By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Program history came easily as No. 13 North Carolina finished a dominant three-game sweep of Notre Dame with more outstanding pitching and relentless offense.
The Tar Heels’ 10–3 victory on a beautiful spring day at Boshamer Stadium was the program-record 27th consecutive home victory, the longest active streak in the country. The 23 home wins to start the season are also a school record, bettering the 22 from the 2005 team.
“You want to be good at home, and I feel like we’ve always been good here,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “The pressure’s on the other dugout because they know how good we are at home. So, use that to your advantage, be proud of it and try to make [a streak] that no other team can break here. So, that’s the goal.”
Junior college transfer right-hander Aidan Haugh (winner, 2–1) finished a huge week with five shutout innings on the day junior center fielder Vance Honeycutt hit his 49th career home run to tie for the second-most in program history (see list below).
There are tougher challenges ahead for UNC (29–7, 14–4 ACC), with No. 20 Coastal Carolina coming to Chapel Hill on Tuesday (6 p.m., ESPN3) and a big weekend series at N.C. State, which just won two of three at No. 2 Clemson this weekend.
But Sunday was a day to bask in the history and Haugh’s emergence.
“It’s really cool to be a part of that,” Honeycutt said of the home streak. “I’ve witnessed a lot of cool things, just watching Carolina baseball. But to be a part of it is really special.”
In his first start of the season, Haugh, a right-hander who from Zebulon and came to UNC from Fayetteville Tech, showed how effective he has become since assistant coaches Bryant Gaines and Jason Howell had him develop a changeup.
After striking out seven over three relief innings in Tuesday’s 2–1 loss to South Carolina in Charlotte, he walked two and struck out six against Notre Dame. He has 36 strikeouts in 26⅓ innings this season.
The uncertain status of freshman left-hander Folger Boaz forced Forbes to move Haugh to a starting role. The way Haugh is pitching, he isn’t likely to give that up any time soon.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Forbes said. “He’s throwing 93, 95 [mph]. He’s got a hammer of a curveball, and the change — that’s been a difference-maker because lefties have hit them a little bit. But he works. A phenomenal kid who doesn’t say much. But he deserves what he’s getting.”
On Saturday morning, Haugh got a text from Gaines telling him he’d start the series finale. He proceeded to try to treat it as just another day but the 6–6 pitcher admitted he didn’t want to mess up the home streak.
Haugh mixed the fastball with a curve and changeup to keep the Irish off-balance.
“I’ve started using my changeup a lot more than I have in the past, especially against lefties,” he said. “And that’s been a huge asset. I think part of why they allowed me to start today was just because I’ve shown that I can have more of a three-pitch mix than just a fastball and curveball.”
Haugh said that his outing against South Carolina mentally was a huge turning point for him.
“I felt like I had struggled a little bit before, against Virginia and even against Wake Forest,” Haugh said. “I feel like I wasn’t quite 100% there. But South Carolina was an outing where I finally felt like I had everything to work. And, for me, just kind of taking that and moving on and trying to keep that.”
Honeycutt led the 11-hit attack with three hits, two steals and the home run that tied him with Chris Cox (1990–93) at second on UNC’s all-time list home run list in 55 fewer games.
“It’s special,” Honeycutt said. “Something that I don’t really think about. It’s not really something I’m chasing. Just kind of chasing wins and just let all those individual things follow.”
Honeycutt presents opponents with huge challenges. Notre Dame threw a big shift against him with the second baseman to the left of second base. So, what does he do? Swing at an 0–2 cutter and loft the ball for an opposite-field home run to right-center field in the first inning.
“He’s the best center fielder in the country, and it’s not close,” Forbes said. “We’ve had some great center fielders here. I don’t think I’ll ever coach anybody better than Vance Honeycutt in center field. He’s saved our team so many runs and nobody talks about it. If he’s not hitting, it’s like, ‘What’s wrong with Vance?’ “
In the fourth inning, Honeycutt singled over the shift to left field and stole second. In the fifth, he hit the ball so hard that Irish shortstop Jack Penney couldn’t make a stabbing play and, of course, Honeycutt stole his team-high 20th base.
“When he hits it, he does damage,” Forbes said of Honeycutt. “I’m just not gonna miss a day being around Vance Honeycutt because he makes all of us better.”
Just as in the first two games of the series, UNC took the lead in the first inning, this time on Honeycutt’s two-run shot after Anthony Donofrio led off with a single
Second baseman Alex Madera led off the second by slicing a double down the left-field line, scoring on third baseman Johnny Castagnozzi’s single to right. First baseman Parks Harber reached on a two-out error in the third inning and scored on catcher Luke Stevenson’s single to center.
It became a rout in the fourth when UNC sent 10 batters to the plate and five scored, highlighted by Stevenson’s RBI single. Irish center fielder TJ Williams dropped a deep Antonio Osuna drive that scored two.
