The North Carolina baseball team (39-17, 17-13 ACC) used a tenth inning walk to defeat Virginia (32-23, 14-16 ACC) 3-2 in the team's ACC Tournament opener on Wednesday. With the bases loaded, first-year Caleb Roberts was hit by a pitch that sent pinch runner Angel Zarate home to score, giving the Tar Heels the walk-off win.
What happened?
Much of the day was a pitcher's duel, as UNC ace Tyler Baum pitched 7.1 innings and gave up just two runs and five hits. North Carolina drew first blood thanks to an RBI single from junior Ike Freeman in the fourth inning, then went up 2-0 after an RBI double from first-year Danny Serretti in the sixth inning.
Baum gave up his first run in the seventh when a solo home run from Virginia's Nate Eikhoff halved the UNC lead. An inning later, the Cavaliers tied the game with an RBI single, and junior Joey Lancellotti came in to relieve Baum.
To state the obvious, runs were hard to come by throughout the day, and it took an extra inning for the Tar Heels to separate themselves.
In the tenth, three straight walks gave Roberts a chance to be the hero, with the bases loaded and one out.
No heroics would be needed, however. With an 0-1 count, Roberts was hit by a pitch from Virginia's Devin Ortiz, sending Zarate home to score from third and giving the Tar Heels the win.
Who stood out?
Baum was dominant on the mound, striking out six Cavaliers and holding Virginia scoreless in his first six innings of the day. Lancellotti was also instrumental in relieving Baum and not allowing any runs, propelling the Tar Heels to extra innings to steal the win.
