Twenty-one years later, on his birthday Tuesday night, Dunbar understood the gravity of the situation as his team trailed 3-2 to Campbell in the fifth inning. Dunbar responded and snatched at the opportunity to lead his team to victory — the junior finished the night with a home run, two runs scored and three RBIs.
“I texted him this morning and said, ‘Happy birthday, and I hope you have a good day,’” Coach Mike Fox said. “That was at about 7:30 this morning, so he had a good day I think.”
Dunbar slugged a two-RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning, which put his team back on top of Campbell 4-3. His hit sparked a four-run inning that helped the Tar Heels power forward after a sluggish start to the game.
“We definitely needed that in the fifth inning,” said sophomore outfielder Tyler Ramirez. “That double was huge. I think Korey definitely stepped up.”
UNC had planned on playing small-ball in the fifth inning after falling behind by one earlier in the inning. But after Dunbar’s double, the hits and runs began pouring in. The Tar Heels recorded five hits in the inning.
“Hitting is contagious,” Dunbar said, “And you saw that tonight.”
Just an inning later, Dunbar left his mark one last time for the night. The junior blasted a home run off a pitch from Campbell pitcher Bobby Thorson — it was his fifth home run of the season.
But for Dunbar, this home run was just as special as all the others.
