After Miami rallied late and took home wins in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader, the North Carolina baseball team made sure to bury the Hurricanes early on Sunday.
With timely hits from the likes of Chaz Frank and Colin Moran, the Tar Heels (32-10, 13-8 ACC) scored five runs in the first two frames, lending support to the dazzling Kent Emanuel. The freshman pitcher acted as a stopper as he notched the first complete game of his career and yielded just one run in the 8-1 victory.
With the win, the Tar Heels salvaged the final game of the series and avoided their sixth straight ACC loss.
“It was an important part of today, scoring runs early in the first inning and getting some big hits with two outs,” coach Mike Fox said. “It took some pressure off us I think, and most importantly, took some pressure off of Kent.”
In the bottom of the first, an infield single by Moran and a walk by Jesse Wierzbicki set up a RBI opportunity for leftfielder Frank, and the sophomore answered by ripping a double to right field. The hit brought two runners home, with one scoring after Miami’s Dale Carey mishandled the ball.
“As I was heading up to the plate, I’m thinking, ‘I need to get off to a good start today. I need to get on top of them,’” Frank said. “I put a good swing on the ball, and it fell and scored the first two runs. It was a good feeling.”
Before the first inning could end, catcher Jacob Stallings drove in another run with a single to right field. That pushed the Tar Heel lead to 3-0, which was already the largest UNC advantage of the series.
But the Tar Heels weren’t done. In the second inning, Moran poked a little opposite- field grounder through the hole between shortstop and third base for a RBI. Then a wild pitch from Miami pitcher E.J. Encinosa created a five-run padding that Miami would never approach.
“I’m never going to complain about a five-run cushion to start off the game,” Emanuel said.
