GREENVILLE, N.C. — Despite three separate rallies in the late innings, the No. 15 UNC baseball team (5-2) couldn’t hold on. The Tar Heels dropped the rubber game of a three-game set against No. 11 ECU (5-2), 10-9, Sunday afternoon at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
“We’re gonna play 27 outs,” head coach Scott Forbes said. “In games like this, that’s why you play them. Obviously you want to come out on top, and we’ve got some things we have to address, but you play really really good teams because it helps you as the season goes along.”
First-year right-handed pitcher Olin Johnson made the start for the Tar Heels and struggled with his command early, walking the first two Pirates he faced in the bottom of the first. Both those runners came around to score on a Jacob Jenkins-Cowart RBI single, and the Pirates led 2-0 after one.
Pirates starter Jake Hunter struck out the side in the top of second inning. In the bottom half, Johnson walked Luke Nowak to start the frame, and his day was done. Redshirt sophomore southpaw Dalton Pence came on in relief and committed a two-base error trying to pick off Nowak from first. Nowak then scored on a sacrifice fly by Cam Clonch.
ECU’s Carter Cunningham added to the Pirate lead with a solo home run off junior righty Aidan Hough in the bottom of the fifth.
Hunter was lights out through his first five and a third innings of work, allowing only one hit and striking out six. But junior outfielder Vance Honeycutt grinded out an 11-pitch walk with one out in the top of the sixth to chase him. Redshirt sophomore outfielder Casey Cook then took advantage and greeted Pirates’ reliever Erik Ritchie with a two-run homer to right that got UNC on the board. The ECU lead was 4-2 after six.
With two aboard in the top of the seventh, brought in lefty reliever Ethan Norby to face graduate infielder and left-handed batter Alex Madera. Forbes countered with a pinch hitter — first-year infielder Gavin Gallaher, who bats from the right side. That decision was a masterstroke. Gallaher hit a fly ball to left that just cleared the wall for a three-run go-ahead blast.
“Going into it, I kind of knew what I was looking for,” Gallaher said. “Just got into a good count and got my pitch to hit.”
The Pirates answered in the bottom of the seventh, as Ryley Johnson tied the game with a one-out RBI single off junior right-handed pitcher Matthew Matthijs. Senior righty Connor Bovair relieved Matthijs but wasn’t able to prevent further damage. ECU added two more to make it 7-5 with RBIs from Cunningham and Jacob Starling.
