By R.L. Bynum
RALEIGH — The only positive, but a great source of frustration, in No. 11 North Carolina’s first three-game losing streak is that all three were one-run games that could have easily been wins.
The Tar Heels bullpen blew a three-run lead built off an impressive start from junior left-hander Shea Sprague as N.C. State clinched a series win with a 5–4 victory Friday at Doak Field.
Three home runs and a hopeful start for UNC gave way to a frustrating finish for the Tar Heels with mistakes in the Wolfpack’s three-run eighth inning and no offensive response in the ninth inning.
“Our bullpen has won those games and we just didn’t get it done today,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “I thought we were going to need a big inning. Here, it’s a tough place to hold the other team down.”
Carolina (29–10, 14–6 ACC) is 6–7 on the road after only losing eight road games last season.
“We’ve just got to play a little bit better to win on the road because it’s hard to win on the road,” Forbes said. “You’ve got to give them credit. They got big hits and we didn’t. They did some things a little bit better than we did.”
In the pivotal three-run eighth inning, N.C. State (22–14, 12–8) led off the inning with back-to-back singles, and UNC couldn’t take advantage of a potential double-play ball early in the inning.
Forbes visited the mound in the middle of the inning but stayed with right-hander Matthew Matthijs (loser, 11–3), who gave up three hits, three runs and two earned runs in 1⅓ innings.
“He’s been our arguably our best relief pitcher all season,” Forbes said of Matthijs. “We liked the matchup; he’s been good all year. He’s a multiple-pitch guy.”
The inning unraveled after shortstop Brandon Butterworth’s RBI single, thanks to a Matthijs wild pitch and a passed ball from freshman catcher Luke Stevenson.
Forbes lamented that “we gave them two runs.”
In Saturday’s 3 p.m. finale, UNC will try to avoid being swept for the first time this season.
“We’ve been in this position two times already this year on the road,” Forbes said. “I know our guys will be ready to respond. No doubt in my mind.”
Sprague (top photo) had all his pitches going while keeping the Wolfpack off-balance with his off-speed stuff for his third quality start of the season, scattering seven hits while striking out seven.
It was a welcome change after UNC starters gave up a total of nine runs earlier this week to Coastal Carolina (5–4 loss on Tuesday) and N.C. State (9–8 loss on Thursday).
“He was good in all areas,” Forbes said. “His velocity is up. He’s been outstanding, and he’s done that all season.”
Center fielder Vance Honeycutt hit a home run for his career-high fifth consecutive game and has six homers during that streak. His longest previous streak was four games during his freshman season in 2022 (May 8 against N.C. State, May 10 against Gardner-Webb, May 11 against Charleston Southern and May 13 against Wake Forest).
Honeycutt skied a fly ball that cleared the left-field fence for a solo first-inning home run.
State first baseman Garrett Pennington’s RBI double down the left-field line just eluded third baseman Gavin Gallaher for the Pack’s first run in the third. With two runners still on base, Sprague responded by retiring three straight batters, two on strikeouts, to avert further damage.
UNC first baseman Parks Harber seized the lead back with a two-out, opposite-field home run off the scoreboard behind the right-center field fence, his second series homer. Gallaher made it 3–1 with a one-out solo home run (his fifth homer of the season) to left field in the fifth.
Carolina didn’t get its first baserunner until second baseman Alex Madera walked after Gallaher’s home run. He scored when Colby Wilkerson followed with a double down the left-field line.
It looked like it might be Carolina’s night when State made two outs on the bases in the fifth inning.
Right fielder Anthony Donofrio threw out leadoff man Luke Nixon, who was trying to stretch a single to a double. Madera took a relay throw from Honeycutt and threw to Stevenson, who tagged out Pennington at the plate for the third out. Umpires conducted a replay review to see if Stevenson was blocking the plate but decided that he didn’t.
State cut its deficit to two off Dalton Pence, Sprague’s relief in the seventh inning. Luke Nixon walked, took second on a passed ball and scored on Eli Serrano’s single to center field. Matthijs relieved Pence and got an inning-ending groundout.
State closer Jacob Dudan retired UNC in order in the ninth inning, striking out Honeycutt looking to end the game on a 96-mph fastball.
