By R.L. Bynum
No. 8 North Carolina hasn’t displayed the power of last season’s College World Series team, but the Tar Heels broke out of that in Pittsburgh on Friday.
Sophomore third baseman Gavin Gallaher hit three home runs and sophomore catcher Luke Stevenson swatted two as the Tar Heels blasted a season-high seven, rolling to a 15–5 victory over Pitt on a windy, rainy evening at Charles L. Cost Field in the opener of a three-game ACC series.
Gallaher tied the program record for home runs in a game, becoming the 10th to hit three.
It was the most home runs by UNC (32–9, 14–8 ACC), which has won nine of its last 10 games, since hitting seven in a 14–4 home win over Louisville on May 10, 2024, and the 13th time this season that the Heels have scored double-figure runs.
It was tied for the second-most homers hit in a game this century for Carolina, which pounded out 16 hits.
Gallaher, who drove in a career-high six runs, is the first Tar Heel to hit three home runs in a game since first baseman Parks Harber did it last season on March 30 at Wake Forest. Both hit their home runs in consecutive at-bats. Gallaher, who has three career multi-homer games, hit his blasts in the fifth (to left-center field), seventh (to center) and eighth (left-center) innings.
Stevenson got the power parade started in the first inning with a solo home run to left field, and added a two-run shot to center field in the three-run fifth, giving him a team-high 15 homers.
It was only the seventh and eighth time this season that a Tar Heel has hit multiple home runs in a game.
Shortstop Alex Madera, a solo shot to left field in the fourth (he celebrates in the top photo), hit his first home run of the season and right fielder Tyson Bass swatted his fifth of the season on a shot to center field in the second.
Carolina’s previous season high was four home runs, which hit March 8 in an 11–1 seven-inning run-rule home win over Stanford, March 25 in a 13–8 victory in Charlotte against South Carolina and April 8 in a 12–10 win at Elon, with Gallaher hitting two runs in the latter win.
Ace graduate UNC right-hander Jake Knapp (winner, 9–0) gave up a season-high three earned runs for the second consecutive game. In 6⅓ innings, he yielded five hits, four runs and one walk while striking out eight. It was the fourth time this season that Knapp has struck out at least eight.
Freshman right-hander Walker McDuffie pitched the final 2⅔ innings, giving up three hits, one run and two walks while striking out seven to tie his season-high (also against VCU in 3⅓ innings on Feb. 25).
Last-place Pittsburgh (19–20, 5–14) pulled within four with a pair of seventh-inning runs, only for UNC to tack on four in the eighth, highlighted by Gallaher’s third blast.
Carolina added two more runs in the ninth on a Carter French sacrifice fly and a two-run double from Jackson Van De Brake, who went 3 for 6 with three RBI.
The series resumes at 3 p.m. Saturday (ACC Network Extra) with UNC senior right-hander Aidan Haugh (4–3, 3.06 ERA) opposing Pittsburgh junior left-hander Ryan Reed (3–3, 4.80 ERA). The series concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday, also streaming on ACC Network Extra.
No. 8 UNC 15, Pitt 5
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 | 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 via @DiamondHeels
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