By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — The choppy start to No. 21 North Carolina’s ACC season continued as the Tar Heels’ offense hit a weekend skid.
UNC already had their second consecutive ACC series win secured, thanks to good pitching in the first two games, but couldn’t finish off the sweep. Miami got only its second league win of the season by riding a three-run ninth-inning rally to a 4–2 win Sunday at Boshamer Stadium.
Coach Scott Forbes admitted that he’s just glad his team won a series considering his team hit .187 and went without a home run.
“I still don’t think we’re playing close to what we’re capable of playing top to bottom,” Forbes said. “We haven’t swung the bats very well, especially in ACC play.”
When UNC (21–7, 6–6 ACC) made contact, it wasn’t with much pop, and it managed only five hits.
“We have found different ways to win; we found different ways to lose,” Forbes said. “It just seems like when we have lost, we have not scored at all. But we’ve also not made some plays, had some bad base running, giving them extra outs, but our pitchers are going to give us a chance.”
Tyson Bass and Jackson Van De Brake each had two hits, but the rest of the lineup only produced one hit.
Among those struggling is third baseman Gavin Gallaher, who went 1 of 12 in the series and is batting .245 in the cleanup spot after a stellar freshman season hitting .314 while batting seventh.
“He’s been pressing, but these guys find out quickly you get pitched different when you’ve been in the league longer,” said Forbes of Gallaher, who isn’t getting the consistent hits pulling the ball that he did last season. “Teams are just throwing him down and away, exactly what I would do. And until the young man makes the adjustment, that is what happens. So, we have to make that adjustment.”
Freshman Walker McDuffie had given up only four hits and one run with 13 strikeouts in 7.1 innings over his previous four outings, including getting the save in the series opener. He was effective for two innings before the Hurricanes got to him in the ninth inning.
Forbes wanted to save McDuffie for the last two innings but brought him in with one out in the seventh inning because the game was tied and a runner was in scoring position. That forced him to throw 41 pitches, including the tough ninth inning.
“Walker was our best reliever in the high-leverage situation, and he showed that. But he just had to stay out there because we had to bring him in a little bit early,” Forbes said.
Coming off a one-hit, seven-inning shutout a week earlier at Boston College, senior right-hander Aidan Haugh scattered six hits in 4⅔ innings with one strikeout. He gave way to junior right-hander Matthew Matthijs (1⅔ innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout) after giving up a pair of singles in the fifth inning. He got out of the jam when Miami first baseman Daniel Cuvet popped out.
“Aidan wasn’t as sharp as he had been, and we wanted to go to Matty in the middle,” Forbes said.
Kane Kepley got hit by a pitch to start the second, took third when Luke Stevenson’s hard grounder went through Cuvet’s legs, and scored on Hunter Stokely’s groundout on a tapper to the mound.
UNC blew a golden opportunity when Miami right-hander Alex Giroux (winner, 3–1 4.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 run 2 strikeouts) came on to induce a two-out, bases-loaded groundout from DH Sam Angelo in the fifth inning, and then Miami tied it.
Right fielder Derek Williams led off with a single to center, took second on a wild pitch, third on a grounder, and scored on a wild pitch by Matthijs.
McDuffie relieved Matthijs — who walked the leadoff batter — with one out and a runner at second in the seventh inning, getting out of the inning with a groundout and fly out. McDuffie gave up a pair of eighth-inning singles but escaped by getting Evan Tavares to ground out to end the inning.
Miami (15–14, 2–7) took its first lead of the game in the ninth inning on Cuvet’s two-run, bases-loaded single, with a third run coming in on left fielder Sawyer Black’s error. Sophomore right-hander Olin Johnson issued a walk, and then sophomore right-hander Folger Boaz got a strikeout and a groundout to avoid further damage.
UNC tried to rally against Giroux with one out in the ninth. Right fielder Tyson Bass singled and scored on Van De Brake’s one-out triple to right field, but Kepley grounded out to end the game.
NOTES — Carolina hosts Gardner-Webb at 6 p.m. on Tuesday (ACC Network Extra) before playing a three-game weekend home series with Duke starting at 7 p.m. on Thursday (ACC Network). The Bulldogs (14–15) finished a three-game weekend sweep at Longwood with a 13–9 victory Sunday. The Blue Devils (19–10, 7–5) beat N.C. State 16–6 Sunday to take two of three games in a weekend home series. … UNC trails the all-time series with Miami 49–40–1 but has a 23–16–1 edge at home.
Miami 4, No. 21 UNC 2
UNC scores
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Times | Opponent (current rank) |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | |||
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sat. | 4, noon, 1 | vs. Indiana |
| 17 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Richmond |
| 18 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Longwood |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun. | 4 (Greenville), 2 (DBAP), 2 (CH) | vs. East Carolina |
| 24 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. N.C. A&T |
| 25 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. VCU |
| 27–28 | Fri., Sat. | 4 p.m., 2 p.m. | vs. Le Moyne |
| March | |||
| 1 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Le Moyne |
| 3 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Elon |
| 6–8 | Fri.-Sun. | 4, 2, 1 | vs. Virginia |
| 10 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Bucknell |
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sun. | 9, 5, 4 | at California |
| 18 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. UNCG |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun. | 8, 2, 1 | vs. No. 8 Louisville |
| 24 | Tuesday | 6:30 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte |
| 27–29 | Fri.-Sun. | 6:30, 3, 1 | at Notre Dame |
| 31 | Tuesday | 8 p.m. | vs. Campbell |
| April | |||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | 6, 6, 2 | vs. Boston College |
| 7 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Charlotte |
| 10–12 | Fri.-Sun. | 6, 2, 12:30 | at No. 19 Clemson |
| 14 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. UNCW |
| 17–19 | Fri-Sun. | 6, noon, 1 | vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech |
| 21 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. High Point |
| 23–25 | Fri.-Sun. | 7, 6, 3 | at Duke |
| 28 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 6 Coastal Carolina |
| 29 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Queens |
| May | |||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. (non-conference game) | vs. Duke |
| 6 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Winthrop |
| 8–10 | Fri.-Sun. | 6, noon, 1 | vs. Pittsburgh |
| 12 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | at UNCW |
| 14–16 | Thurs.-Sat. | 7, 6, 1 | at No. 17 N.C. State |
| 19–24 | Tues.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Charlotte |
| 29–31 | Fri.-Sun. | NCAA Regionals | Campus sites |
| June | |||
| 5–7 | Fri.-Sun. | NCAA Super Regionals | Campus sites |
| 12–22 | Fri.-Mon | College World Series | Omaha, Neb. |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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