Faced with relief pitcher Johnny Piedmonte’s five-inning, zero-run performance, the North Carolina baseball team (29-7, 14-4 ACC) was unable to complete a sweep of N.C. State, falling to the Wolfpack 4-2 on Sunday.
What happened?
After two scoreless innings, the Wolfpack (20-17, 8-10 ACC) broke the ice in the third inning, leading on the scoreboard early like they have in each of the first two games in the series. Brock Deatherage’s solo home run was the first hit of the day for N.C. State against Tar Heel starter Austin Bergner.
In the next two top-innings, the Wolfpack piled on. They notched an unearned run in the fourth to increase the margin on the scoreboard 2-0.
After a mid-count pitching change that forced Josh Hiatt to inherit two baserunners in the fifth, N.C. State was able to drive in two runs. A Will Wilson pop-up that seemed to be misread by left-fielder Tyler Lynn dropped in to bring Andy Cosgrove home, and a walk sent in Deatherage for his second run of the game.
Despite coming into a tough situation, Josh Hiatt performed well, ending his tenure with four hits, zero earned runs, one walk and six strikeouts.
The Tar Heels weren’t done though. In the bottom of the fifth, North Carolina loaded the bases, and Brian Miller was able to drive in two with a single through the right side. In the sixth, the Tar Heels managed to load the bases again, but were unable to drive in any runs.
And despite several chances later in the game, North Carolina was unable to add runs on the scoreboard. Tyler Lynn, who went 2-4 with a double on the day, turned on a ball that looked like it had the distance to leave the park coming off the bat in the eighth, but the wind seemed to halt its pace considerably.
Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, Lynn’s out also halted any chance of tying the game.
