By R.L. Bynum
No. 4 North Carolina couldn’t finish off the road sweep of No. 2 Florida State and will be the No. 3 seed at next week’s ACC tournament.
After pinch-hitter Sawyer Black tied it with a three-run homer in the seventh inning and Gavin Gallaher’s solo homer gave UNC the lead in the eighth inning, the Seminoles rallied for a 5–4 win Saturday on a steamy afternoon at Howser Stadium.
With a double-bye in the ACC tournament next week at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the Tar Heels (39–12, 18–11 ACC), who won the series’ first two games, won’t play until 7 p.m. Friday. UNC’s opponent will be No. 6-seed Virginia, No. 11-seed Notre Dame or No. 14-seed Boston College.
When N.C. State lost to Stanford 6–3 on Saturday, the Tar Heels knew that they’d be no worse than a No. 3 seed. Had Duke beaten Georgia Tech, UNC would have been the No. 2 seed, but the Yellow Jackets won 8–2, giving them the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed and leaving FSU as the No. 2 seed.
UNC and Florida State each finished a half-game behind Georgia Tech.
FSU freshman first baseman Myles Bailey launched a three-run homer off UNC starter Aidan Haugh (4⅔ innings, 6 hits 3 runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts) with one out in the first after an Alex Lodise double and a Max Williams single.
Gallaher led off the second with a walk, took second on a wild pitch, and Alex Madera drove him in with a single to left-center field. That was the first of three UNC at-bats — also in the fifth and sixth innings — that ended with double plays. The Tar Heels left the bases loaded in the sixth inning.
Left fielder Carter French made a spectacular catch in the third inning to rob Bailey of an extra-base hit.
Haugh recovered from the tough start to pitch well, but came out with two outs in the fifth inning after walking two. After a catcher’s interference loaded the base, freshman right-handed reliever Ryan Lynch induced an inning-ending groundout.
Left-hander Wes Mendes was FSU’s most effective starter of the series, going 6⅓ innings, giving up four hits, one run and four walks with three strikeouts.
Mendes came out in the seventh inning after walking Tyson Bass with one out. In his first at-bat since suffering a hamate injury on March 30, Black greeted reliever Peyton Prescott with a two-run homer to right field to tie it.
FSU (39–13, 17–10) loaded the bases in the seventh inning with a single, a walk and a two-out hit batsman, but UNC freshman right-handed reliever Walker McDuffie struck out Chase Williams swinging to get out of the inning.
Gallaher’s 13th home run of the season, a blast to right-center field with two outs in the eighth inning, gave UNC a 4–3 lead.
In the eighth inning, after James Hankerson Jr. singled and moved to second on a groundout, McDuffie gave way to Camron Seagraves (loser, 2–1). After getting a groundout and intentionally walking Lodise, Williams and Bailey hit RBI singles to right field to give the Seminoles a 5–4 lead. After the walk, Seagraves got an inning-ending groundout as FSU left the bases loaded for a third time.
FSU reliever John Abraham (winner, 4–0) struck out the side, all swinging, in the ninth to finish off the victory.
No. 2 FSU 5, No. 4 UNC 4
ACC standings
| League | GB | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Georgia Tech | 22–5 | — | 42–9 |
| No. 2 North Carolina | 20–7 | 2 | 41–9–1 |
| No. 11 Florida State | 17–10 | 5 | 36–15 |
| No. 23 Boston College | 17–10 | 5 | 36–17 |
| Miami | 15–12 | 7 | 35–15 |
| Wake Forest | 14–13 | 8 | 36–17 |
| Virginia | 13–14 | 9 | 34–18 |
| N.C. State | 13–14 | 9 | 31–19 |
| Virginia Tech | 13–14 | 9 | 27–22 |
| Stanford | 12–15 | 10 | 26–23 |
| Louisville | 11–16 | 11 | 28–25 |
| Notre Dame | 11–16 | 11 | 29–20 |
| Pittsburgh | 10–17 | 12 | 29–21 |
| California | 10–17 | 12 | 25–25 |
| Clemson | 9–18 | 13 | 30–23 |
| Duke | 9–18 | 13 | 23–28 |
Tuesday’s results
No. 2 North Carolina 13, UNCW 7|
Virginia 18, Richmond 6 (8)
USC Upstate 6, Clemson 3
Wake Forest 7, Liberty 5
Mercer 12, No. 3 Georgia Tech 9
Pittsburgh 11, Penn State 7
Notre Dame 16, Dayton 6 (8)
Louisville 14, Bellarmine 7
Duke 14, William & Mary 9
Stanford 7, Saint Mary’s 6
Thursday-Saturday series
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh — 6 p.m., 3 p.m., 1 p.m.
Virginia at Louisville — 6 p.m., 6 p.m., 1 p.m.
Miami at No. 11 Florida State — 6 p.m., 6 p.m., 2 p.m.
Wake Forest at Duke — 6 p.m., 6 p.m., 2 p.m.
Clemson at Virginia Tech — 6 p.m., 3 p.m., 1 p.m.
No. 3 Georgia Tech at No. 23 Boston College — 6 p.m., 3 p.m., 1 p.m.
