By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — No. 2 Carolina rode pitching and power to come off the exam break impressively.
Other than rustiness from ace reliever Walker McDuffie, the Tar Heels were dominant on the mound, as three solo home runs were more than enough to support impressive outings from right-handers Jason DeCaro and Caden Glauber.
The Tar Heels coasted to a 4–1 victory Friday at Boshamer Stadium to hand Pittsburgh its fifth consecutive loss.
“I thought DeCaro set the tone. I thought he was outstanding,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said.
The homers by Gavin Gallaher, Macon Winslow and Cooper Nicholson, all off Pitt starter Antonio Doganiero (5–4; 6 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts), helped the Tar Heels (38–9–1, 18–7 ACC) take control early.
DeCaro (9–2), UNC’s junior ace, impressively battled through long counts to strike out seven and walk only one in five shutout innings.
“I thought he made some really big pitches,” Forbes said. “Thought about him running back out there in the sixth, but he did have a high pitch count in one inning. Got to take care of him.”
DeCaro lowered his ACC-leading ERA to 1.91, with opponents now hitting .147 against him. Four of the first five batters for Pitt (28–19, 10–15) worked full counts.
“I don’t feel like the command was really there early on, especially,” DeCaro said. “But once it goes through three-two, just really trying to compete and make the hitter beat you, not trying to beat myself. When I’m in those counts, just trying to give him something to hit and challenge him.”
But DeCaro needed only 23 pitches to strike out five consecutive batters after giving up back-to-back singles to start the second inning.
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“After that second hit, I kind of realized, all right, I just have to go out there and compete,” DeCaro said. “Can’t try to figure out my delivery. Can’t try to figure out these misses. I just have to go out there and compete.”
DeCaro stranded two runners in scoring position in the fifth inning when he elicited an inning-ending groundout on his 93rd pitch and sixth 3–2 count.
“If you know much about Pitt, one of the better offenses in the league, also one of the better strike-zone-control teams,” Forbes said. “We might have some deep counts because they work deep counts, and we just have to win that 3–2 count. We have to win that 3–1 count, which our guys did.”
Pitching for the first time in 10 days, sophomore right-hander McDuffie didn’t have his usual command, exiting after getting only one sixth-inning out, tied for his shortest career outing. McDuffie gave up a single and three consecutive walks, the latter bringing in Pitt’s only run.
“That’s my fault,” Forbes said of McDuffie’s long stretch between games. “Should have found a way to [get him in a game].”
Glauber came on and induced an inning-ending double play on his second pitch. The freshman threw 3⅔ one-hit shutout innings with a walk and five strikeouts. Glauber struck out the side in the ninth inning to earn his fourth save, tying McDuffie for the team lead.
“It seems to me like the less these guys think, the better they are sometimes,” Forbes said. “Globe, he’s not a big thinker. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just kind of who Globe is. He’s gonna go out there and just compete.”
Forbes said the double play flipped the inning and kept Carolina in control after McDuffie’s shaky return.
“Getting that double-play ball, obviously, was huge for us,” Forbes said. “Momentum got back to our side.”
Glauber kept that momentum, too, and said his best version of himself Friday started with a pitch he has been trying to re-establish.
“My fastball, finally,” Glauber said of his best pitch. “Not having to rely on my sliders is really big. Trying to get ahead of your fastball. It’s been struggling a little bit this season, but having a fastball be on command is good.”
Forbes said Glauber’s efficiency, and the way the Tar Heels recovered after the lone wobbly frame, was the difference in a game that stayed tight longer than Carolina wanted.
“Caden Glauber was outstanding, efficient 40 pitches, which was really good,” Forbes said. “He’ll be available [Saturday]. May not use him, but that’s good to see him.”
It was the ninth homer for both Gallaher and Winslow. Gallaher’s was a 403-foot shot with two outs in the first inning off the bricks to the right of the scoreboard in left-center field. Winslow’s was a 353-foot drive to left field to lead off the second inning. Nicholson’s booming 391-foot drive to left-center with two outs in the fourth was his team-leading 12th home run.
“We haven’t really been a team that has lived off the home run, but that was good to see,” Forbes said. “We drove some balls, and those balls are pretty much no-doubters.”
Winslow’s bases-loaded eighth-inning sacrifice fly tacked on an insurance run, and Forbes said it helped Carolina turn three solo shots into a more comfortable finish.
