a guy like Skye (Bolt) — I mean, he’s provided as much protection as you could provide.

“Hitting behind guys like Landon, Chaz (Frank) and Russell today … they always get on, so it makes it a lot more fun to hit when there are people on base.”

Moran, a junior, is hitting .368 with 32 RBIs and five home runs. He said he was excited to be a part of the hot start to the season, but that the team needs to stay focused.

“It’s awesome,” Moran said. “It definitely feels good to get a win, and they have been coming a lot lately, so hopefully we can stay on a roll.

“We can always improve. Some of the wins haven’t been pretty. Keep playing good defense and pitching.”

Trent Thornton (5-0) picked up the win Wednesday for throwing five innings without surrendering a run. He allowed two in the top of the sixth.

Fox said he wants to make sure his team doesn’t get complacent after a strong start to the year.

“No one is going to remember how you start the season,” he said. “They are going to remember how you finish it.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.