By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — No. 6 North Carolina picked up right where it left off, coming off a College World Series appearance with an impressive start on a chilly February afternoon and evening.

The Tar Heels swept a season-opening doubleheader, 5–1 and 8–3, at Boshamer Stadium over Texas Tech — which has made the CWS four times — to give fans plenty of reason for excitement, with two newcomers collecting two hits.

For at least one day, it was a different look for a team that hit 115 home runs last season but had none on Friday while collecting 11 doubles and six steals.

“I was messing with [hitting] coach [Jesse] Wierzbicki. I said, ‘We didn’t hit a home run, so find me a new hitting coach for tomorrow,” UNC coach Scott Forbes joked. “But I think those home runs will come. Different brand. But also I thought we had distribution throughout the order, but I was really impressed with our pitching in our defense.”

Forbes said every opening-day starter except graduate shortstop Alex Madera can hit 10 home runs, so he expects power throughout the lineup.

“The speed does pressure teams, and that makes a difference,” Forbes said. “So we’re going to be aggressive on the bases. We’re going to steal bases and take dirt-ball reads and that type of thing.”

There were many headlines from the big day for the Tar Heels:

— An impressive performance by ace sophomore right-hander Jason DeCaro

— The return to the mound for graduate right-hander Jake Knapp after having Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm and missing last season

— Graduate first baseman Hunter Stokely collecting three hits and three RBI in his return after missing most of last season with a hand injury playing at the bottom of the order

“He’s not your normal nine-hole hitter, so we envision him moving up in the order most likely, but some other guys have been hot,” Forbes said. “We just kind of like the way that that laid out.”

“Stokely is a heck of a player, and to see him use that opposite-field gap and then get a hit against a lefty is a good start for him,” Forbes said.

Stokely (above) said he could have played had UNC advanced to the CWS Finals last season, and they needed a left-handed bat off the bench.

— Junior Liberty transfer Kane Kepley showing flashes on one play of the legendary player he’s replacing while collecting three hits in the doubleheader

— An excellent debut in the second game from freshman right-hander Walker McDuffie, whose fastball hit the mid-90s.

— Sophomore left-hander Folger Boaz, who missed most of last season with a left elbow injury, striking out all three batters on nine pitches (an immaculate inning) in the ninth of the second game

DeCaro (1–0; above photo) threw 76 pitches in five innings of one-hit ball with two walks and six strikeouts in the first game. He didn’t allow a baserunner until a pair of one-out walks in the third inning, but he struck out the top two batters to get out of the inning.

“That set the whole tone of the day,” Forbes said. “He’s bigger, he’s stronger, he’s more physical. He’s going to hold his velocity more. So his biggest growth is just in his size and his durability.”

Knapp, who relieved DeCaro, needed only three pitches to strike out the first batter he’d faced in 623 days. He struck out three and gave up only two hits, one a TJ Popley blast that went off the netting in left field for a home run.

“You’re only going to see him get better,” Forbes said of Knapp. “I thought his velocity was really, really good, and he just pounds the strikes zone.”

Knapp said he just wanted to challenge hitters and block out that it had been so long since he pitched.

“Just go out there and get after it was awesome,” said Knapp, who sat next to Forbes for every pitch last season. “It was less result-oriented today. Just the work and preparation that I put in just prepared me for the moment to be back out there.”

Kepley, in his debut replacing Vance Honeycutt in center field, isn’t going to have the same range on defense but made a Vance-like play in the sixth inning of the first game. On his 21st birthday, he leaped to catch a drive from Logan Hughes with his glove over the top of the wall to steal a home run and end the inning.

“He made two tremendous plays. He robbed the ball; obviously, that was impressive. But then there was a ball off McDuffie that was hit really hard in the right-center gap,” Forbes said, reiterating that Honeycutt is the best center fielder he’s seen on the field. “But Kepley’s is as good of a center fielder [as there is] in college baseball. So we’re just lucky that he’s here, and he came to Coach [Scott] Jackson.”

McDuffie (1–0) pitched 3 2⁄3 shutout innings of relief in the second game with five strikeouts, giving up one hit and one walk.

“We felt like his ability and talent warranted him being in any situation,” Forbes said. “I thought he was in total control from the time he stepped out there. He’s had a velo jump, and he just keeps throwing harder.”

Graduate transfer designated hitter Sam Angelo and graduate Jackson Van De Brake, in his return to second base, each were 2 for 4 in the opener. 

First game

Stevenson walked in the first inning, advanced on an error and scored the season’s first run on Angelo’s two-out single to right field. UNC added two runs in the second on Stokely’s RBI single and a fielder’s choice, and another in the third when junior transfer left fielder Rom Kellis led off with a double and scored on a fielder’s choice.

Two newcomers to the outfield pushed across another run in the fourth, with Kepley leading off with a single and graduate transfer right fielder Tyson Bass — who drove in three runs in the doubleheader — driving him home with a double down the left-field line.

