No. 4 North Carolina baseball takes down Charleston Southern, 7-6, on walk-off walk

The No. 4 North Carolina baseball team improved to 12-1 on the season in a 7-6 victory over the Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Boshamer Stadium on Tuesday.   

What happened?

Despite being the underdogs, the Buccaneers (4-10) took an early 1-0 lead. After reaching on a bloop single that landed between three Tar Heels in the top of the first inning, CSU’s Josh Litchfield scored from second after an Ashton McGee throw went past first baseman Aaron Sabato.

UNC (12-1) had a chance to answer immediately after junior Michael Busch walked and advanced to third on a botched pick-off attempt, but CSU starter RJ Petit got a strikeout and flyout to escape trouble. 

After 2.1 hitless innings, the North Carolina offense woke up in the third. Busch drove in junior Dylan Harris from first base with a deep double to right center. Ben Casparius recorded a pinch-hit RBI single to left field, and two CSU pitchers combined for four walks and two hit batsmen as UNC jumped out to a 5-1 lead. 

The Buccaneers responded with some offense of their own. After a leadoff single in the fourth, CSU totaled three hits and drew two walks, driving out not only starting pitcher Andrew Grogan but reliever Connor Ollio as well, as they drew back within two runs. 

After trading sacrifice flies in the bottom on the fourth and top of the fifth, the Tar Heels took a 6-4 with half the game to go. UNC and CSU combined for just seven hits, but 14 walks over the first four and a half innings.  

The sixth and seventh innings were dominated by pitching. UNC’s Joey Lancellotti and Will Sandy recorded back to back 1-2-3 innings. Buccaneer pitching also settled down, striking out four and walking none. 

The Tar Heels saw the rest of their lead disappear in the top of the eighth, as Austin Love gave up a double to CSU pinch hitter Max Ryerson to even the score at six. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Ryan Stoudemire moved from first to the pitcher’s mound for Charleston Southern. He appeared to record three straight outs, but a wild pitch on strike three allowed Dylan Enwiller to reach first. Stoudemire got Caleb Roberts to ground out to second and sent the game into the ninth inning tied. 

CSU threatened in the top of the ninth, and had a runner on third after a double play was overturned and Charleston Southern’s Jason Miller was called safe at first. With two outs and runners on first and third, Love forced a ground out to second to give the Tar Heels a chance to walk off. 

After a hectic bottom of the ninth which included a nullified balk and an upheld challenge, Brandon Martorano worked a bases loaded walk-off walk to give the Tar Heels a 7-6 victory. 

Who stood out?

On a day where hits were hard to come by for UNC, left fielder Michael Busch reached base four times, showcasing his strong bat and eye. He went 2-3 (for two of UNC’s five hits) with a double, RBI and two walks  

Center fielder Dylan Harris also extended his reached base streak to nine games with a walk in the third inning, a stat that leads the team and is a career best.  

When was it decided?

It came down to the bottom of the ninth. After Clemente Inclan worked a walk from a 13 pitch at-bat and Serretti grounded into a fielder's choice, catcher Brandon Martorano came to bat with the bases loaded and only one out. 

“I got ahead, 2-0, and I just told myself I wasn’t going to swing at anything unless it was right down the middle,” said Martorano.

Nothing was. A 3-1 pitch missed, and with a subtle turn and clap to his teammates, Martorano took his base and the Tar Heels held on to win.

Why does it matter?

The win makes 12 of 13 for North Carolina heading into its first ACC series. It wasn’t pretty. UNC was out hit, committed an error and walked five batters. But they still got the victory, something head coach Mike Fox said he always appreciates.

“In the history of sport, there’s never been a bad win,” Fox said.

When do they play next?

The Tar Heels will open ACC play with a series at No. 24 Clemson starting this Friday. 

@tommyfradenburg

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