Zac Gallen struggles to find command, rhythm against No. 2 Miami

Starting pitcher Zac Gallen knew right away something was off. 

Gallen is the No. 10 North Carolina baseball team’s top pitcher, but in the junior’s 36th career start with the Tar Heels, things did not go as planned. 

The Gibbsboro, New Jersey native lasted 4 2/3 innings on Friday night in a 10-4 loss against the No. 2 Miami Hurricanes (23-4, 10-2 ACC). It was the first of three games for a Miami sweep of the Tar Heels (20-7, 6-6 ACC), providing UNC with its first consecutive losses this season. 

It was also the first time in 2016 Gallen allowed more than three runs in a game, as Miami scored five off him. He also allowed a career-high 11 base-hits, a new statistic he isn’t very pleased with. 

“You’ve kind of got to set the tone on Friday night when you’re going on the road, especially when it’s at a place like Miami,” Gallen said. “I didn’t really have my best stuff, so I was just trying to gut it out and make some pitches when I could, but definitely overall, not really too pleased with myself.”

Right off the bat in the first inning, Gallen knew he didn’t have much of a feel for his pitches.

Gallen says his best pitches are his cutter and his fastball, which means it’s going to be a bumpy ride when he has control over neither.

“I just didn’t really have a feel for anything, specifically my cutter,” he said. “I struggled with that a good deal. Fastball, location-wise, it wasn’t really there. It’s tough when you go out there and you don’t really have your pitches.”

The right-hander started in 2015 as a member of the bullpen, but later found success as a starter, earning second team All-ACC honors. He uses high expectations as a driving factor to succeed.

“I think no matter what, if you’re somewhat of a leader, if you pitch on Friday nights, there’s always high expectations, no matter what you do,” Gallen said. “Some may look at it as pressure, but I kind of like it because it makes me rise to the occasion and it almost holds me to a higher standard.”

Once Gallen was taken out of the game, UNC brought in four pitchers in relief. But it wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding. The Hurricanes out-hit the Tar Heels 15-to-7. 

The Tar Heels were out-hit again on Saturday 10-to-4, but managed to provide more offensive power on Sunday, out-hitting Miami 11-to-7. 

“They played good the whole weekend,” Coach Mike Fox said, on Miami. “They played defense, they’re experienced, their pitches are strikes. They were very opportunistic. They’re playing very well and very confident right now.” 

Aside from the negative, Fox said he did see some things he liked, despite the final outcome of the series.

“We kept competing,” he said. “Our guys kept playing and we had some good things. We had some young guys play pretty well, Logan Warmoth played great at short. We just didn’t have enough consistency in any aspect of the game for us.” 

As for personal statistics, Gallen says he couldn't care less, as long as the team is performing well.

“I’m just a winner, so if we win, but I have a 10 ERA, that’s fine by me,” he said. “Most of the time if you win, those things kind of just fall into place.”

The Tar Heels will have a chance to do just that when they return to Chapel Hill for a Tuesday game against High Point.

As for Gallen, he took away some lessons from Friday’s game for when things start to go wrong.

“I’ve just kind of got to minimize the damage,” he said. “When things start to go the wrong way you’ve kind of just got to slow the game down and just eliminate the big inning and put a stop to them getting their momentum.”

@Nicole_Caporaso

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