UNC baseball avoids sweep in first ACC series at Louisville

The North Carolina baseball team avoided being swept in its first ACC series of the season at Louisville on Sunday afternoon with a 10-3 victory. The Tar Heels (8-7) dropped the first two games of the series, 5-4 on Friday and 6-4 on Saturday. 

Game one

UNC opened its first ACC series of 2018 with a 5-4 loss on Friday night.

North Carolina jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with two RBI singles from sophomore Ike Freeman and junior Dylan Enwiller in the second inning. The Cardinals responded by scoring three runs in sixth inning to take a 3-2 lead. 

In the eighth inning, the Tar Heels tied the the score at four, but Louisville scratched across a run in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-4 lead in the ninth. UNC failed to comeback in the ninth inning, and the Cardinals took game one of the series.

Sophomore Tyler Baum was the starting pitcher for North Carolina, and he delivered five scoreless inning before giving up three runs in the sixth. He finished the day with four earned runs allowed through six innings.

Junior reliever Cooper Criswell was pegged with the loss, as he allowed Louisville to take the lead in the eighth inning on a wild pitch. The loss brought his record to 0-2 on the season.

Game two

After once again jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Tar Heels dropped game two of the series in a 6-4 defeat.

Louisville bounced back from its 2-0 third inning deficit by putting together consecutive three-run innings in the third and the fourth inning that would be all they needed to win. UNC attempted a late comeback with runs in the sixth and eighth inning, but the Cardinals held on for their second victory of the weekend. 

Sophomore pitcher Austin Bergner picked up the loss for North Carolina, allowing all six of Louisville’s runs in 4.1 innings of work. Saturday’s loss brought Bergner’s ERA to 7.30, and he received his first loss of the season.

Game 3

The Tar Heels found some redemption on Sunday afternoon when they trounced the Cardinals 10-3. 

Through six innings UNC was trailing 3-2, but a combined eight runs in seventh and eight innings gave the Tar Heels more than enough support to grab their first ACC win of 2018.

Ike Freeman and Zack Gahagan led the way for the Tar Heels. The middle infield combo recorded three RBIs and two hits each in the seven run victory. Brandon Riley also contributed two RBIs, and Cody Roberts scored three times after reaching base on four separate occasions. 

Sophomore Josh Hiatt closed out the game for UNC. He pitched the final two innings, allowing zero runs and only one hit with two strikeouts. 

Brett Daniels captured his second win of the season in 4.1 innings of relief with no runs allowed. He entered the game with a 3-2 deficit, but his strong pitching performance allowed North Carolina to take a late lead.

The Tar Heels moved to 8-7 (1-2 in ACC) with Sunday’s win. They will host North Carolina A&T on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Boshamer Stadium.