By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — The newcomers immediately made a difference for No. 15 North Carolina — from the freshman battery to two veteran position players — while the returnees flexed their offensive muscles in an impressive Opening Day victory.

The mix of talent combined for a feel-good start to the Tar Heels’ season as they rolled to a 10–3 Friday win over Wagner at Boshamer Stadium.

Carolina’s high expectations start with junior center fielder Vance Honeycutt (2-run homer, steal) and two second-year starters — left fielder Casey Cook (1 for 3) and third baseman Jackson Van De Brake (0 for 3 with an RBI and three hard-hit balls).

But two graduate transfers — first baseman Parks Harber from Georgia (3 for 4, RBI) and right fielder Anthony Donofrio from Quinnipiac (2 for 4, 2 RBI) — and several freshmen who are a big part of the optimism had impressive UNC debuts.

Harber said he’s felt “super-welcomed from day one” and called Carolina special.

“Massive credit to him,” Forbes said of Harber. “[He just] fit right into the locker room as a leader immediately.”

The game started with freshman Folger Boaz (1–0) pitching five strong innings and ended with junior transfer right-hander Aidan Haugh striking out the side in a scoreless ninth inning.

“Freshman out there going five innings was probably the most impressive thing,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “I thought, overall, we played well.”

First-year Tar Heels delivered seven of UNC’s 11 hits, with Boaz’s freshman batterymate, catcher Luke Stevenson, going 1 for 3 with a sixth-inning double hit high off the right-field wall.

Boaz, a 6–2, 190-point left-hander from East Surry High School, wasn’t fazed by getting the ball in his first college game. Mixing his fastball with an effective changeup, he scattered five hits with five strikeouts, one walk and one run.

Boaz, the first pitcher to make his Carolina debut as the Opening Day starter since Ryan Snare in 1998, said he felt more excitement than butterflies as he took the mound in the first inning.

“It’s something you dream of every day,” Boaz said. “For the most part, I was ready to roll when they told me I was throwing Friday; I accepted it and went out there and threw.”

Boaz’s brother Jefferson was a reserve UNC quarterback, and his father Jay played football at Carolina. He chose baseball after an outstanding high school career but also a stellar career as a quarterback. He also was all-conference honors in basketball.

Even after throwing 129 touchdown passes in high school, the diamond was the place for him.

“My heart was in baseball,” Boaz said. “I knew ever since I was little, baseball is what I wanted to do, so that was the end goal. I knew I wanted to play here.”

Four years ago, Boaz got the last scholarship offer from former coach Mike Fox, and he was Forbes’ first commitment after taking over as head coach.

“[Forbes] calls me up and says, ‘I want you to be my first commit,’ ” Boaz said. “I knew right then that God was calling me to come here and play baseball. So, I’m thankful for that.”

Boaz said he’s been coming to the Bosh since he was old enough to walk and knew when he came to camp at UNC in eighth grade that he wanted to pitch at Carolina.

Harber was just glad to finally see opposing pitching, admitting that he was tired of facing Boaz in scrimmages.

“The biggest thing for him is just his poise and maturity,” Harbor said of Boaz. “To step in and kind of compete for a role, win a role and deliver in his first career start speaks as much to his maturity and his work ethic than anything.”

Harber got the better of it in his first at-bat against Boaz, though.

“I threw him, I think it was one-two changeup, and it was off the plate,” Boaz said “He basically gets down on one knee and sends it about 395 and bounces it off the wall. This lineup that we have with Vance and Parks and Donofrio, when you’re out there pitching, it makes it a lot easier.”

The only blip on defense was when Gavin Gallaher, a 6–1, 185 freshman who started at second base, couldn’t make a play on a double-play ball.

“He’s played tremendous,” Forbes said. “Those guys, their heart rates are going to be up, and I could see it with Gavin. As the game went along, it kind of slowed down for him. He just tried to turn that double play too quick. To be as quick and as big as he is physically, he moves really well at second base. He’s played a really good defensive second base and to be hitting that low in the order, he’s got a ton of power.”

