By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina has made a habit of endurance tests of late, and Saturday demanded nearly five full hours of patience, pitching and drama before squeezing out just enough execution at the end.
The No. 6 Tar Heels survived their second 14-inning marathon in 12 days, outlasting Clemson 6–4 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium to even the series heading into Sunday’s series-deciding 12:30 p.m. finale (ESPN2).
It took one minute short of five hours to get it done.
Carolina (29-6-1, 12-5 ACC), which beat Campbell 5–4 in 14 innings on March 31, trailed into the ninth inning, needed extra innings to stay alive, then finally broke through in the 14th on a safety squeeze that went from daring to decisive in a blink.
The winning sequence began with the kind of messy traffic that defines long games: a single, a walk and an error loaded the bases with one out in the top of the 14th, bringing freshman Tyler Howe to the plate. Clemson changed pitchers. During the warmup tosses, UNC coach Scott Forbes and his staff opted for the boldest play in the book.
He called for the safety squeeze, and Howe put down the bunt perfectly. The Tigers’ hurried throw sailed, scoring two runs, with Jadyn Nunez and Owen Hull both coming around to give the Tar Heels the lead for good.
It was the Tar Heels’ eighth comeback win of the season and fourth in as many extra-inning games.
While Howe’s squeeze delivered the last turning point, the Tar Heels wouldn’t have gotten that far without six shutout relief innings from freshman Caden Glauber (4–0). The right-hander struck out six to give him a team-high 51 in 42 innings.
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UNC starter Ryan Lynch allowed three runs on five hits with three strikeouts in five innings. Reliever Walker McDuffie followed, giving up a run and a hit in three innings before giving way to Glauber.
The Tar Heels racked up 13 hits and seven walks, but never could get a decisive hit until the 14th inning, going 2 of 19 with runners in scoring position and leaving 15 baserunners stranded. Clemson (23–13, 5–9) also missed plenty of chances, leaving 17 runners on base.
Hull went 3 for 6, with Jake Schaffner, Macon Winslow and Cooper Nicholson each collecting two hits for the Tar Heels. Winslow extended his on-base streak to 35 games.
Both teams scored in the second inning, UNC on Colin Hynek’s sacrifice fly and Clemson on Jackson Moore’s RBI single. In the fourth inning, Hull’s RBI single gave Carolina a 2–1 lead, but Jacob Jarrell led off the bottom of that inning with a homer to left-center, and a throwing error led to another Tigers run.
After Clemson made it 4–2 with a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning, UNC tied it with single runs in the eighth and ninth innings.
In the eighth, Nicholson hit an RBI double to left center. In the ninth inning, Schaffner led off with a double down the left field line and scored on Erik Paulson’s fielder’s choice ground ball.
Left-hander Folger Boaz starts Sunday’s finale for UNC against Clemson right-hander Drew Titsworth.
Carolina is in second place in the ACC standings, 2½ games behind No. 3 Georgia Tech (30–5, 15–3), which visits Boshamer Stadium next weekend. The series opener is at 6 p.m. Friday.
No. 6 UNC 6, Clemson 4, 14 innings
| 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
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