Junior right-hander Matthew Matthijs, expected to be the primary closer, gave up two hits in the ninth inning before striking out Davis Rivers to end the game.

Second game

Kepley’s speed quickly gave UNC a first-inning lead. He got hit by a pitch, stole second and would have stolen third if Bass hadn’t hit an RBI single to left field.

Texas Tech right fielder Damian Bravo tied it with a leadoff second-inning home run to left field off UNC starter Aidan Haugh, who gave up four hits and a walk with three strikeouts in three innings.

After Stokely’s two-run double in the fourth restored UNC’s lead, the Red Raiders scored two in the fifth inning to tie it at 3.

Pompey hit his second home run of the day, a solo shot, off junior left-hander Kyle Percival (1⅓ innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts). McDuffie gave up an RBI single to Bravo.

Kellis’ RBI double, Madera’s RBI single and an error in the bottom of the fifth gave UNC a 6–3 lead.

Stokely singled and scored on Kepley’s single to center in the eighth inning.

NOTES —  Weather permitting, Game 3 is at noon on Saturday, with UNC starting sophomore right-hander Olin Johnson. … After this series, UNC hosts a pair of 4 p.m. games, facing N.C. A&T on Tuesday, and Kansas State on Wednesday. … The bat slipped out of Bass’ hands three times and went right into the dugout, hitting Wierzbicki in the shoulder at one point. … The outfield wall features six numbers highlighting program excellence: 77 major leaguers, 25 MLB first-round draft picks, 66 All-Americans, 36 NCAA regional appearances, 22 ACC championships and 12 CWS appearances. … UNC is 90–44–2 all-time on opening day, has won six of its last seven season openers, and is 45–8 in home openers at Boshamer Stadium. … It’s the 11th consecutive season that Carolina has won its opening series.

Game 1: No. 6 UNC 5, Texas Tech 1

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Game 2: No. 6 UNC 8, Texas Tech 3

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Date(s)	Day/ month	Time/ score	Opponent	TV */ record
	February
14	Friday	W, 5–1	vs. Texas Tech	1–0
14	Friday	W, 8–3	vs. Texas Tech	2–0
15	Saturday	noon	vs. Texas Tech
18	Tuesday	4 p.m.	vs. N.C. A&T
19	Wednesday	4 p.m.	vs. Kansas State
21	Friday	5 p.m.	at East Carolina	ESPN+
22	Saturday	2 p.m.	vs. East Carolina at DBAP
23	Sunday	4 p.m.	vs. East Carolina
28	Friday	4 p.m.	vs. Stony Brook
	March
1–2	Sat., Sun.	2 p.m., 1 p.m.	vs. Stony Brook
4	Tuesday	4 p.m.	Coastal Carolina
5	Wednesday	4 p.m.	College of Charleston
7–9	Fri.-Sun.	4, 1, 1	vs. Stanford
11	Tuesday	4 p.m.	at UNCW
14–16	Fri.–Sun.	6, 2, 1	at Louisville	ESPN (Sunday)
19	Wednesday	6 p.m.	vs. UConn
21–23	Fri.–Sun.	3, 2, 1	at Boston College
25	Tuesday	7 p.m.	vs. South Carolina in Charlotte	ESPN+
28–30	Fri.–Sun	6, 2, 1	vs. Miami
	April
1	Tuesday	6 p.m.	vs. Gardner-Webb
3–5	Thu.–Sat.	6, 6, 2	vs. No. 11 Duke	ACCN (Thurs.)
8	Tuesday	6 p.m.	at Elon
10–12	Thu.–Sat.	6, 6, 2	vs. No. 14 Wake Forest	ACCN/ESPNU (Thur./Sat.)
15	Tuesday	6 p.m.	vs. Charlotte
18–20	Fri.–Sun.	7, 3, 1	at Virginia Tech	ACCN (Sunday)
22	Tuesday	6 p.m.	vs. Presbyterian
25–27	Fri.–Sun.	6, 3, 1	at Pittsburgh
29	Tuesday	6 p.m.	vs. George Mason
30	Wednesday	6 p.m.	vs. Queens
	May
6	Tuesday	6 p.m.	vs. Campbell
9–11	Fri.–Sun	6, noon, 1	vs. No. 13 N.C. State
13	Tuesday	6 p.m.	vs. UNCW
15–17	Thu.–Sat.	6, 6, 2	at No. 9 Florida State	ACCN (Thursday)
		ACC tournament
20–25	Tue.–Sun.	Single-elimination event	Durham Bulls Athletic Park
30–31	Fri.–Sat.	NCAA regionals	Campus sites
	June
1	Sunday	NCAA regionals	Campus sites
6–8	Fri.–Sun.	Super Regionals	Campus sites
18–30	Wed.–Mon.	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.

* Unless otherwise indicated, games only stream on ACC Network Extra.

Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics