By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — No. 4 North Carolina rallied from a four-run deficit to tie in the eighth inning, only for the Tar Heels’ bullpen to let them down.
Against four relievers, No. 16 N.C. State scored three runs in the ninth inning to take an 8–5 win Friday at Boshamer Stadium, with the series-deciding game at 1 p.m. Sunday.
UNC (37–11, 16–10 ACC) fell short, but showed that they are never out of a game with their ability to surge for five runs late, which is a helpful trait in NCAA regional play.
“I think the teams that can do that and not get too high or too low have a better chance to win those game threes, for sure,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “Up until the end, even when they went up by three, I thought we’d manage a way to get the tying run around there and find a way to come back and just do more. Just didn’t work out for us.”
They got in a hole because N.C. State’s starter, left-hander Dominic Fritton, shut them down for six innings, striking out seven in 6⅓ innings as the Tar Heels had a tough time dealing with his off-speed pitches.
The Tar Heels got back-to-back home runs from Jackson Van De Brake and Luke Stevenson (top photo) in the seventh inning to start the rally, but it wasn’t enough against the Pack (32–16, 16–9).
“They got it done tonight. We didn’t, plain and simple,” Forbes said. “Thought we grabbed that momentum. I thought Fritton was really, really good.”
Van De Brake finally broke through with his homer that ended Fritton’s night.
“We know the fastball is really, really good, so you have to be on the fastball,” Van De Brake said. “When he’s landing his off-speed like he was tonight, that makes it a lot tougher, and especially the way we hit the fastball [Thursday] night.”
UNC starter Aidan Haugh (4 innings, 7 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts) battled, relying on his fastball because his other pitches weren’t as effective.
“[His fastball] was electric, but he’s had his change-up most every single time that he’s pitched really well, and it’s been a swing and miss pitch,” Forbes said. “I thought his curveball was a little bit better than the change-up.”
Haugh escaped a bases-loaded no-out first-inning jam — after giving up two singles and a walk — with N.C. State only getting a Justin DeCriscio sacrifice fly. He struck out Alex Sosa swinging and Brayden Fraasman looking on 95 mph high fastballs to avert further damage.
UNC loaded the bases with one out in the second but Fritton struck out Carter French swinging and induced an inning-ending Kane Kepley groundout.
In the third, Haugh battled back from runners at first and third and one out by striking out DeCriscio looking and Sosa swinging.
State chased Haugh in the fifth, though, as he gave up hits to the first four batters, including Chris McHugh’s RBI double and Josh Hogue’s RBI single. Inheriting runners at first and third and nobody out, reliever Camron Seagraves gave up a two-out RBI double over right fielder Tyson Bass’ head to Sosa, and the Pack led 4–0.
Seagraves struck out three and gave up one hit in 2⅔ innings, with Folger Boaz coming in to strike out Sosa, his only batter, for the third out of the seventh inning.
Kepley started the seventh inning by beating out an infield single with one out and Van De Brake lofted a drive 358 feet just over the left field wall for a two-run homer.
Stevenson powered the third pitch from freshman right-handed reliever Anderson Nance (winner, 8–1) 412 feet just over the wall in dead center field for his 30th career blast and 16th this season to slice the Pack lead to one.
Against UNC freshman right-handed reliever Ryan Lynch (loser, 4–1; 1 inning, 4 hits, 4 runs, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 1 strikeout), State responded with a run in the eighth on Matt Heavner’s two-out RBI single to push the Pack’s lead to 5–3. With Heavner at second, Kepley saved a run and ended the inning with a diving catch in center field.
Carolina tied it with two eighth-inning runs. Pinch-hitter Sam Angelo doubled when left fielder Hogue lost track of the ball. Carter French singled in pinch-runner Reece Holbrook and took second, scoring on Kepley’s RBI single.
Lynch’s control issues led to a three-run N.C. State ninth inning when UNC used four pitchers. Freshman right-hander Walker McDuffie wasn’t one of them after he threw 12 pitches the previous night.