No. 2 North Carolina at N.C. State — 7 p.m. (ACC Network), 6 p.m., 2 p.m.
Stanford at California — 10 p.m., 9 p.m., 6 p.m.
End of regular season
ACC Tournament
May 16–24
Truist Field in Charlotte
ACC tournament
At Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Buy tickets at durhambulls.com or theacc.com/tickets
Tuesday’s first round
No. 16 California 12, No. 9 Miami 2, 8 innings
No. 12 Virginia Tech 7, No. 13 Stanford 4
No. 15 Pittsburgh 13, No. 10 Louisville 11
No. 14 Boston College 5, No. 11 Notre Dame 4, 10 innings
Wednesday’s second round
California 14, No. 8 seed Wake Forest 12
No. 5 Clemson 6, Virginia Tech 1
No. 7 Duke 4, Pittsburgh 3
Boston College 12, No. 6 Virginia 8
Quarterfinals
Thursday’s results
No. 1 seed Georgia Tech 10, California 3
Clemson 7, No. 4 seed N.C. State 6
Friday’s results
No. 2 seed Florida State 14, Duke 7
No. 3 seed North Carolina 7, Boston College 2
Saturday’s semifinals
Clemson 9, Georgia Tech 4
North Carolina 7, Florida State 5
Sunday’s championship
North Carolina 14, Clemson 4
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Times/ scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record/ TV * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 13–14 | Fri., Sat. | W, 9–4; W, 12–2 (7); W, 4–3 (11) | vs. Indiana | 3–0 |
| 17 | Tuesday | W, 10–0 (7) | vs. Richmond | 4–0 |
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 5–3 | vs. Longwood | 5–0 |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun | W, 10–0 (8); L, 10–3; T, 3–3 | vs. East Carolina | 6–1–1 |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 9–1 | vs. N.C. A&T | 7–1–1 |
| 25 | Wednesday | W, 13–3 (7) | vs. VCU | 8–1–1 |
| 27–28 | Fri., Sat. | W, 16–3 (7); W, 12–2 (7) | vs. Le Moyne | 10–1–1 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 21–1 (7) | vs. Le Moyne | 11–1–1 |
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 5–1 | vs. Elon | 12–1–1 |
| 6–7 | Fri., Sat | L, 13–3 (7); L, 9–2; W, 8–7 (12) | vs. Virginia | 13–3–1, 1–2 ACC |
| 10 | Tuesday | W, 13–3 (7) | vs. Bucknell | 14–3–1 |
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 8–1; W, 6–2; W, 10–2 | at California | 17–3–1, 4–2 |
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 8–2 | vs. UNCG | 18–3–1 |
| 20–22 | Fri.–Sun. | W, 11–1 (8); L, 2–0; W, 7–6 | vs. Louisville | 20–4–1, 6–3 |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 9–1 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte | 21–4–1 |
| 28, 29 | Sat., Sun | W, 6–5; W, 13–7; W, 15–10 | at Notre Dame | 24–4–1, 9–3 |
| 31 | Tuesday | W, 5–4 (14) | vs. Campbell | 25–4–1 |
| April | ||||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | L, 6–1; W, 5–2; W, 8–7 | vs. No. 23 Boston College | 27–5–1, 11–4 |
| 7 | Tuesday | W, 8–4 | vs. Charlotte | 28–5–1 |
| 10–12 | Fri.–Sun. | L, 9–5; W, 6–4 (14); W, 12–5 | at Clemson | 30–6–1, 13–5 |
| 14 | Tuesday | W, 14–5 | vs. UNCW | 31–6–1 |
| 17–19 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 5–2; W, 14–4 (8); L, 5–2 | vs. No. 3 Georgia Tech | 33–7–1, 15–6 |
| 21 | Tuesday | W, 9–2 | vs. High Point | 34–7–1 |
| 23–25 | Thur.–Sat. | W, 3–1; L, 3–1; W, 22–5 (7) | at Duke | 36–8–1, 17–7 |
| 28 | Tuesday | L, 12–2 | vs. No. 20 Coastal Carolina | 36–9–1 |
| May | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 13–0 (7) (non-conference game) | vs. Duke | 37–9–1 |
| 8–10 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 4–1; W, 12–2 (8); W, 7–3 | vs. Pittsburgh | 40–9–1, 20–7 |
| 12 | Tuesday | W, 13–7 | at UNCW | 41–9–1 |
| 14–16 | Thurs.-Sat. | 7, 6, 1 | at N.C. State | Thurs. ACCN |
| ACC tournament | Charlotte | |||
| 21 or 22 | Thursday or Friday | 3 p.m. or 7 p.m. | Quarterfinal | ACCN |
| 23 | Saturday | 1 p.m. or 5 p.m. | Semifinal | ACCN |
| 24 | Sunday | Noon | Championship | ESPN2 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 29–31 | Fri.-Sun. | Regionals | Campus sites | |
| June | ||||
| 5–7 | Fri.-Sun. | Super Regionals | Campus sites | |
| 12–22 | Fri.-Mon | College World Series | Omaha, Neb. |
- Games not on TV stream on ACC Network Extra unless otherwise note.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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