By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — After enduring its worst inning of the season, North Carolina’s bullpen shut down No. 22 Boston College as the Tar Heels’ potent offense ignited a gritty comeback.
The Tar Heels overcame a four-run deficit to pull off an 8–7 victory Saturday at Boshamer Stadium to earn a series-clinching victory over the Eagles. Coach Scott Forbes appreciated the win, even if it came with flaws.
“I’ve never seen a bad win,” Forbes said. “It was a gutty win.”
It was another comeback in a growing list for a team that has learned not to panic.
“You’ve got to be as good, if not better, when you do get down,” said Forbes, after his team’s seventh come-from-behind victory. “If you play UNC, the other team is going to have to play 27 outs.”
That mentality showed again on Saturday, even after the six-run BC fifth inning could have flipped the game for good.
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“When you lose [in the series opener] against a really good team like Boston College, and you find a way to still win the series, that says a lot about the toughness of your team,” Forbes said. “Our guys had a great approach.”
Relievers Matthew Matthijs, Jackson Rose and Walker McDuffie (top photo) combined to pitch four shutout relief innings to finish off the win for Carolina (27–5–1, 11–4 ACC), after struggles from starter Folger Boaz and reliever Camron Seagraves, all of whom were part of that tough fifth inning against BC (22–11, 9–6).
McDuffie, who threw 63 pitches in the first two games of the series, didn’t show any ill effects from his big workload. Forbes said he trusted McDuffie with that load on three successive days and trusted the sophomore’s feel.
“He told me [each day he] felt better than he did the day before,” Forbes said. “He said, ‘I feel like I definitely have probably at least two innings.’ You can’t lie to me because you know how you feel. I don’t know how you feel, so we have to be on the same page.”
McDuffie showed he thrives on the pressure of late-inning situations.
“The more pressure, the better, especially here,” McDuffie said. “I don’t think there’s any difference in the last out of the game and maybe an out in the sixth inning, because regardless, they can both change the game for a win or a loss.”
After Rose walked the leadoff batter in the eighth inning, McDuffie retired the next three Eagles. He gave up a two-out single in the ninth before striking out Jack Toomey swinging with the tying run on first base to secure his second save in as many games.
When the game tightened late, McDuffie delivered once more, leaning on a deep arsenal that has evolved over the past year.
“He’s got legitimate three pitches, and he does have one of the country’s best sliders,” Forbes said. “The whiff rate on that thing is really high. But your chances to hit that slider are way better if you just sit, sit, sit [on the slider]. So, if you decide to sit here, just throw 94 by you, which he’s starting to learn to do.”
Rose (2–0; below photo), who threw 71 pitches Tuesday against Campbell, didn’t give up a hit in 1⅔ innings but walked three. Forbes leaned heavily on Rose despite a taxing week.
“Thought Rose grabbed us some outs off three days’ rest,” Forbes said, noting that Rose also threw to live hitters on Monday. “He basically threw a complete game on Tuesday, but he told us he was ready to go, and then McDuffie was McDuffie.”
Walks were a problem in the series for UNC, which issued eight free passes on Saturday and 20 in the series, but the Tar Heels turned two double plays to give them seven for the series.
“You can’t defend a walk, and eventually they catch up to you,” he said, trying to point out these sorts of deficiencies in wins so that his team doesn’t get complacent. “We want to win a national championship. Here are the things we have to do. We have to be really good on the bases, and we have to cut back on these free passes. We’ll work on that.”
Boaz (4⅔ innings, 3 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts) walked back-to-back batters to start the second inning, but after two consecutive swinging strikeouts, Kyle Wolff’s double down the left-field line gave BC a 1–0 lead.
Carolina got the first earned run off BC left-hander Brady Miller (5 innings, 8 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts) in 15 innings when it scored three on him in the third inning. A walk and back-to-back singles with one out, the second by Gavin Gallaher, drove in a run, then Macon Winslow’s two-out double to left field plated two more.
The day was over for Boaz after he gave up a walk and a double in BC’s six-run fifth inning, the most runs Carolina has given up in an inning this season.
“I thought Folger was the best he’s been all season,” said Forbes, who added that he only took Boaz out because BC’s Nick Wang was hitting around .430 against left-handers.
Seagraves allowed all four batters he faced to reach, including RBI doubles from Ty Mainolfi and Jack Toomey. Matthijs came on and gave up an RBI single to Luke Gallo and allowed the sixth run to score on a wild pitch.
UNC got two runs back in the sixth when Winslow led off with a double to right-center, and Owen Hull walked to end Miller’s day. Winslow scored on a fielder’s choice, and Hull came home on Cooper Nicholson’s sacrifice fly.
Winslow said the Tar Heels did not treat the deficit like a crisis.
“We knew that we weren’t going to win it in one swing, but chip away each batter, each guy does their job,” Winslow said. “We knew we were in that game and there was a lot of game left.”
Carolina took advantage of three walks in the three-run seventh inning to take the lead. A wild pitch by BC reliever John Kwiatkowski scored one, and Hull’s single through the right side of the infield scored the other two.
“Obviously, there are some things that, as a head coach, I want us to do better,” Forbes said. “But that was a great team win.”
Notes
— UNC is back at home at 7 p.m. Tuesday to face Charlotte (18–13), which has lost three in a row after being swept in a series at East Carolina, capped by the Pirates’ 15–5 seven-inning run-rule win Saturday. East Carolina scored 11 runs in the first inning.
— Carolina moved to 3–3 against ranked teams.
— The Tar Heels lead the all-time series with BC 36–8, including 19–4 in Chapel Hill.
— UNC got the leadoff man on base in four of eight innings and was 5 of 16 with runners on base.
— Before the game, UNC honored Chapel Hill native and Carolina alumna U.S. Air Force Captain Carly Collette, a KC-46 Tanker pilot who flew 31 combat missions and returned Wednesday from a deployment.
No. 6 UNC 8, No. 22 BC 7
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. 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. 2 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. 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 | Thur.-Sat. | W, 9–4; W, 17–7 (8); L, 7–2 | at N.C. State | 43–10–1, 22–8 |
| ACC tournament | Charlotte | |||
| 22 | Friday | W, 10–4 | Quarterfinal vs. Virginia Tech | 44–10–1 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 13–5 | Semifinal vs. Pittsburgh | 45–10–1 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 13–6 | Championship vs. No. 2 Ga. Tech | 45–11–1 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| Chapel Hill Regional | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 8–0 | VCU | 46–11–1 |
| 30–31 | Sat.–Sun. | W, 7–5; W, 9–3 | East Carolina | 48–11–1 |
| June | ||||
| Chapel Hill Super Regionals | ||||
| 5–7 | Fri.–Sun. | L, 9–5; W, 4–0; W, 4–3 | Southern Cal | 50–12–1 |
| College World Series | Omaha, Neb. | |||
| 12 | Friday | W, 6–2 | No. 18 Ole Miss | 51–12–1 |
| 14, 17 | Sun., Wed. | W, 5–2; W, 12–7 | No. 9 West Virginia | 53–12–1 |
| 20–22 | Sat.-Mon. | L, 9–3; W, 6–2; L, 13–2 | CWS Finals vs. Oklahoma | 54–14–1 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
