During the first two games of its home series against Duke, the No. 12 North Carolina baseball team fell behind early, but managed to respond with big innings late in the game. The third time, it seemed, would do them harm.
But trailing 6-3 with one out and two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth inning, UNC third baseman Colin Moran conjured a line drive that cleared the right-field fence and erased eight innings of sub-par baseball.
Two innings later, catcher Jacob Stallings hit a chopper over Duke’s drawn-in third baseman to score Tommy Coyle from third, sweeping the Blue Devils with a 7-6, 11-inning victory and extending UNC’s winning streak to nine.
“We just can’t keep climbing from behind,” UNC coach Mike Fox said. “At some point it’s going to run out on you, but we had some magic today. I thought we were really fortunate to win, honestly.”
UNC (23-3, 7-2 ACC) opened the series on its back foot when Friday starter Patrick Johnson arrived at the ballpark without his fastball. The junior struggled to command his heater in the first inning, and gave up four runs abetted by a walk and a hit batsman.
Johnson would slow his delivery and find his form in the second inning, retiring 13 of the final 17 batters he faced to facilitate the first Tar Heel rally of the weekend.
“I was rushing my mechanics, and that’s why everything was above the belt — and it’s a lot easier to hit when everything’s above the belt,” Johnson said. “You have to recuperate. I came in the back and just gathered myself and said, ‘All right, just start over and get going from here.’”
Duke starter Dennis O’Grady was behind in the count all day, and in the fifth inning, the Tar Heels made him pay. O’Grady walked two UNC hitters and allowed the first three of the frame to reach base.
After O’Grady was relieved by Ben Grisz, Brian Holberton smacked a bases-loaded triple beneath the glove of diving left fielder Anthony D’Alessandro as UNC posted a five-spot to grab a 7-4 lead en route to an 8-5 win.
