By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — This wasn’t the typical mid-week nonconference game for No. 4 North Carolina, but the result was typical.
After a week off for final exams, Coach Scott Forbes didn’t follow the usual pattern of starting a pitcher who isn’t in the weekend rotation. He called on sophomore right-hander Jason DeCaro, who hadn’t pitched in nine days, against Campbell.
DeCaro did not disappoint, continuing his late-season resurgence with six strikeouts in five innings in the Tar Heels’ 10–1 victory Tuesday at Boshamer Stadium for their 10th win in the last 11 meetings against the Camels.
UNC (36–10) scored double-digit runs for the fifth time in a mid-week game and 13th time overall heading into a critical weekend home series with No. 16 N.C. State that begins on Thursday.
“We felt like he needed to start,” said Forbes, who had used a weekend starter before coming off the exam break. “I thought he was outstanding.”
Even though DeCaro (7–3) threw 69 pitches, he’ll be able to come back to pitch in Sunday’s series finale against the Wolfpack on four days’ rest.
“I definitely wanted to throw today,” DeCaro said. “I felt like last year after the break, I was a little shaky the week after, and I was pretty excited when I heard that there’s a chance to go today.”
After giving up five runs in an April 4 home loss to Duke, his last as the No. 2 starter, DeCaro has given up four runs in his last 23 innings. He scattered five hits, and after combining to walk 11 batters in his previous three starts, he didn’t walk a batter against the Camels (20–27).
DeCaro said the difference since the Duke game is his ability to mentally move on after an inning or a few at-bats don’t go his way.
“I felt like that [Duke] game, and I do a great job with that, kind of got a little frustrated, which [I] don’t usually do in the middle of the game,” said DeCaro, who has been the No. 3 starter since the Duke series. “I felt like I kind of lost myself a little bit there. So, just really trying to focus mentally on just staying present, being where my feet are during the game.”
In addition to DeCaro’s better mental approach, Forbes said that some adjustments coach Bryant Gaines and Jason Howell have made in the sophomore’s mechanics have made a difference. Forbes also credited the pitching facility at the Bosh for helping make that happen.
“It’s one thing to have the data, but if you can’t apply the data, it doesn’t matter,” Forbes said “But through support and generosity, we were able to build that pitching facility, and [Gaines and Howell] work together and just found a little mechanical thing that helped him out and get more direction, and helped all of his pitches.”
DeCaro and three relievers combined to strike out 11 with no walks. Freshman right-hander Ryan Lynch threw two hitless innings of relief with one strikeout. Freshman right-hander Camron Seagraves struck out the side in his only inning and graduate right-hander Cale Bolton struck out one in hurling a scoreless ninth inning.
Junior transfer DH Rom Kellis was the hitting star, going 3 for 4 with his first home run as a Tar Heel. He hit a 351-foot drive to left field for a two-run shot in the seventh inning.
“Two strikes right before that pitch I saw. I’m gonna be as short as I possibly can with this pitch,” said Kellis, who drove in three. “I’m not gonna try to do too much. That’s just God making the ball fall like that. You know, he’s having my back.”
After starting the first nine games in left field, Kellis has mostly pinch-hit, with Tuesday’s game his sixth start at designated hitter.
“I only care about winning. I only care about cheering my guys on,” Kellis said.
UNC scored in the third when Campbell second baseman Jonah Oster, with a throwing error, botched a would-be inning-ending double play on Kane Kepley’s grounder. That scored Alex Madera, who led off with a walk and took second on Kellis’ single to left field. Kellis scored when Camels right fielder Lukas Schramm couldn’t make a diving catch on a Jackson Van DeBrake drive, which fell for a double.
The Camels broke through for a run off DeCaro in the fifth inning when catcher Andrew Schuldt led off with a single, took third on Schramm’s single to left and scored on left fielder Joe Simpson’s two-out single to left field.
Carolina got the run back in the bottom of that inning after back-to-back two-out singles from Carter French and Kepley. Back-to-back hit by pitches scored French.
Carolina made it a rout with five runs in the eighth inning. Alex Madera ripped a three-run double to left center and scored in the eighth, when Kellis singled, stole second and scored on a wild pitch.
NOTES — The four-day, three-game N.C. State series begins at 6 p.m. Thursday (ACC Network Extra). The Wolfpack (30–15, 15–8 ACC), which shares the ACC lead with Florida State, snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday with a 14–4 victory at UNCW. … Kepley was hit by a pitch for the 22nd time this season, the second-highest single-season total in program history behind Ryan Earey’s 28 in 2000. … UNC leads the series with Campbell 42–11, including 28–7 in Chapel Hill.
No. 4 UNC 10, Campbell 1
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
tarheeltribune.com 