NOTES — In Saturday’s finale, UNC will start right-hander Aidan Haugh (2–0, 3.08). N.C. State hasn’t named a starter. … Half of UNC’s road wins came in a three-game March sweep at Wake Forest. … UNC had won seven of its previous eight series with N.C. State. … The Wolfpack has won five of its first seven ACC series. … UNC leads the all-time series against N.C. State 175–141–1, but the Wolfpack has a 12–10 edge at Doak Field since 2007.
N.C. State 5, No. 11 UNC 4
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 | Scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 14–15 | Fri.-Sat. | W, 5–1; W, 8–3; W, 4–2 | vs. Texas Tech | 3–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 12–9 | vs. Kansas State | 4–0 |
| 22–24 | Sat.-Mon. | W, 2–0; W, 11–6; W, 6–4 | vs. East Carolina (DBAP, CH, G’ville) | 7–0 |
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 7–4 | vs. VCU | 8–0 |
| 26 | Wednesday | W, 13–4 | vs. N.C. A&T | 9–0 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 16–2 | vs. Stony Brook | 10–0 |
| March | ||||
| 1–2 | Sat.-Sun. | W, 6–1; W, 9–5 | vs. Stony Brook | 12–0 |
| 4 | Tuesday | W, 6–4 (11) | vs. No. 11 Coastal Carolina | 13–0 |
| 7–9 | Fri.-Sun. | L, 13–9; W, 11–1 (7); L, 7–0 | vs. Stanford | 14–2, 1–2 ACC |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 7–3 (10) | at UNCW | 15–2 |
| 14, 16 | Fri., Sun. | L, 8–7; W, 6–4; L, 5–0 | at Louisville | 16–4, 2–4 |
| 19 | Wednesday | L, 5–1 | vs. UConn | 16–5 |
| 21–23 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 5–1; L, 3–2; W, 10–0 (7) | at Boston College | 18–6, 4–5 |
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 13–8 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte | 19–7 |
| 28–30 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 2–0; W, 4–2; L, 4–2 | vs. Miami | 21–7, 6–6 |
| April | ||||
| 1 | Tuesday | W, 11–1 (7) | vs. Gardner-Webb | 22–7 |
| 3–5 | Thur.-Sat. | W, 4–3; L, 9–5; W, 8–7 (14) | vs. Duke | 24–8, 8–7 |
| 8 | Tuesday | W, 12–10 | at Elon | 25–8 |
| 11–13 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 11–1 (7); W, 17–1 (7); W, 3–2 | vs. Wake Forest | 28–8, 11–7 |
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 14–4 (8) | vs. Charlotte | 29–8 |
| 18–20 | Fri-Sun. | W, 9–6; L, 10–6: W, 7–5 | at Virginia Tech | 31–9, 13–8 |
| 25–27 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 15–5; L, 4–2; W, 6–0 | at Pittsburgh | 33–10, 15–9 |
| 29 | Tuesday | W, 13–4 | vs. George Mason | 34–10 |
| 30 | Wednesday | W, 14–3 | vs. Queens | 35–10 |
| May | ||||
| 6 | Tuesday | W, 10–1 | vs. Campbell | 36–10 |
| 8–9 | Thurs.-Fri. | W, 8–1; L, 8–5 | vs. N.C. State | 37–11, 16–10 |
| 15–17 | Thurs.-Sat. | W, 8–3; W, 11–1 (7); L, 5–4 | at No. 7 Florida State | 39–12, 18–11 |
| ACC tournament | Durham | |||
| 23 | Friday | Quarterfinal: W, 7–3 | Boston College | 40–12 |
| 24 | Saturday | Semifinal: W, 7–5 | No. 7 Florida State | 41–12 |
| 25 | Sunday | Final: W, 14–4 | No. 14 Clemson | 42–12 |
| Chapel Hill Regional | ||||
| 30 | Friday | W, 4–0 | Holy Cross | 43–12 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 11–5 | Oklahoma | 44–12 |
| June | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | L, 9–5 | Oklahoma | 44–13 |
| 2 | Monday | W, 14–4 | Oklahoma | 45–13 |
| Chapel Hill Super Regional | Best-of-3 series | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 18–2 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–13 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 10–8 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–14 |
| 8 | Sunday | L, 4–3 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–15 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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