After a tough mid-week loss against UNCG, the Tar Heels (23-22, 16-16 ACC) rebounded Saturday with a 5-0 victory against No. 11 Louisville (26-17, 16-12 ACC) to take the weekend series.
What happened?
Center Fielder Justice Thompson crashed into the fence in the top of the second to save a Cardinals double, giving UNC some early momentum. After the highlight play by Thompson, first baseman Brett Centracchio got UNC on the board with an RBI single up the middle to give the Tar Heels an early 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the inning.
Starting pitcher Caleb Cozart threw two innings of shutout ball for the Tar Heels, striking out two Lousivlle batters on no walks, before handing it off to Connor Ollio in the top of the third. Ollio also kept the Cardinals silent at the plate for four innings to give the Tar Heels the edge they needed to stay ahead of the eleventh-ranked Cardinals for the duration of the game.
In the bottom of the third, the UNC bats struck again, scoring off of a bases loaded walk and a wild pitch — to extend their lead to 3-0.
The Tar Heel pitching staff continued a strong group effort late, with senior Gage Gillian silencing the Louisville bats in the last three innings. Gillian struck out a game high four batters and lowered his ERA to an astounding 1.12 in 40.1 innings of work this season. The dominant performance by the pitching staff gave the Tar Heels their first shutout of the season.
To cap things off, Centracchio hit a two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth to give the Tar Heels a 5-0 lead that they would not surrender.
Who stood out?
The Tar Heel pitching staff — Cozart, Ollio, and Gillian — led the way to victory, giving the team their first shutout of the season and striking out nine Cardinals along the way.