“Everybody recovers different,” Forbes said. “I didn’t want to use him. I considered using him, but I just made a decision. We weren’t using McDuffie today.”
Lynch hit McHugh with a pitch and then moved him to second with a wild pitch before Hogue hit an RBI single up the middle. Two relievers later, with still no out, Fraasman hit a sacrifice fly off Cale Bolton. The fourth UNC pitcher, Cameron Padgett, gave up an RBI single to Matt Ossenfort.
NOTES — After an off day for UNC graduation, the series concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday (ACC Network) with Tar Heels sophomore right-hander Jason DeCaro (7–3, 3.55 ERA) starting for UNC. The Wolfpack hasn’t named a starter. … UNC leads the all-time series 172–143–1, including 95–68–1 in Chapel Hill. … Forbes has won nine of 13 meetings with the Wolfpack. … Against in-state opponents, UNC is 15–2 and N.C. State is 9–4.
No. 16 N.C. State 8, No. 4 UNC 5
ACC standings
| League | GB | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 2 Florida State | 15–7 | — | 35–10 |
| No. 16 N.C. State | 16–9 | ½ | 32–16 |
| No. 4 North Carolina | 16–10 | 1 | 37–11 |
| Georgia Tech | 15–10 | 1½ | 35–15 |
| No. 9 Clemson | 15–10 | 1½ | 38–13 |
| Miami | 14–10 | 2 | 30–19 |
| No. 20 Louisville | 14–11 | 2½ | 34–15 |
| Duke | 14–11 | 2½ | 32–17 |
| Virginia | 12–10 | 3 | 28–16 |
| Wake Forest | 13–12 | 3½ | 33–16 |
| Notre Dame | 12–15 | 5½ | 27–19 |
| Virginia Tech | 11–16 | 6½ | 27–22 |
| Pittsburgh | 9–16 | 7½ | 24–22 |
| Boston College | 10–17 | 7½ | 23–26 |
| Stanford | 9–18 | 8½ | 24–22 |
| California | 6–19 | 10½ | 19–28 |
Thursday, Friday, Sunday series
No. 16 N.C. State at No. 4 North Carolina: Thursday: UNC 8–1; Friday: NCS 8–5; Sunday: 1 (ACCN)
Friday-Sunday series
No. 20 Louisville at Georgia Tech: Friday: UL 16–2; Saturday: 2:30; Sunday: 1
Pittsburgh at Wake Forest: Friday: WF 12–3; Saturday: 4; Sunday: 1
Miami at Virginia: Friday: Va. 6–1; Saturday: 4: Sunday: 1
Duke at No. 9 Clemson: Friday: Clemson 9–7; Saturday: 2; Sunday: 1
Bowling Green vs. Notre Dame: Friday: ND 10–0: Saturday: 2 at ND; Sunday: 3 at BG
Florida State at California: Friday: FSU 8–2; Saturday: 5; Sunday: 4
Grand Canyon at Stanford: Friday: GC 4–3; Saturday: 5:05; Sunday: 4:05
Saturday-Sunday series
Mercer at Virginia Tech, 3, 1
Boston College at UMass-Lowell, 5, 2
Tuesday’s games
UNCW at No. 4 North Carolina, 6 p.m.
Bellarmine at No. 20 Louisville, 6 p.m.
George Mason at Virginia, 6 p.m.
Penn State at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m.
Duke at Liberty, 6 p.m.
Wake Forest at High Point, 6 p.m.
Marshall at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m.
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Time/ score | Opponent (current rank) | TV */ 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. 14 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 No. 20 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. No. 16 N.C. State | 37–11, 16–10 |
| 11 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. No. 16 N.C. State | ACCN |
| 13 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. UNCW | |
| 15–17 | Thu.–Sat. | 6, 6, 2 | at No. 2 Florida State | ACCN (Thurs., Fri.) |
| 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.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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