Notre Dame (15–18, 2–16) broke through in the sixth inning against UNC left-handed reliever Kyle Percival, who gave up two singles, including DH Brady Gumpf’s RBI hit. He left the bases loaded with two outs for right-hander Cameron Padgett.
Padgett induced an inning-ending groundout, but Penney ripped a two-run home run just to the right of the left-field foul pole for the Irish with one out in the seventh.
UNC added an unearned run in the eighth when Donofrio walked and later scored on a wild pitch.
Carolina right-handers Ben Peterson (eighth inning, one strikeout) and Matt Poston (ninth, two strikeouts) each pitched scoreless innings of relief.
NOTES — UNC has a three-game lead in the ACC Coastal Division over Virginia, Virginia Tech and Duke, who are all tied at 11–7. … Forbes said that freshman right-hander Olin Johnson (1–0, 3.29 ERA) will likely start Tuesday’s game against Coastal Carolina. … Coastal Carolina (24–11) beat Georgia Southern on Sunday 16–4 to win two games in that three-game series. … Coastal swept two games from UNC last season, 12–7 on March 28 in Chapel Hill and 8–6 on May 16 in Conway, S.C. The Tar Heels were shorthanded with numerous suspensions for that second game stemming from a confrontation in the Gardner-Webb game. Carolina swept a three-game Chapel Hill series from Coastal in 2022. … Gumpf hit a broken-bat double in the eighth, a rare case of a broken aluminum bat. … UNC went scoreless in three consecutive innings Sunday after only one scoreless inning each in the first two games. … UNC hasn’t lost at Boshamer Stadium since falling 6–5 against Campbell on May 2 of last season. The last ACC home loss was 7–0 on April 28 against Virginia Tech. … Notre Dame leads the all-time series 13–12, but UNC has a 5–4 edge in Chapel Hill games.
UNC career home run leaders
| Player | Years | Games | Homers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devy Bell | 1984–87 | 205 | 57 |
| X — Vance Honeycutt | 2022–present | 137 | 49 |
| Chris Cox | 1990–93 | 192 | 49 |
| Mac Horvath | 2021–23 | 160 | 47 |
| Chad Flack | 2005–08 | 267 | 42 |
| Sean Farrell | 2000–03 | 240 | 40 |
| Jarrett Shearin | 1996–99 | 241 | 40 |
| Cookie Massey | 1993–94 | 108 | 40 |
| X — Alberto Osuna | 2022–present | 139 | 40 |
No. 13 UNC 10, Notre Dame 3
ACC standings
| Coastal Division | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 12 North Carolina | 17–7 | 33–11 |
| No. 11 Virginia | 14–10 | 33–12 |
| No. 10 Duke | 14–10 | 30–14 |
| Virginia Tech | 13–11 | 27–14 |
| Georgia Tech | 11–10 | 27–15 |
| Miami | 8–16 | 19–24 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–16 | 18–22 |
| Atlantic Division | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Clemson | 15–6 | 34–9 |
| No. 7 Florida State | 13–8 | 34–9 |
| No. 21 N.C. State | 12–9 | 25–16 |
| No. 13 Wake Forest | 12–12 | 27–16 |
| Louisville | 10–11 | 25–18 |
| Boston College | 8–16 | 21–21 |
| Notre Dame | 7–17 | 22–20 |
(Unless otherwise indicated, games only stream on ESPN3)
Sunday’s results
Virginia Tech 4, No. 12 North Carolina 3
Notre Dame 8, No. 13 Wake Forest 7
No. 10 Duke 16, No. 7 Florida State 4
Georgia Tech 17, Miami 1
Pittsburgh 5, Bryant 2
No. 20 N.C. State 9, Ball State 3
No. 4 Clemson 17, Louisville 7
Tuesday’s games
UMass Lowell at Boston College, 3 p.m.
UNCW at No. 20 N.C. State, 5 p.m.
Northern Kentucky at Louisville, 6 p.m.
No. 13 Wake Forest vs. Appalachian State in Shelby, 6 p.m.
West Virginia at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m.
No. 11 Virginia at VCU, 6:30
Charlotte at No. 12 North Carolina, 7 p.m.. ACC Network
Wednesday’s games
William & Mary at No. 12 North Carolina, 6 p.m.
No. 13 Wake Forest at High Point, 6 p.m.
Navy at No. 11 Virginia, 6 p.m.
