No. 15 UNC baseball defeats Gardner-Webb, 5-2, in midweek game

The No. 15 Diamond Heels (30-10) defeated Gardner-Webb (15-24) on Tuesday night at Boshamer Stadium, 5-2. 

North Carolina fell behind early after the Runnin’ Bulldogs jumped on starting pitcher Cameron Padgett in the top of the third inning. However, the Tar Heel bats came alive in the fifth and sixth innings, giving UNC the lead, which it would hold for the remainder of the game. 

“Obviously we're not really used to it but Coach [Jesse] Wierzbicki is really good with giving us our reports and telling us exactly what he thinks is gonna come," UNC graduate infielder Alex Madera said of North Carolina's hitting coach. "He tells you what to look for.”

To start the game, Padgett allowed a single up the middle with two outs but quickly followed it with a strikeout to end the top of the first. North Carolina could not get anything going in the bottom half of the inning – going three up, three down on three straight fly balls. 

After a scoreless second inning, Gardner-Webb advanced runners to second and third with one out. The Runnin’ Bulldogs then took the lead after a deep fly ball to left field that hit off the wall, giving them a 1-0 lead. A sacrifice fly to center field then drove in another run to double the lead. Sophomore pitcher Matthew Matthijs replaced Padgett in the third and slowed the Bulldog offense, keeping the Tar Heel deficit to two. 

“I felt like that was the biggest spot of the game and we were, again, we weren't exactly electric offensively based on what my eyes were telling me,” UNC head coach Scott Forbes said. “And I just felt like you know, Cam didn't have the weapons that Matty [Matthijs] had and give Coach [Bryant] Gaines a lot of credit right there. He was very adamant that we needed to go to Matty.”

Gardner-Webb held Tar Heels scoreless in the fourth after senior designated hitter Alberto Osuna grounded out. In the top of the fifth inning, Garder-Webb got runners on second and first after Mattijs hit Alec Burns. Runners then advanced to second and third after a deep fly ball, however, Mattijs got out of the inning with the Tar Heels still down two. 

First-year catcher Luke Stevenson smashed a single off the right field wall to start the bottom of the fifth inning. On the next at bat, first-year third baseman Gavin Gallaher roped a line drive down the left field line that stayed fair and drove in Stevenson from first to cut the Bulldog lead to one.  The Diamond Heels then tied the game off a single through the left field from junior centerfielder Vance Honeycutt. 

After a scoreless top of the sixth, the Tar Heels got runners on the corners with one out after an error. A walk then loaded the bases for North Carolina, and graduate second baseman Alex Madera capitalized with a sacrifice fly to left field, giving the Tar Heels a 3-2 advantage. 

With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, an error by Gallaher allowed Bulldog runners to advance to first and third. However, a ground out ended the inning for Gardner-Webb, keeping the Tar Heels ahead by a run.

“When something like that happens, I'm never really worried about myself — I'm more thinking about my pitcher,” Gallaher said. “Because that's a play right there that I should make and I let them down in the sense. So I just got to make sure that I get myself back mentally right as quickly as possible.”

In the bottom of the seventh inning, North Carolina advanced runners to the corners, and an errant pick-off attempt at first allowed graduate right fielder Anthony Donofrio to plate a run and redshirt sophomore left fielder Casey Cook to advance to second. Senior first baseman Parks Harber then singled to center field to bring Cook home, giving the Tar Heels a 5-2 lead.

North Carolina held off the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the ninth inning to earn the win.

The Tar Heels return to the Bosh on Friday at 6 p.m. to face off against Virginia Tech in the first of a three-game series.

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