“[Hitting] coach [Jesse Wierzbicki] was out there talking to him on deck, said, ‘Hey, just hit a fly ball. Get a sac fly.’ That’s exactly what he did,” Forbes said. “And when you get that extra run, even though we didn’t have the big inning, that deflates the other dugout, and obviously it’s hard to get the tying run to the plate.”
Notes
— Sophomore right-hander Ryan Lynch (3–4, 3.82 ERA) starts Saturday’s noon game for UNC, but Pitt hasn’t named a starter. In Sunday’s 1 p.m. series finale, junior left-hander Folger Boaz (3–1, 6.64 ERA), who had been scheduled to start the Wednesday game with Winthrop that was canceled, opposes Pitt redshirt junior right-hander Drew Lafferty (4–3, 5.51 ERA).
— Junior center fielder Owen Hull entered the series leading the team in batting average (.379), on-base percentage (.491), hits (66), doubles (17), RBI (56) and second in slugging percentage (.546), OPS (1.037), walks (33) and steals (16).
— Last season, Gallaher hit 10 of his 17 home runs after April.
— UNC hit at least three homers for the seventh time this season, and fourth against ACC teams. The Tar Heels have hit multiple home runs for the 16th time this season, half coming in ACC play.
— Carolina leads the all-time series with Pitt 23–12, including 14–2 in Chapel Hill.
— Pitt had won four straight games, including a sweep of Virginia, before its five-game losing streak. The Panthers were swept last weekend at Florida State. This is Pitt’s third consecutive series against a ranked team.
No. 2 UNC 4, Pitt 1
ACC standings
| League | GB | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Georgia Tech | 20–5 | — | 40–8 |
| No. 2 North Carolina | 18–7 | 2 | 38–9–1 |
| No. 22 Boston College | 17–10 | 4 | 35–16 |
| No. 14 Florida State | 16–9 | 4 | 35–14 |
| Miami | 14–12 | 6½ | 34–15 |
| Wake Forest | 14–13 | 7 | 33–17 |
| N.C. State | 12–12 | 7½ | 30–17 |
| Virginia Tech | 13–14 | 8 | 26–21 |
| No. 23 Virginia | 12–13 | 8 | 32–17 |
| Louisville | 11–15 | 9½ | 27–24 |
| Stanford | 10–14 | 9½ | 23–22 |
| Pittsburgh | 10–15 | 10 | 28–19 |
| Notre Dame | 11–16 | 10 | 25–20 |
| California | 9–16 | 11 | 25–23 |
| Duke | 9–16 | 11 | 23–26 |
| Clemson | 8–17 | 12 | 29–21 |
Thursday-Saturday series
Louisville at Miami — Thursday: Miami, 13–8; Friday: UL, 16–9 (11); Saturday: 2 p.m.
Friday-Sunday series
Pittsburgh at No. 2 North Carolina — Friday: UNC, 4–1; Saturday: noon; Sunday: 1 p.m.
Western Carolina at Wake Forest — Friday: WF, 6–1; Saturday: 6 p.m.; Sunday: 1 p.m.
No. 14 Florida State at Clemson — Friday: FSU, 8–4; Saturday: 6 p.m.; Sunday: 3 p.m. (ESPN2)
California at Virginia — Friday: Cal, 7–4; Saturday: 4 p.m.; Sunday: 1 p.m.
Oakland at Notre Dame — Friday: ND, 2–0; Saturday: 2 p.m.; Sunday: 1 p.m.
Duke at No. 3 Georgia Tech — Friday: GT 10–9 (10); Saturday: 3 p.m.; Sunday: 1 p.m.
N.C. State at Stanford — Friday: 9:05; Saturday: 5:05; Sunday: 4 p.m.
Sunday’s other nonconference games
UNCG at Virginia Tech, 1 p.m.
NJIT at Boston College, 1 p.m.
| 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. No. 23 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. 22 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. 8 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; noon, 1 | vs. Pittsburgh | 38–9–1, 18–7 |
| 12 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | at UNCW | |
| 14–16 | Thurs.-Sat. | 7, 6, 1 | at N.C. State | Thurs. ACCN |
| 19–24 | Tues.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Charlotte | ACCN (final ESPN2) |
| 29–31 | Fri.-Sun. | NCAA Regionals | Campus sites | |
| June | ||||
| 5–7 | Fri.-Sun. | NCAA 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
