Ask North Carolina baseball players how they felt about exam week, and one would get a variety of 34 negative, unhappy and unenthusiastic answers.
Ask coach Mike Fox, and he’ll say it might be just what his team needed.
There may not have been a better time for UNC players to put down the bats and gloves and pick up their books and binders. After being shut out for the first time all season with a 1-0 loss at home to East Carolina, the Tar Heels took nearly a week off from playing.
With Tuesday marking the end of the school year, the Tar Heels ended their six-day hiatus from play and returned to Boshamer Stadium for a matchup with the Campbell Fighting Camels.
Behind freshman right-hander Zac Gallen’s best start of the season, the Tar Heels (28-19) showed they were rested and ready for the final two weeks of the regular season, shutting out the Camels (31-16) for a 5-0 win.
Gallen threw six innings of scoreless ball, struck out six and surrendered just five hits to move to 5-3 on the season. Of his 87 pitches, 64 were strikes, something he said Fox stressed before the game.
“I felt really comfortable with my fastball. It feel like it had a lot of life,” Gallen said.
“He said just challenge these guys and make them put the ball in play. So I just tried to stay around the zone, limit my walks and give our defense a chance to field the ball.”
The other big story coming from Tuesday night’s win was the flip-flop of junior shortstop Michael Russell and junior center fielder Skye Bolt in the batting order. Russell, who has been a staple at the top of the Tar Heel lineup, dropped two spots to bat third. Bolt, a switch-hitter with tremendous speed, moved up two spots to the leadoff spot.
