By R.L. Bynum
RALEIGH — On a night of home run derby, N.C. State didn’t hit as many, but the Wolfpack hit the biggest.
Shortstop Brandon Butterworth blasted a 95-mph fastball over the left-field wall for a game-ending solo homer with one out in the ninth inning to lift the Wolfpack to a 9–8 victory Thursday over No. 11 North Carolina at Doak Field.
Center fielder Vance Honeycutt and designated hitter Alberto Osuna continued to rewrite the record books, and Casey Cook (top photo) produced his third two-homer game of the season.
UNC (29–9, 14–5 ACC) hit five home runs to tie Virginia Tech for the ACC lead at 71, but they weren’t enough against the Wolfpack (21–14, 11–8).
“You get eight in this league; you’ve got to find a way to win,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “If we get six, we should win the game.”
Two huge Wolfpack homers made the difference.
UNC left-handed reliever Kyle Percival came in with one out and two on in the sixth inning to face left-handed hitting Jacob Cozart. The Wolfpack catcher hit the first pitch he saw just to the left of the right-field foul pole for a three-run homer to give the Pack a three-run lead.
“Percival just made a bad pitch,” Forbes said. “He’s been really good for us, and he threw him a fastball up in his eyeballs. And credit Cozart for taking a great swing for it.”
Forbes said he considered walking Cozart to get to Butterworth, who showed in the ninth inning why that might not have been a good move. He got all of a fastball from Matt Poston (loser, 2–2) to win the game.
“Good offensive teams on both sides make you make tough decisions,” Forbes said.
Forbes praised his team’s resiliency in rallying back and tying it after going down by three.
“That tells you a lot about our guys,” Forbes said. “They didn’t bat an eye, and they just kept going and that’s impressive. Because a lot of teams, after you hit that three-run home run, the game might be over. But it ain’t gonna be the case with this team.
Honeycutt hit his 52nd career blast to pull him five away from Devy Bell’s program record (see list below). Osuna hit his 42nd to tie Chad Flack for fifth on UNC’s all-time list in 126 fewer games.
Honeycutt and right fielder Anthony Donofrio again showed the huge difference their range on defense makes for the Tar Heels.
Donofrio (who went 3 for 5) robbed N.C. State third baseman Alec Makarewicz of extra bases with a spectacular catch at the right-center field wall in the bottom of the fourth inning. He saved a run with a terrific catch at the warning track on a Luke Nixon drive with a runner on second to end the fifth inning.
“The game could have been even more out of hand, and that’s how good our outfield play is,” Forbes said. “We’ve got an awesome group. [We need to] stay positive. You’ve got to flush this one. Got to be ready to play tomorrow.”
After State starter Josh Highfill struck out the first two batters in the first inning, Cook lofted a solo home run to right field.
Carolina starter Jason DeCaro battled well at times with runners in scoring position in his 2⅓ innings but gave up six hits and five runs and walked four while striking out four.
“I thought DeCaro had great stuff,” Forbes said. “He couldn’t find the zone as much tonight. They just hit him.”
DeCaro struck out two in a row after giving up back-to-back hits to start the State first, but Cozart seized the lead for the Pack with a two-run single to right field.
State loaded the bases in the second with one out, but DeCaro got out of it when UNC Honeycutt caught right fielder Josh Hogue’s drive at the warning track to end the inning.
Honeycutt then retook the lead for UNC with a two-run, one-out homer to center field after Donofrio’s leadoff triple to right-center. Cook followed him by belting his second home run, this one over the right-center field wall.
Makarewicz hit his team-leading 15th homer to lead off the third. DeCaro came out after giving up two walks and Chase Nixon’s RBI single to left field. Reliever Dalton Pence came on and gave up a fielder’s choice groundball to Luke Nixon as State retook the lead at 5–4.
Carolina chased Highfill and loaded the bases in the fourth, but Honeycutt flied out to deep left field to end the inning.
UNC first baseman Parks Harber tied it in the fifth with a solo homer to left-center field, a 415-foot shot off Pack reliever Shane Van Dam.
Pence went ⅔ of an inning before right-hander Cameron Padgett took over. Padgett came out in the sixth inning in favor of Percival after 2⅔ innings.
Osuna’s homer to left field and Alex Madera’s RBI single sliced the lead to one, and Harber’s sacrifice fly in the eighth scored Donofrio (who tripled) with the tying run.
“There are a lot of things we’re doing well,” Forbes said.”Obviously, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you do well if you don’t win the game. So we need to be able to do those things well. We’ve got to pitch, and we gotta defend at a high level. And little things matter.”
NOTES — The series resumes at 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN3) with a pair of left-handers — UNC junior Shea Sprague (2–1, 4.06) and N.C. State’s Dominic Fritton (2–3, 7.85 ERA) — starting. Right-hander Aidan Haugh (2–0, 3.08) is scheduled to start the 3 p.m. Saturday series finale (ESPN3) for UNC, and the Wolfpack hasn’t named a starter. … UNC has lost two consecutive one-run games after falling at home Tuesday to Coastal Carolina 5–4. … Cook also hit two home runs on March 17 at Miami and on March 29 at Wake Forest. … Donofrio also had two triples on March 30 at Wake Forest. … Luke and Chase Nixon are the sons of former major leaguer Trot Nixon. … UNC has won seven of its last eight series with N.C. State, including the last five since the Wolfpack swept a Chapel Hill series in 2021. … N.C. State has won four of its first six ACC series. … Gavin Gallaher (2 for 4) was back in the UNC starting lineup at third base after Johnny Castagnozzi was there for the previous three games. … The teams have a combined 43 players from North Carolina. … UNC, which had won seven of the previous eight games, leads the all-time series against N.C. State 175–140–1, but the Wolfpack has an 11–10 edge at Doak Field since 2007.
