By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — Solid defense has been one of the keys to No. 15 North Carolina’s success, with the run-saving efforts and incredible range of the outfielders justifiably getting plenty of attention.

The Tar Heels’ infield also has plenty of range, and it has contributed just as much to their wins.

Graduate transfer Alex Madera has been a big part of that at second base, and he did it again Tuesday night in a 5–2 victory over Gardner-Webb at Boshamer Stadium marked by excellent relief pitching.

UNC (31–10) only has two errors in the last nine games, although third baseman Gavin Gallaher’s sixth error of the season ended a four-game errorless streak.

“Our infield defense has been pretty dang good lately,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “For the most part, we play good defense, especially in the league.”

Outfielders Vance Honeycutt, Anthony Donofrio and Casey Cook have collectively saved dozens of runs. But Madera has only two errors all season and has anchored an infield full of good gloves.

“I pride myself in my infield, and my abilities,” Madera said. “Coach [Jesse] Wiersbicki works with us to position ourselves in ways that we think is going to be the best to get the hitter out. I trust him with where he puts me, so just trying to stay down, field the ball coming my way.”

Madera, who gave UNC the lead for good with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to left field in the sixth inning, made a diving catch of a hard shot from Bulldogs left fielder Gavin Johnson to end the fourth inning with a runner on second to save a run. He also snagged right fielder Nick Capozzi’s low liner in the sixth inning.

“He’s been phenomenal,” Forbes said of Madera.

Although shortstop senior Colby Wilkerson has 14 errors, Forbes said nine came in a short period, and their technology tools show that he has outstanding range. First baseman Parks Harber only has three errors.

Madera played shortstop at Division III Arcadia last season but has seamlessly shifted to second base this season.

“It’s been awesome,” Madera said of his chemistry with Wilkerson. “He’s been great. He’s shown me a lot from what I already knew, and I just love learning from him. I think we jell really well together.”

Gallaher, a freshman who was 2-for-3 with an RBI and reached base three times, has adjusted from playing second base in high school to third base.

“It’s definitely coming along,” Gallaher said. “I think it’s getting better every day. Playing a new position is never easy. But they’ve helped me a lot, and I’m learning a lot from the older guys as well.”

Gallaher says that the strong arms of all three outfielders make it easier to limit opponents’ running game.

“We have three of the best arms in the outfield, but also three of the best defenders,” Gallaher said. “You saw Anthony this weekend making ridiculous plays; you see Vance every single day making ridiculous plays. They’re all just so sound, and when you can cut down on those extra-base hits and giving away extra bases, it’s huge.”

Coming off three one-hit, shutout innings in Saturday’s 14–3 win against N.C. State, senior right-hander Connor Bovair (winner, 1–0) allowed a hit and struck out one in two shutout innings against the Bulldogs.

In front of him, sophomore right-hander Matthew Matthijs struck out four and gave up one hit in 2⅓ innings. After him, redshirt sophomore Dalton Pence pitched two shutout innings with two hits and three strikeouts to get his fourth save.

“Matty was great,” Forbes said. “Our bullpen was outstanding with eight strikeouts, only one walk. That’s how you win games.”

Although Gardner-Webb (15–25) has struggled this season, UNC knew to be wary after the Bulldogs played No. 6 Duke a tough game a week earlier before losing 2–1 in Durham.

Just like against the Blue Devils, Gardner-Webb changed pitchers every inning, with UNC finally getting to the fifth pitcher, right-hander CJ Czerwinski, for a pair of runs to tie it after falling behind 2–0 in the third.

“I would have bet anything it was going to be a close game, which is my gut,” Forbes said, pointing out the challenge of facing eight pitchers. “Sometimes that can be a problem, and obviously we didn’t come out of the gate sizzling hot offensively, but we found a way.

Carolina catcher Luke Stevenson led off the fifth inning with a single off the right-field wall. He came around to slide hands-first to beat the tag and score on Gallaher’s double down the left-field line. Honeycutt hit a hard two-out grounder between diving third baseman Ryan Kennell and diving shortstops Peter Capobianco to score Gallaher.

UNC tacked on two more runs in the seventh. Donofrio led off with a double and scored on a failed pickoff attempt. Harber hit an RBI single to center field.