N.C. A&T at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.
| Date | Day/ month | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 16 | Friday | W, 10–3 | vs. Wagner | 1–0 |
| 17 | Saturday | W, 16–5 | vs. Wagner | 2–0 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 20–6 | vs. Wagner | 3–0 |
| 20 | Tuesday | W, 8–7 | vs. Elon | 4–0 |
| 23 | Friday | W, 2–1 | vs. No. 5 East Carolina | 5–0 |
| 24 | Saturday | L, 7–4 | vs. No. 5 East Carolina in Fayetteville | 5–1 |
| 25 | Sunday | L, 10–9 | at No. 5 East Carolina | 5–2 |
| 27 | Tuesday | W, 8–2 | vs. VCU | 6–2 |
| 28 | Wednesday | W, 12–3 | vs. Longwood | 7–2 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Friday | W, 12–2 | vs. Princeton | 8–2 |
| 2 | Saturday | W, 11–2 | vs. Princeton | 9–2 |
| 3 | Sunday | W, 13–6 | vs. Princeton | 10–2 |
| 5 | Tuesday | W, 7–3 | at Campbell | 11–2 |
| 8 | Friday | W, 2–1 | vs. Pittsburgh | 12–2, 1–0 ACC |
| 9 | Saturday | W, 7–3 | vs. Pittsburgh | 13–2, 2–0 ACC |
| 10 | Sunday | W, 6–5, 10 innings | vs. Pittsburgh | 14–2, 3–0 ACC |
| 12 | Tuesday | W, 13–7 | vs. Rutgers | 15–2 |
| 13 | Wednesday | W, 9–8 | vs. Rutgers | 16–2 |
| 15 | Friday | L, 14–1 | at Miami | 16–3, 3–1 ACC |
| 16 | Saturday | L, 2–1 | at Miami | 16–4, 3–2 ACC |
| 17 | Sunday | W, 18–6 | at Miami | 17–4, 4–2 ACC |
| 19 | Tuesday | W, 11–0, 7 innings | vs. UNCW | 18–4 |
| 22 | Friday | W, 5–4 | vs. Georgia Tech | 19–4, 5–2 ACC |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 11–5 | vs. Georgia Tech | 20–4, 6–2 ACC |
| 24 | Sunday | W, 9–2 | vs. Georgia Tech | 21–4, 7–2 ACC |
| 26 | Tuesday | W, 10–8 | vs. N.C. A&T | 22–4 |
| 29 | Friday | W, 6–5 | at No. 13 Wake Forest | 23–4, 8–2 ACC |
| 30 | Saturday | W, 10–6 | at No. 13 Wake Forest | 24–4, 9–2 ACC |
| 31 | Sunday | W, 14–10 | at No. 13 Wake Forest | 25–4, 10–2 ACC |
| April | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | L, 14–11 | at No. 11 Virginia | 25–5, 10–3 ACC |
| 5 | Friday | L, 7–2 | at No. 11 Virginia | 25–6, 10–4 ACC |
| 6 | Saturday | W, 12–7 | at No. 11 Virginia | 26–6, 11–4 ACC |
| 9 | Tuesday | L, 2–1 | vs. No. 15 South Carolina in Charlotte | 26–7 |
| 12 | Friday | W, 13–0, 6½ innings | vs. Notre Dame | 27–7, 12–4 ACC |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 7–2 | vs. Notre Dame | 28–7, 13–4 ACC |
| 14 | Sunday | W, 10–3 | vs. Notre Dame | 29–7, 14–4 ACC |
| 16 | Tuesday | L, 5–4 | vs. Coastal Carolina | 29–8 |
| 18 | Thursday | L, 9–8 | at No. 20 N.C. State | 29–9, 14–5 ACC |
| 19 | Friday | L, 5–4 | at No. 20 N.C. State | 29–10, 14–6 ACC |
| 20 | Saturday | W, 14–3 | at No. 20 N.C. State | 30–10, 15–6 ACC |
| 23 | Tuesday | W, 5–2 | vs. Gardner-Webb | 31–10 |
| 26 | Friday | W, 8–1 | vs. Virginia Tech | 32–10, 16–6 ACC |
| 27 | Saturday | W, 6–3 | vs. Virginia Tech | 33–10, 17–6 ACC |
| 28 | Sunday | L, 4–3 | vs. Virginia Tech | 33–11, 17–7 ACC |
| 30 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Charlotte | ACCN |
| May | ||||
| 1 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. William & Mary | ESPN3 |
| 7 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Campbell | ESPN3 |
| 10 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. Louisville | ESPN3 |
| 11 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Louisville | ESPN3 |
| 12 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Louisville | ACCN |
| 14 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | at UNCW | FloSports |
| 16 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at No. 10 Duke | ACCN |
| 17 | Friday | 6 p.m. | at No. 10 Duke | ESPN3 |
| 18 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at No. 10 Duke | ESPN3 |
| 21–26 | Tuesday- Sunday | TBA | ACC tournament in Charlotte | ACCN |
| 31 | Friday | TBA | NCAA Regional | TBA |
| June | ||||
| 1–3 | Saturday- Monday | TBA | NCAA Regional | TBA |
| 7–10 | Friday- Monday | TBA | NCAA Super Regional | TBA |
| 14–24 | Friday- Monday | TBA | College World Series in Omaha, Neb. | TBA |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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