UNC Baseball Weekly Recap: April 3-7
The road trip down I-85 South during the week of April 3 had its up and downs for the No. 13 UNC baseball team .
On Tuesday, the Diamond Heels were shut out for the first time all season in a 5-0 loss to South Carolina in Charlotte, North Carolina. They redeemed themselves later in the week, though, going to Atlanta and beating Georgia Tech twice for their third ACC series win on the year.
Here's a recap of the action.
April 4 vs. South Carolina
The first six innings between the Tar Heels and the Gamecocks were a snoozer. Both teams struggled to bat runs in as nine runners were left on base in that time (UNC: 5, USC: 4).
South Carolina struck first in the bottom of the seventh after a walk and two doubles brought in two runs. UNC couldn't respond in the very next at-bat, though, as the Gamecocks brought in a fresh Eli Jones who struck out three straight Tar Heel batters.
Things got worse for the Diamond Heels in the bottom of the eighth as they had to change pitchers twice to contain the Gamecocks' bats. A double, three singles and a wild pitch helped South Carolina build its lead to five, which UNC couldn't overcome.
After another three-and-out, the Tar Heels fell 5-0.
April 6-7 vs. Georgia Tech
The Diamond Heels had much better outings against the Yellow Jackets, accumulating 24 hits and 18 RBIs between games one and two of the series. Junior catcher Tomas Frick had a monster day at the plate in game one with two hits, three RBIs and a home run in five at-bats. In game two, junior first baseman Alberto Osuna stepped up with two hits, three RBIs and a home run in just three tries. UNC clinched the series after winning 8-1 in game one and 10-6 in game two.
Junior pitcher Max Carlson had a decent first day with eight strikeouts and five runs allowed in seven innings pitched, but team pitching was more of a struggle in game three.
The Diamond Heels threw out seven pitchers but only struck out eight batters and allowed 15 hits in the third game.
They actually had a 2-0 lead after two-and-a-half innings, but Georgia Tech began to heat up at the bottom of the third, scoring five runs with the help of four singles and a home run.
Down three runs, UNC couldn't climb back for the sweep and dropped game three 4-8.
At the week's end, the Tar Heels are now 22-10 (8-5 ACC) and in second place behind Virginia for the ACC Coastal division. They'll be back at home against Queens on Tuesday, April 11 at 6 p.m.