With two strikeouts apiece in the first inning, opposing pitchers Zac Gallen and Brandon Gold made it clear early on that Thursday’s matchup between No. 7 North Carolina and No. 25 Georgia Tech would be a defensive battle.
But UNC (18-3) failed to maintain its defensive prowess and establish the dominance at bat needed to put the Yellow Jackets (17-4) away, ultimately falling 3-2 to Georgia Tech to give up its second home loss of the season.
Neither team was able to score until the bottom of the third inning, when UNC junior Adam Pate hit a bunt that set up first-year Brandon Riley to slide home. The RBI-single put UNC up 1-0, but Georgia Tech came up with a double play on the next at bat to keep North Carolina from extending the lead.
North Carolina’s defensive stronghold fatally faltered in the fifth inning. The Tar Heels allowed Georgia Tech four hits and commited two errors, which the Yellow Jackets used to load the bases and put pressure on UNC. Connor Justus and Kel Johnson each picked up RBI-singles for the Yellow Jackets. And on Johnson’s RBI-single, UNC committed an error that allowed Georgia Tech to pick up an unearned run and claim a 3-1 lead.
UNC managed to contain Georgia Tech in the following inning with a double play and a strikeout by sophomore Brett Daniels, who stepped in to relieve Gallen. But the Tar Heels could not answer Georgia Tech’s three-run inning.
That is, until Logan Warmoth drilled a double in the seventh inning to give UNC its first hit since Warmoth’s other double in the fourth inning. Warmoth went on to score off of an RBI-single by Riley to cut Georgia Tech’s lead to one.
North Carolina’s defense clamped down on the Yellow Jackets, holding to three hits in the last four innings. But UNC’s late defensive surge was not enough to overcome Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets stifled any comeback attempt by holding the Tar Heels to no hits the ninth inning.
Quotable
“We just didn’t string any hits together… I’ve been telling our guys in this league when you’ve got a starter that doesn’t walk you and a defense that doesn’t make mistakes, somebody’s got to step up and get a big hit. That’s a pretty typical ACC game that our young kids haven’t really seen before. So we’ll learn from that.” — Coach Mike Fox on his team’s offensive struggles.
