Rivalry week strikes home for many baseball families in North Carolina. Young kids dream of suiting up and playing for — and against — the top programs in their home state.
For Pinehurst native and No. 11 UNC sophomore relief pitcher Nik Pry, that feeling is no different.
When the No. 8 East Carolina Pirates from Greenville came to Chapel Hill on Tuesday night, those childhood feelings returned on the mound at Boshamer Stadium for the young pitcher who always dreamed of doing it on the big stage.
“I had this game circled on my calendar," Pry said with a grin. "This is one of the biggest games of the year. Where I come from, these are the two powerhouses in the state. My high school coach played at ECU and my high school teammate Seth Caddell is at ECU.”
After sitting patiently in the bullpen and watching his teammate Will Sandy toss 4.2 innings of one-run ball, the time came for Pry to step onto the mound, showcase his talents and guide his Tar Heels to an 8-1 win, his first win of the season as a reliever.
And that's just what he did.
Coming into the inning with two outs and two runners on base, Pry closed the inning out with just one at-bat to keep the Diamond Heels' lead at 3-1.
After that, Pry truly settled in, striking out five Pirates on just 41 pitches before handing the ball off to first-year Connor Ollio in the ninth to close things out. When Pry left, the Diamond Heels held an 8-1 lead — another job well done.
For first-year catcher Tomas Frick, those performances are what he has come to expect from the right-handed Pry, and Tuesday was no different than what he and his teammates have been seeing all season.
