By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Duke was like a boxer who got KO’d eight days earlier and came back for more, only to run into the same kind of punishment.
No. 2 North Carolina again had a withering offensive punch, with former Blue Devils star Macon Winslow delivering the biggest blows with a career-high five RBI to back shutdown pitching.
Picking up where they left off in a 17-run win in Durham, the Tar Heels relentlessly pounded Duke pitching again in a 13–0 victory Sunday before 4,004 fans at Boshamer Stadium, their second consecutive run-rule win over their rivals and 10th this season.
Winslow, who was 3 of 11 in the series at Durham, pounded out three hits (as many as Duke had as a team) and his eighth home run of the season, a two-run 416-foot shot to center field in the second inning.
“A lot of my buddies are on the other team, so it’s pretty cool seeing them for another weekend,” Winslow said. “But for the preparation part, I try to treat it no different than a Georgia Tech, LeMoyne, trying to treat every single game the same.”
It was a non-conference game at the end of the first exam week for both teams, marking the first time in 74 years that the rivals had played four regular-season games. After a humbling 12–2 loss to No. 9 Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, the Tar Heels (37–9–1) were all business with a shuffled lineup.
“It’s a tough group,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “They had a bad taste in their mouth, and they want to get that taste out.”
Winslow said the response began on Wednesday when Gavin Gallaher called a meeting.
“We had a players-only meeting, position players only, and just emphasized being a tougher out,” Winslow said. “It felt like we were giving away at-bats a little bit in the Coastal game. Gavin Gallaher was a big voice. He called it as captain and pretty much led everything.”
And after Tuesday’s stumble, Winslow said the mindset was as important as any mechanical tweak.
“Just kind of went out there with nothing to lose,” Winslow said. “I think that’s the best mindset to have. This team, you’ve seen how we come back late in games and come back with wins, so just going out there with that attitude, nothing to lose.”
Three Tar Heels batted in positions in the order for the first time this season: Owen Hull at No. 2, Gallaher at No. 3 and Erik Paulsen at No. 4. For only the second time this season, Cooper Nicholson batted fifth and Winslow sixth.
Forbes said the lineup shuffle was less about responding to the Coastal loss and more about run production, even during a week when academics compete for attention.
“You can’t be afraid to change the lineup if you feel like it, even if you’ve been winning,” Forbes said. “How do we score more runs?”
UNC junior right-hander Jason DeCaro (winner, 8–2), pitching on nine days of rest, eclipsed the 200 career strikeout mark. His total is now 202 after three two-hit shutout innings with a walk and four strikeouts. Sophomore right-hander Ryan Lynch picked it up from there, throwing three one-hit shutout innings with one walk and five strikeouts. Freshman Caden Glauber pitched a scoreless seventh with a strikeout to finish off the victory.
“I thought Jason was the rustiest, which didn’t surprise me,” Forbes said. “I thought about starting him against Coastal. Still think maybe I should have off four days rest.”
Forbes was more emphatic about what he saw from Lynch from the first pitch, who has been working to regain more variation with his slider.
“One thing Lynch has been working on is his slider,” Forbes said. “Last year, he could do two different things with it. This year, it’s kind of just been one type of slider. We had that back today.”
Lynch said the progress has been a point of emphasis since last weekend.
“It’s just been a pitch that’s not really been super-effective, especially last weekend,” Lynch said. “It was a lot more effective today, which is nice.”
Nine days after UNC only got five hits, three walks and one run in 7⅔ innings off Peter Lemke (loser, 2–5), Duke’s starter lasted eight batters, got one out and gave up four hits and all six first-inning runs. The first five batters reached as 12 Tar Heels batted, producing four hits and four walks, getting RBI singles from Gallaher and Winslow and a sacrifice fly from Jake Schaffner.
Forbes said the key against Lemke was to stay disciplined and use the gaps rather than swing for a perfect pull-side outcome.
“Last week, our approach was completely different,” Forbes said. “We were a little too big against him, and he’s going to throw a lot of off-speed. You have to stay with your approach no matter what he has going on. Today we talked about using the gap more.”
