On Senior Day at the Bosh, the North Carolina Diamond Heels (33-17, 14-11) completed the sweep of the NC State Wolfpack (31-18, 10-16) with a 12-2 win in an offensive onslaught by the Tar Heels.
What happened?
The Tar Heel offense picked up where it left off Friday night, getting on the board in the bottom of the first inning as junior Mac Horvath singled to left, driving in redshirt first-year Casey Cook. After loading the bases, junior first baseman Hunter Stokely singled to right to plate junior second baseman Jackson Van De Brake. A sacrifice fly then drove in Horvath, giving the Tar Heels a 3-0 lead.
UNC’s offense kept rolling in the second, adding another run on a sacrifice fly that drove in Van De Brake from third. The Tar Heels tacked on one more in the third, as junior shortstop Colby Wilkerson drove in junior third baseman Johnny Castagnozzi scored second. Two more runners came home for North Carolina on a single from sophomore outfielder Vance Honeycutt to take a 7-0 lead.
Junior starting pitcher Jake Knapp was dealing on the mound through four innings for the Tar Heels, holding NC State to just two hits and going three up, three down in both the second and third frames. In between the third and fourth innings, the NC State coaching staff had the umpires check Knapp for illegal substances, but nothing was found.
North Carolina scored for the fourth consecutive inning, as a single up the middle from Wilkerson drove in Stokely and extended the lead to eight. After loading the bases, Van De Brake singled to left, driving in Wilkerson and Castagnozzi, putting UNC up 10-0.
After UNC extended the lead to 11-0, the Wolfpack responded in the sixth with a solo home run to lead off the inning. NC State added another solo home run in the seventh, cutting the UNC lead to 11-2.
In the bottom of the seventh, Stokely grounded into a double play, but Horvath scored, putting the Heels up 12-2. Neither team scored in the eighth or ninth, and the Tar Heels won 12-2.
