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Three former Carolina players are on Opening Day major-league rosters, with Matt Harvey hoping for another chance. Seven others who have made their big-league debuts are starting the season in Triple-A and another is in Double-A. Easily topping the list of former Tar Heels in pro baseball is Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen, who comes off the best of his four major-league seasons and is one of the best pitchers in baseball.
CHAPEL HILL — The power of No. 15 Carolina’s defensive versatility was on full display Saturday. Mac Horvath played his fourth consecutive game in right field, shifting from third base to make way for another power threat, fellow junior and housemate Johnny Castagnozzi, to play at third base. Both hit home runs to lead UNC (18–6, 4–3 ACC) to a 5–3 victory over Duke (15–9, 4–5) to capture the weekend series 2–1.
CHAPEL HILL — A game that started perfectly for Carolina pitching turned into a perfectly frustrating mix of missed opportunities, poor defense and not enough good relief pitching. A No. 15 UNC team that is usually solid on defense — although making some nice plays — tied a season-high with four errors. The slugging Tar Heels, who have 49 home runs in 23 games, failed to go deep for only the fourth time this season.
CHAPEL HILL — Carolina has such an explosive offense that the Tar Heels don’t have to worry much when they fall behind early. They again showed why Thursday, erasing an early three-run deficit before surging to a 6–3 win over Duke in the opener of a three-game weekend series at Boshamer Stadium for their sixth consecutive victory.
CHAPEL HILL — The first month of the season has been a power trip for No. 18 North Carolina, which is hitting home runs at a school-record pace and piling up runs. That continued Wednesday with three home runs, as the Tar Heels scored double-digit runs for the ninth time and at least 14 for the sixth time. UNC collected 17 hits in a 16–2 rout of High Point on a chilly evening at Boshamer Stadium for its third win in a row.
No. 18 North Carolina had it all going right after a bumpy start, as the Tar Heels rolled to a 16–3 road victory over Charlotte on Tuesday.
CHAPEL HILL — With one spectacular, unconventional play, right fielder Casey Cook swiped the momentum No. 14 North Carolina needed to hand No. 17 Virginia its first loss of the season. After Cook stole a home run from Virginia’s Kyle Teel in the fifth inning, the Tar Heels quickly took the lead and rolled to a 6–0 victory. That earned a doubleheader split to salvage a game from their three-game series to open ACC play.
CHAPEL HILL — In Carolina’s first three losses this season, the bullpen wasted good starts. The script flipped for the No. 14 Tar Heels, with the relievers pitching well after a rough night from their starter. Leaving 11 runners on base snuffed UNC’s chances to rally as No. 17 Virginia became the only remaining unbeaten team in the country with a 7–3 victory Friday in the ACC opener for both teams to snap the Heels’ seven-game win streak. Alabama and N.C. State were also unbeaten before losing Friday.
The hits and the power keep coming for No. 14 North Carolina. Against a good Penn State team, the Tar Heels took batting practice Wednesday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium, pounding out 14 hits to blow out the Nittany Lions 15–5 for their seventh consecutive victory.
CHAPEL HILL — It was a lights-out performance from leadoff man Vance Honeycutt and No. 14 North Carolina on Tuesday. An 8–4 lead over Western Carolina after five innings was enough for the Tar Heels (10–3) to claim a shortened victory after the Boshamer Stadium lights wouldn’t come on.
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