Harber and Donofrio each singled in their first UNC at-bats in the two-run first inning.

“I think that was huge,” said Harber, who hit 34 home runs last season. “Obviously, I was nervous with the first at-bat at the Bosh. I think, first off, credit to Anthony. He’s such a talented guy. We are both older guys, so the nerves probably weren’t as high.”

After Boaz worked around a leadoff single in the fourth (erased by a double play), Xavier Baker laced a one-out double down the left-field line in the fifth. He scored Wagner’s first run on Connor Roche’s two-out liner down to right field. Boaz elicited a groundout to leave two Seahawks stranded.

Harber quickly got that run back with a sacrifice fly to right after Honeycutt led off with a walk, and Cook’s single to right moved him to third.

Senior right-hander Matt Poston worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in his only inning, striking out Baker looking to end the Wagner sixth.

UNC made it a rout in the six-run sixth, with extra-base hits from senior shortstop Colby Wilkerson (two-run double), Honeycutt (opposite-field two-run homer to right-center) and Donofrio (RBI triple to center).

Wagner got solo homers off UNC sophomore right-hander Cameron Padgett in the seventh (from Roche) and eighth (from David Melfi) for the only hit off Padget. The Heels added an unearned run in the seventh. 

Wagner starter Frankie Wright (0–1) allowed three runs in five innings. 

NOTES — Two right-handers will start the second game at noon Saturday (ESPN3), with UNC senior Ben Peterson (3–0, 5.40 ERA last season) opposing Connor Hayden (9–1, 3.93 ERA). In the 1 p.m. series finale (ESPN3), freshman right-hander Olin Johnson pitches for the Tar Heels. Wagner hasn’t named a Game 3 starter. … Honeycutt blasted his third Opening Day homer of his career. He hit two home runs as a freshman against Seton Hall in the 2022 opener. Honeycutt has 38 career home runs, two shy of becoming the fourth member of UNC’s career 40-40 club. … Wilkerson made his second straight Opening Day start. He was in the lineup at shortstop, with Forbes saying that left-handed graduate Arcadia transfer Alex Madera was “nicked up” with a lower extremity injury. … Roy and Wanda Williams were at the game, which has been common over the years. … UNC has won 14 of its last 17 home openers and is 88–54–2 all-time in season openers. … Carolina is four wins away from becoming the eighth team in NCAA history with 3,000 wins.

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No. 15 UNC 10, Wagner 3

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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. 7 East Carolina	5–0
24	Saturday	L, 7–4	vs. No. 7 East Carolina in Fayetteville	5–1
25	Sunday	L, 10–9	at No. 7 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. 8 Wake Forest	23–4, 8–2 ACC
30	Saturday	W, 10–6	at No. 8 Wake Forest	24–4, 9–2 ACC
31	Sunday	W, 14–10	at No. 8 Wake Forest	25–4, 10–2 ACC
	April
4	Thursday	L, 14–11	at No. 14 Virginia	25–5, 10–3 ACC
5	Friday	L, 7–2	at No. 14 Virginia	25–6, 10–4 ACC
6	Saturday	W, 12–7	at No. 14 Virginia	26–6, 11–4 ACC
9	Tuesday	L, 2–1	vs. No. 24 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. No. 13 Coastal Carolina	29–8
18	Thursday	L, 9–8	at No. 21 N.C. State	29–9, 14–5 ACC
19	Friday	L, 5–4	at No. 21 N.C. State	29–10, 14–6 ACC
20	Saturday	W, 14–3	at No. 21 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	1 p.m.	vs. Virginia Tech	ESPN3
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. 6 Duke	ACCN
17	Friday	6 p.m.	at No. 6 Duke	ESPN3
18	Saturday	1 p.m.	at No. 6 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