N.C. State 9, No. 11 UNC 8
UNC career home run leaders
| Player | Seasons | Games | Homers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vance Honeycutt | 2022–24 | 176 | 65 |
| Devy Bell | 1984–87 | 205 | 57 |
| Chris Cox | 1990–93 | 192 | 49 |
| Mac Horvath | 2021–23 | 160 | 47 |
| Alberto Osuna | 2022–24 | 176 | 45 |
| Chad Flack | 2005–08 | 267 | 42 |
| Sean Farrell | 2000–03 | 240 | 40 |
| Jarrett Shearin | 1996–99 | 241 | 40 |
| Cookie Massey | 1993–94 | 108 | 40 |
ACC standings
| League | GB | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Georgia Tech | 19–11 | — | 39–16 |
| No. 6 Florida State | 17–10 | ½ | 37–13 |
| No. 3 North Carolina | 18–11 | ½ | 39–12 |
| No. 22 N.C. State | 17–11 | 1 | 33–18 |
| No. 14 Clemson | 18–12 | 1 | 41–15 |
| Virginia | 16–11 | 1½ | 32–17 |
| Duke | 17–13 | 2 | 36–18 |
| Wake Forest | 16–14 | 3 | 36–19 |
| Miami | 15–14 | 3½ | 31–23 |
| No. 21 Louisville | 15–15 | 4 | 35–20 |
| Notre Dame | 14–16 | 5 | 32–20 |
| Virginia Tech | 12–18 | 7 | 30–24 |
| Boston College | 11–19 | 8 | 26–28 |
| Stanford | 11–19 | 8 | 27–24 |
| Pittsburgh | 10–20 | 9 | 27–26 |
| California | 9–21 | 10½ | 22–30 |
Thursday-Saturday series
No. 16 Georgia Tech at Duke: Thursday: GT 7–6; Friday: Duke 14–4 (7 innings); Saturday: GT 8–2
No. 14 Clemson at Pittsburgh: Clemson swept 6–1, 11–2 and 13–6
Virginia at Virginia Tech: Thursday: Va. 12–2; Friday: VT 5–4; Saturday: Va. 3–1
Stanford at No. 22 N.C. State: Thursday: State 7–2: Friday: Stanford 4–3, 10 innings; Saturday: Stanford 6–3
Wake Forest at Louisville: Thursday: WF 14–4; Friday: WF 5–4; Saturday: UL 14–9
No. 3 North Carolina at No. 6 Florida State: Thursday: UNC 8–3: Friday: UNC 11–1, 7 innings; Saturday: FSU 5–4
Notre Dame at Miami: Thursday: ND 3–2; Friday: Miami 15–1, 7 innings: Saturday: ND 12–2
Boston College at California: Thursday: Cal 8–6; Friday: BC 10–9; Saturday: Cal 4–3, 10 innings
UNC scores
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Times | Opponent (current rank) |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | |||
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sat. | 4, noon, 1 | vs. Indiana |
| 17 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Richmond |
| 18 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Longwood |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun. | 4 (Greenville), 2 (DBAP), 2 (CH) | vs. East Carolina |
| 24 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. N.C. A&T |
| 25 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. VCU |
| 27–28 | Fri., Sat. | 4 p.m., 2 p.m. | vs. Le Moyne |
| March | |||
| 1 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Le Moyne |
| 3 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Elon |
| 6–8 | Fri.-Sun. | 4, 2, 1 | vs. Virginia |
| 10 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Bucknell |
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sun. | 9, 5, 4 | at California |
| 18 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. UNCG |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun. | 8, 2, 1 | vs. No. 8 Louisville |
| 24 | Tuesday | 6:30 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte |
| 27–29 | Fri.-Sun. | 6:30, 3, 1 | at Notre Dame |
| 31 | Tuesday | 8 p.m. | vs. Campbell |
| April | |||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | 6, 6, 2 | vs. Boston College |
| 7 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Charlotte |
| 10–12 | Fri.-Sun. | 6, 2, 12:30 | at No. 19 Clemson |
| 14 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. UNCW |
| 17–19 | Fri-Sun. | 6, noon, 1 | vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech |
| 21 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. High Point |
| 23–25 | Fri.-Sun. | 7, 6, 3 | at Duke |
| 28 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 6 Coastal Carolina |
| 29 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Queens |
| May | |||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. (non-conference game) | vs. Duke |
| 6 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Winthrop |
| 8–10 | Fri.-Sun. | 6, noon, 1 | vs. Pittsburgh |
| 12 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | at UNCW |
| 14–16 | Thurs.-Sat. | 7, 6, 1 | at No. 17 N.C. State |
| 19–24 | Tues.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Charlotte |
| 29–31 | Fri.-Sun. | NCAA Regionals | Campus sites |
| June | |||
| 5–7 | Fri.-Sun. | NCAA Super Regionals | Campus sites |
| 12–22 | Fri.-Mon | College World Series | Omaha, Neb. |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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