For the first three innings Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium, Stony Brook starting pitcher Nick Tropeano looked near unhittable.
The 2010 America East Co-Pitcher of the Year had yielded just one hit during the first third of the contest, a bunt single that trickled through the legs of third baseman Stephen Marino.
But with Colin Moran on first base and one out in the fourth, Jacob Stallings shook Tropeano from his rhythm.
The Tar Heel catcher executed a perfect hit-and-run, advancing Moran to third with a hard ground ball right where Stony Brook second baseman Maxx Tissenbaum had been before he broke to cover the base.
The hit seemed to unravel Tropeano, who fell victim to an error by Tissenbaum before allowing singles to Jesse Wierzbicki and Tom Zengel, the latter of which drove in two runs. By the time Seth Baldwin drove Wierzbicki in with a sacrifice fly, the Tar Heels had scored four runs in the inning en route to a 5-1 win.
North Carolina starter Patrick Johnson had no such misfortune. The senior scattered seven hits during his seven innings of work, but seemed to be able to get big outs whenever he needed them.
He gave up the only SBU run of the game in the top half of the fourth, when center fielder Travis Jankowski reached on a bunt single and scored after a single by Michael Hubbard and a sacrifice fly by Kevin Courtney.
The Seawolves threatened a comeback in the top of the eighth after UNC reliever Jimmy Messer allowed a single and a walk before giving way to Greg Holt. Though a bunt single loaded the bases with one out, Holt struck Hubbard out swinging and forced Courtney to ground out weakly to third to end the inning.
UNC shortstop Levi Michael went 0-3 on the day with a hit-by-pitch, breaking his nine-game hitting streak that began with UNC’s season opener in California.
