By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — The momentum from last season’s College World Series run just keeps rolling along for No. 5 North Carolina, which is off to its best start in 12 seasons.
In his first homer since a memorable game-ending grand slam during that run, sophomore third baseman Gavin Gallaher ripped a two-run shot 397 feet over the left-center field.
That fifth-inning shot gave the Tar Heels (9–0) the lead for good in a 13–4 victory Wednesday at Boshamer Stadium on a day that freshman designated hitter Perry Hargett had an impressive college debut with three hits, one homer and four RBI.
“I believe that outcomes are dangerous, and I don’t get caught up in a winning streak, [not] trying to let our team or our staff even talk about it,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “We’ll wake up tomorrow, and we’ll do the same thing we’ve been doing and try to get better.”
Gallaher, who came into the game 4 of 25 at the plate but went 3 for 4, said the experience from last season’s Omaha team had helped the Tar Heels start the season 9–0, the program’s best start since the 2013 College World Series team won its first 16 games on the way to the ACC title and a 59–12 record.
“When you have a fairly old team last year with a bunch of younger guys that still got to see the field, those guys bringing that experience back here to this team really helps carry over. We know what it takes to win. We know what we have to do, and we can help teach that to these new guys,” said Gallaher (greeting Forbes while rounding the bases in the top photo), whose dramatic grand slam was his second in UNC’s 11–8 Chapel Hill Regional victory over Long Island.
Carolina is tied for the most wins in the country with Alabama (9–0) and Lamar (9–1). While the Tar Heels have four wins over power conference teams, Alabama has only two, and Lamar has none.
Forbes said it took mental toughness to win five games in as many days, beginning with Saturday’s win over ECU in Durham.
“They have to play like something to prove,” Forbes said. “They can’t get satisfied. We’re not the type of team that’s just going to show up and win just based on who we are. It’s a team that, if they work hard every day, have that old-school mentality, like we had in ’18, they’ll be successful. And I feel like that. This team has it.”
Forbes credited his deep pitching and good defense for helping his team win five consecutive days.
“I think it’s a combination of not giving extra outs defensively, making plays in the outfield, in the infield, and then having pitching depth,” Forbes said. “There are a couple other guys too that you still haven’t seen that I think are good enough to help us win, and you’ll see them eventually as well.”
After hitting no home runs in the first five games, UNC has belted five in the last four games as sophomore catcher Luke Stevenson also crushed an eighth-inning dive 362 feet over the right-center field wall. Hargett’s three-run blast to left field highlighted the seven-run eighth inning.
Forbes loved to see the power, but he says there’s more in the lineup. He expects the home runs will also come for junior left fielder Rom Kellis and graduate right fielder Tyson Bass.
“It’s just a matter of time,” Forbes said. “I feel like we can have power throughout the order.”
Hargett, from Peachland, N.C., came off the bench with a hot bat and power in his first college swings.
“[I was] just trying to stay ready and go out there and do my thing and trust what we’ve worked on for the eight months since I’ve gotten here,” Hargett said. “It was exciting to get out there for the first time.”
He’s still processing that first college home run and said it was surreal.
“It still doesn’t quite feel real yet. But it was exciting in the moment,” said Hargett, who said he didn’t hit a lot of home runs in high school and never goes to the plate trying to get a homer.
Junior transfer center fielder Kane Kepley was 2 for 2 and became the first Tar Heel to hit two triples since Anthony Donofrio did it last season on March 30 against Wake Forest.
Junior right-hander Cameron Padgett (winner, 1–0) pitched four one-hit shutout innings of relief with one walk and three strikeouts.
Kepley quickly gave UNC a first-inning lead, tripling to right field to lead off and scoring on graduate shortstop Alex Madera’s sacrifice fly. Graduate second baseman Jackson Van De Brake added a two-out RBI single to right field in the second inning.
Junior left-hander Kyle Percival (2.1 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts) came out with one out in the third after giving up three singles, including Tyler Smith’s RBI hit. Sophomore left-hander Folger Boaz (1.2 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 0 walks, 1 strikeout) gave up a three-run, opposite-field home run to Jason Campo, the first batter he faced, and the Aggies (2–4) had a 4–2 lead.
“Didn’t play great early, but got better as we went [along],” Forbes said. “Percival and Boaz had to battle a little bit. They didn’t really have their command. Padgett bridged the gap extremely well.”
To tie it, UNC turned leadoff singles into runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Hargett singled and later scored on a wild pitch in the fourth, when UNC left the bases loaded. Graduate first baseman Hunter Stokely’s single led to a run on Hargett’s single to left-center in the fifth before Gallaher hit his homer with two outs.
Graduate Princeton transfer left-hander Tom Chmielewski gave up no hits and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning.
“It was great to see Chewie make his [UNC] debut because I feel like he can help us as the season moves along,” Forbes said.
NOTES — After playing five consecutive days, UNC gets a day off before facing Stony Brook beginning at 4 p.m. Friday, in the Tar Heels’ final non-conference series. The Seawolves (3–3) swept a season-opening series at Bethune-Cookman, then got swept at Florida Gulf Coast last weekend. … The weekend rotation of right-handed starters will remain the same, with sophomore Jason DeCaro (2–0, 0.00 ERA) going Friday, graduate right-hander Jake Knapp (0–0, 4.50 ERA) starting Saturday, and senior Aidan Haugh (1–0, 3.38 ERA) going on Sunday. … The Kansas State team that lost 12–9 at UNC on Feb. 18 won last weekend in Arlington, Texas, against No. 5 Arkansas 3-2, Michigan 5-1 and No. 22 TCU 10-2. … It was Stokely’s fourth consecutive game batting fifth in the order after batting ninth in the first four games. … UNC has faced 32 pitchers in the last four games. … UNC has won three in a row against the Aggies, and leads the series 10–2.
No. 5 UNC 13, N.C. A&T 4
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 |
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics
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