UNC baseball left stranded in Greensboro

The North Carolina baseball team outhit and out-pitched the No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers Friday night at NewBridge Bank Park but forgot to do the imperative — score.

Despite nine hits, the Tar Heels only chased home two runs while stranding 11 runners on base in a 3-2 loss to UVa. that nixed the team’s chances of repeating as ACC tournament champions.

The Tar Heels got the bats rolling early in the game against UVa. starter Brandon Waddell, who took the loss in a 4-2 UNC win in Charlottesville, Va. on April 20.

In Waddell’s five innings of work, he allowed the leadoff man aboard in four out of five innings but didn’t permit any runners to score.

“North Carolina did a really good job with him, but the kid all year long has made big pitches when he need to do,” UVa. coach Brian O’Connor said.

In the second inning, sophomore Skye Bolt led off for UNC with a single to left center and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior Parks Jordan.

But Bolt wouldn’t proceed any further, as designated hitter Adrian Chacon and catcher Korey Dunbar struck out swinging to bring the inning to its conclusion.

Coach Mike Fox said the inning suggested a reoccurring pattern for the rest of the night.

“We get a bunt down and then we got the guys up there we want, we just can’t get a big hit,” Fox said. “Again, that’s the pitcher versus the hitter and, you know, the pitcher won more than not tonight against us, anyway.”

Dunbar’s strikeout was one of six inning-ending strikeouts for the UVa. pitching staff.

The biggest of these strikeouts came in the fourth inning when freshman Adam Pate struck out swinging after a ground rule double by Dunbar put runners on second and third.

“That’s something you can’t do, that’s a great credit to their pitching,” Fox said. “That’s why they are as good as they are.”

Junior right-hander Benton Moss kept the Tar Heels in the game on the mound by pitching 6.2 innings, striking out eight and allowing four hits. But two fielding errors by his teammates resulted in two runs for the Cavaliers off Moss.

It wasn’t until the seventh inning that UNC was able to strike. After sophomore Zach Daly reached on a walk, freshman second baseman Wood Myers belted a home run over the right field wall to knot the score at 2-2.

The homer was Myers’ third hit on a night where he went 4-for-5 from the plate, with three hits coming to leadoff an inning. Myers said he and his teammates were able to get on base but unable to capitalize.

“I just got balls I could get a good swing on,” Myers said. “We were clicking offensively, even though we didn’t come out on top. We still made good attempts to score runs and move runners and we just couldn’t come up with that big hit in the end.”

After the Cavaliers quickly broke the tie in the top of the eight, UNC had a chance in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extras.

Myers led off with a single to center and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Adam Raburn. But third baseman Landon Lassiter and Bolt produced back-to-back outs to strand Myers at second.

The Tar Heels concluded the night 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. O’Connor said the number of runners UNC had in scoring position would usually indicate a different outcome.

“So you wouldn’t think that the amount of runners that they had in scoring position that we’re looking at a 3-2 ballgame,” he said. “But it seemed like it was that kind of a game.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.