No. 24 UNC baseball team secures 16-1 midweek win over Longwood

The No. 24 North Carolina baseball team (7-1, 0-0 ACC) defeated Longwood (3-6 0-0 Big South), 16-1, at Boshamer Stadium on Tuesday evening.

What happened?

After a hitless first inning from the Lancers, the Diamond Heels struck first when first-year Vance Honeycutt hit a homer to center field. However, the inning quickly ended when redshirt junior Angel Zarate, sophomore Tomas Frick and junior Danny Serretti were all grounded out.

Neither team scored in the second inning due to a North Carolina double play and strong pitching from Longwood pitcher Logan Berrier. North Carolina's sole score in the third inning came from a Zarate double that allowed Honeycutt to convert his stolen second base to a run. 

Two strikeouts from sophomore pitcher Connor Bovair effectively helped extend the Lancers’ scoring drought through the fourth inning. A wild pitch from Longwood pitcher Jack Lamb allowed sophomore Mac Horvath to advance to third base. The Rochester native scored shortly after.

The Lancers finally got on the board when a single to left field from Michael Peterson allowed Eliot Dix to score. The Diamond Heels answered with a run to close out the fifth inning with a 4-1 lead.

A quick, scoreless inning from the Lancers was followed by an eruption from the Diamond Heel lineup. First, a single from sophomore Alberto Osuna was followed by a double from sophomore Will Stewart. Osuna scored when sophomore Hunter Stokely walked to first base upon being hit by a pitch.

Bases were still loaded after Zarate walked, which allowed Stewart to score as well. Then, Frick hit a grand slam to extend the lead to 10-1. The monstrous sixth inning was capped off by a two-RBI single from Stokely, with Horvath and Serretti scoring.

The Lancers were held scoreless for the remainder of the game, while a four-run eighth inning from UNC put North Carolina up 16-1 going into the final inning. 

Who stood out?

Bovair spearheaded a defense that allowed only one run and Bovair himself allowed just three hits on 74 total pitches. Additionally, Zarate, Serretti and Osuna had two hits each.

Honeycutt and Frick accounted for the two homers in the game, with Frick’s grand slam serving as the dagger.

When was it decided?

Although neither team could seem to find momentum for the first half of the game, North Carolina chipped away with single-run innings until its scoring barrage in the sixth inning. Frick’s grand slam effectively amplified pressure on the Lancers to score.

Moreover, Longwood’s lack of pitching depth was noticeable towards the end of the game, as the Diamond Heels scored 12 of their 16 runs in their final three innings at bat.

Why does it matter?

After a dominant win over Longwood and a solid series played against a ranked ECU team this past weekend, the Tar Heels look to be in good shape for conference play, which opens on Mar. 11 against Pittsburgh.

Additionally, the scoring explosion in the sixth inning demonstrated that when things are slow — like when the score is still 4-1 at the bottom of the sixth — the Diamond Heels are more than capable of producing a scoring barrage at any moment when they have sluggers like Frick and Honeycutt.

When do they play next?

The Diamond Heels return to Boshamer Stadium on Wednesday to take on Winthrop at 4 p.m.

@danielhwei

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com