UNC right-hander Cameron Padgett, in his first start of the season, retired seven of the first eight batters before exiting after giving up four singles and a sacrifice fly with one out in the third inning.

“I thought he got to start off on a good note,” Forbes said of Padgett. His stuff started dropping off a tad after about 35 [pitches], so we got to build that arm up. Thought he attacked good.”

Bulldogs designated hitter Mark Black keyed their two-run third with an RBI single. Matthijs came on and struck out Capobianco to avert further damage and leave two runners stranded.

NOTES — Carolina continues a 10-game homestand this weekend with a big three-game ACC series, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, against Virginia Tech (25–12, 12–9), which played a home game Tuesday against George Mason. … Forbes said that he should get something more definitive about the status of pitcher Folger Boaz after a consultation with a doctor following an MRI. … UNC leads the all-time series against Gardner-Webb 19–2. … The Tar Heels are 9–2 in midweek games, including 8–1 at Boshamer Stadium. … Basketball star Alyssa Ustby threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

No. 15 UNC 5, Gardner-Webb 2

ACC standings

Coastal Division	League	Overall
No. 12 North Carolina	17–7	35–11
No. 11 Virginia	14–10	35–12
No. 10 Duke	14–10	30–14
Virginia Tech	13–11	30–14
Georgia Tech	12–11	28–16
Miami	8–16	21–25
Pittsburgh	6–17	19–24

Atlantic Division	League	Overall
No. 4 Clemson	16–7	35–10
No. 7 Florida State	13–9	34–10
No. 21 N.C. State	13–9	26–17
No. 13 Wake Forest	12–12	29–16
Louisville	13–11	298–18
Boston College	8–19	21–25
Notre Dame	8–18	23–21

(Unless otherwise indicated, games only stream on ESPN3)
Wednesday’s results
No. 12 North Carolina 19, William & Mary 2, 6½ innings (10-run rule)
No. 11 Virginia 10, Navy 0, 7 innings (10-run rule)
Virginia Tech 11, N.C. A&T 9
No. 13 Wake Forest 15, High Point 12
Thursday’s results
Miami 3, BYU 2, 12 innings
Louisville 12, Boston College 7
Friday’s results
No. 4 Clemson 11, Georgia Tech 4
Georgia Tech 14, No. 4 Clemson 12
Louisville 3, Boston College 0
Miami 6, BYU 4
Pittsburgh 3, Notre Dame 1
No. 20 N.C. State 8, No. 7 Florida State 7
Saturday’s games
Louisville 5, Boston College 3
BYU 8, Miami 2
Virginia Tech 14-14, Ohio 1-2, both 6½-inning, 10-run-rule games
Notre Dame 15, Pittsburgh 8
Western Carolina at Wake Forest, 5:30
No. 20 N.C. State at No. 7 Florida State, canceled, rain
Sunday’s games
No. 20 N.C. State at No. 7 Florida State, 12:30
Ohio at Virginia Tech, 1 p.m.
Longwood at No. 10 Duke, doubleheader, 1 p.m.
Georgia Tech at No. 4 Clemson, 1 p.m.
Western Carolina at No. 13 Wake Forest, doubleheader, 1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Notre Dame, 2 p.m.
Tuesday’s games
Pittsburgh at Youngstown State, 1 p.m.
Campbell at No. 12 North Carolina, 6 p.m.
Auburn at Georgia Tech, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 4 Clemson vs. Charlotte at Charlotte’s Truist Field, 6 p.m.
Norfolk State at No. 20 N.C. State, 6 p.m.
No. 10 Duke at East Carolina, 6 p.m.
Jacksonville at No. 7 Florida State, 6 p.m.
Louisville at No. 17 Vanderbilt, 7 p.m., ESPN2

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, 7 innings (10-run rule)	at Miami	17–4, 4–2 ACC
19	Tuesday	W, 11–0, 7 innings (10-run rule)	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 (10-run rule)	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	W, 13–1, 6½ innings (10-run rule)	vs. Charlotte	34–11
	May
1	Wednesday	W, 19–2, 6½ innings (10-run rule)	vs. William & Mary	35–11
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