It was over nearly before it started.
As per usual this season, the No. 7 North Carolina baseball team scored early and often in Tuesday's 10-2 win over Western Carolina at Boshamer Stadium, scoring four runs in the first inning to bury the Catamounts (9-11).
With the bases loaded early in the opening frame, UNC (18-2) plated a run on four consecutive plate appearances — capped off by an RBI single from first-year Brandon Riley.
After batting around in the first inning, North Carolina went hitless in the following frame. But the Tar Heels still found unconventional ways to extend their lead, as sophomore Brian Miller converted a hit-by-pitch and throwing error by Western Carolina into a scoring opportunity.
In the third inning, Riley returned to the action, drilling a deep triple to right field to give UNC a six-run cushion.
And two innings later, it was Riley who crossed home plate — courtesy of a Zack Gahagan home run over the left-field wall. The Tar Heels would add two more runs in the later innings to strengthen their stranglehold over the Catamounts, who graced the scoreboard with a two-run home run in the ninth inning.
But North Carolina hardly needed any insurance runs on Tuesday.
Sophomore pitcher Hunter Williams threw five shutout innings in his first start of the season, lowering his season ERA to 0.64. The lefty allowed just two hits and kept Western Carolina from reaching third base while he patrolled the mound.
