In its opening weekend of ACC play, the North Carolina baseball team was defeated by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 8-5, in Chapel Hill on Friday afternoon.
What happened?
The Tar Heels (10-5) turned to junior Joey Lancellotti on the mound, who had not given up a run in his last two starts. The Fighting Irish (8-2) ended this streak with a solo home run in the second inning and followed that up with three more runs in the third to extend their lead to 4-0.
With the team collecting only one hit through the first three innings, the Tar Heels’ offense showed signs of life in the fourth, opening up the frame with a single and double from Aaron Sabato and Lancellotti, respectively. Following an RBI groundout, senior outfielder Dallas Tessar ripped a single to left to trim UNC’s deficit to 4-2.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Tar Heels had an opportunity to tie the game, putting runners on second and third with only one out, however, they were unable to generate any runs as a pop up to second and strikeout ended the inning.
Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh, the Tar Heels were gifted a base runner via a throwing error to first base. The next batter, Sabato, made the Fighting Irish pay for their miscue, as he unleashed a mammoth 436-foot home run into the parking lot beyond left field. With two innings remaining, the Tar Heels now only trailed by one.
After this surge from the Tar Heels, the Fighting Irish were able to swing the momentum in their favor once more, adding a run in the eighth and two more in the ninth. Heading into the bottom of the ninth, they led 8-4.
With one out remaining, Sabato made things interesting, sending another home run deep to left field, but the deficit proved to be too large to overcome, and the Tar Heels ultimately fell, 8-5.