UNC added a run in the third inning when Carter French led off with a single and scored on Hull’s groundout. Winslow’s RBI double highlighted the two-run fourth inning. Carolina scored on Duke (23–24) in nine consecutive innings before failing to score in the fifth inning. The Heels added two in the sixth inning on Colin Hynek’s RBI triple and Rom Kellis V’s RBI single.
Lynch said he felt the benefit of the bullpen role.
“I missed coming out of the pen,” Lynch said. “It was a lot of fun. There are a lot less variables coming out of the bullpen, and it’s a lot more simple, straightforward.”
He also opened his outing by winning a full count by striking out the batter looking, a point of emphasis for him as he continues to refine his command. He struck out the second batter swinging on four pitches.
“It’s just not wasting pitches and not making counts too long,” Lynch said. “They don’t need to be.”
Winslow, who has been banged up and got a rest day from his catching duties as the designated hitter, said the pitching staff’s depth stood out in a clean, seven-inning victory.
“It’s a special group,” Winslow said. “To see a group like that come out today with J and Lynch and Glauber on the back end in one game, that’s pretty special.”
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Notes
— UNC plays its next-to-last regular-season nonconference game at 5:30 Wednesday (ACC Network Extra) when Big-South-leading Winthrop comes to Boshamer Stadium. The Eagles (30–18) took two of three over the weekend at UNC Asheville, losing 9–0 on Sunday.
— Gallaher had batted second in every previous game this season. Hull had batted third in the previous nine games and hit No. 5 before that. Paulson had hit fifth in recent games and hit third for 30 games from late February to mid-April.
— UNC and Duke played more than three times in a season for the first time since they split four games in 2009, with the Tar Heels winning the ACC tournament meeting. It is the 18th time they’ve met four times in a season, but the first time all four have happened in the regular season since 1952.
— UNC leads the all-time series with Duke 205–109–2, including 114–48–1 in Chapel Hill and 3–1 this season.
— The game was on ACC Network, making Carolina 7–2 this season in games on linear TV.
— It was only the third time Duke has been shut out this season.
— The Blue Devils only had a baserunner at second base twice and never got a runner to third base.
No. 2 UNC 13, Duke 0 (7)
ACC standings
| League | GB | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Georgia Tech | 25–5 | — | 45–9 |
| No. 2 North Carolina | 22–8 | 3 | 43–10–1 |
| No. 11 Florida State | 19–11 | 6 | 38–15 |
| No. 23 Boston College | 17–13 | 8 | 36–20 |
| Wake Forest | 16–14 | 9 | 38–18 |
| Miami | 16–14 | 9 | 36–17 |
| Virginia Tech | 15–15 | 10 | 29–23 |
| Virginia | 14–16 | 11 | 35–20 |
| N.C. State | 14–16 | 11 | 32–21 |
| Stanford | 13–17 | 12 | 27–25 |
| Notre Dame | 13–17 | 12 | 30–21 |
| Louisville | 13–17 | 12 | 30–26 |
| California | 12–18 | 13 | 29–25 |
| Pittsburgh | 11–19 | 14 | 30–23 |
| Clemson | 10–20 | 15 | 31–25 |
| Duke | 10–20 | 15 | 24–29 |
Thursday-Saturday series
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh — Pitt, 6–3; ND, 6–4; ND, 21–10 (7)
Virginia at Louisville — Va., 8–3; UL, 12–2; UL, 10–5
Miami at No. 11 Florida State — FSU, 7–6 (11); FSU, 11–1; Miami, 7–4
Wake Forest at Duke — WF, 7–2; WF, 7–2; Duke, 7–3
Clemson at Virginia Tech — VT, 5–1; VT, 2–1; Clemson, 10–7
No. 3 Georgia Tech at No. 23 Boston College — GT swept 9–0, 14–1, 15–2 (7)
No. 2 North Carolina at N.C. State — UNC, 9–4; UNC, 17–7 (8); State, 7–2
Stanford at California — Stanford, 7–6; Cal, 4–3; Cal, 2–1
End of regular season
ACC tournament
Tuesday through May 24
Truist Field in Charlotte
| 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
