By R.L. Bynum
DURHAM — While No. 7 North Carolina’s numbers at home have been amazing, it’s been a different story away from Chapel Hill. That didn’t change on Thursday, thanks to some defensive lapses and amazing Duke pitching.
No. 11 Duke took advantage of three UNC costly errors to prevail 5–3 in an intense battle at Jack Coombs Field, befitting the rivalry. It was the second consecutive three-error game for the Tar Heels, who had not made more than one error in a game before that since commiting four at Wake Forest on March 29.
“Sometimes you don’t play great, but you’re still in the game and that was the case tonight and we didn’t come out on top,” said UNC coach Scott Forbes, whose team rallied from two runs down to tie it in the seventh. “You’ve got to make plays in games like this, especially when they’re pitching like that. All of sudden you come back, you’ve go to grab every out that you can. I thought we made some really good play, they just made more good plays.”
The loss dropped the Tar Heels (39–12, 20–8 ACC) to 7–10 away from Boshamer Stadium, where they are 32–2. That ended UNC’s six-game win streak and gave Duke (35–16, 16–12) a big win as it fights to host an NCAA regional.
Duke’s two pitchers combined to strike out 14 and gave up only one walk, making it tough going for the Tar Heels.
Freshman UNC right-hander starter Jason DeCaro battled well against Duke but gave up six hits, three runs (two earned), two walks and four strikeouts in 5⅓ innings. It could have been worse, as the Blue Devils had three flyouts at the warning track.
DeCaro had a daunting adversary in Duke left-hander Kyle Johnson, another freshman, who struck out eight and only gave up three hits in 6+ innings, but two were home runs.
“I thought he was as good as we faced all year,” said Forbes, noting that Johnson’s fastball reached the mid-90s. “Throwing the breaking ball to lefties. He’s going to changeup the righties, ultra athletic. Their freshman pitched better than Jason then but that’s a really good lineup as well. That game could have been out of reach if we didn’t pitch it the way they were pitching it.”
Duke reliever Charlie Beilenson (winner, 6–2) finished the game with three shutout innings, allowing one hit and striking out six.
“Just a tremendous job by Kyle Johnson when we needed it most,” Duke coach Chris Pollard said. “For him to cover the first six innings of that game and be in complete command set us up well for the rest of the weekend. The job by he and Charlie Beilenson was amazing to cover that game against an unbelievable offense.”
The Blue Devils took advantage of a hit batsman and a walk from DeCaro in the first inning to score on first baseman Logan Bravo’s two-out RBI single to left. DeCaro struck out Chase Krewson to get out of the inning.
In the second inning, Duke center fielder Devin Obee doubled to left and took third on right fielder Anthony Donofrio’s fielding error. With one out, Johnson bounced a ball by third baseman Gavin Gallaher for a two-base error to make it 2–0.
DeCaro escaped a one-out, two-on jam in the fourth inning with a strikeout and a groundout.
Johnson retired the first 12 batters before Donofrio led off the fifth inning with a walk. He got out of the inning with a force out on a grounder, a strikeout and a groundout.
“Who knows if we could get those home runs earlier, maybe we get Kyle out of there earlier and the game’s changed,” Forbes said.
UNC catcher Luke Stephenson broke through with a no-doubt solo homer to right field to lead off the sixth inning. Bravo quickly got the run back for Duke with a leadoff homer to left in the sixth inning, and DeCaro exited in favor of Matthew Matthijs after giving up two singles.
Parks Harber cut the lead to one again with another leadoff homer, and this one went to left field in the seventh inning.
Johnson came out after Donofrio followed with a single to left field. After Alex Madera’s one-out single off Beilenson, Gallaher’s sacrifice fly tied it at 3.
Duke retook the lead in the bottom of the seventh after UNC left fielder Casey Cook couldn’t make a play on a drive to the wall by A.J. Gracia. It went for a double, and Gracia scored on Alex Stone’s double down the left-field line.
Matthijs (loser, 11–4) gave up two hits, two walks and one run while striking out two in 2⅓ innings. Matt Poston relieved him after a pair of walks, allowing a run to score on Harber’s fielding error.
NOTES — It was UNC’s first game at Jack Coombs Field since 2014. … UNC is one win or a Clemson loss away from clinching the top seed in the ACC tourament, which starts Tuesday at Charlotte’s Truist Field. … The series resumes at 2 p.m. Friday (ESPN3) — the start was moved up four hours because of the rainy evening forecast — with left-hander Shea Sprague (3–1, 3.81 ERA) starting for UNC. The series concludes at 1 p.m. Saturday (ESPN3) with right-hander Aidan Haugh (4–1, 3.95 ERA) on the mound for the Tar Heels. Duke hasn’t named its Friday and Saturday starters. … Tough outings against teams in the top 25 of the RPI continued for UNC, with the loss to Duke (No. 23 in the RPI), UNC fell to 6–8 in those games. … UNC junior center fielder Vance Honeycutt, who had his six-game hitting streak snapped, and Matthijs, tied for the NCAA lead in wins with 11, are two of 68 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Award, which goes to the top college player. … Carolina leads the all-time series with Duke 192–108–3, including 73–45–1 in Durham. … Forbes is 6–4 against Duke.
No. 11 Duke 5, No. 7 UNC 3
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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