Tar Heels win with big innings against Wake

North Carolina’s bats never stayed for an entire game against Wake Forest this weekend. They came late, left early or just stopped by for the middle of the game. Somehow, though, they still won the Tar Heels the series.

No. 5 UNC (22-6, 9-3 ACC) split the first two games of the series before taking the deciding game on Sunday.

UNC fell to the Demon Deacons (19-11, 5-7 ACC) 7-6 in 12 innings on Friday but bounced back to win 7-3 on Saturday and 4-3 on Sunday on a walkoff single by Parks Jordan in the bottom of the ninth.

It was the first time since 1990 that the Tar Heels won each of their first four conference series.

In each game, UNC relied almost completely on one big inning for its runs. Shortstop Tommy Coyle said that’s not always a good thing.

“This weekend it was good that we had those big innings, but it can be a problem,” Coyle said. “We’ll take one big inning if that’s what gets us a win, but we’re trying to work on getting good at-bats throughout the game. We’ve got to stay locked in.”

In Sunday’s rubber match, UNC’s big inning was the fifth, when it scored three times to go up 3-2. But closer Michael Morin blew the one-run lead in the ninth with two outs, nobody on base and two strikes on Brett Armour.

Armour doubled down the left-field line after a 10-pitch at-bat. Then Morin threw Evan Stephens’ bunt into right field, allowing the tying run to score.

“It wasn’t running through my head that the guy’s bunting and I have to be a hero,” Morin said. “I just screwed up. I tried to go too quick and didn’t get my feet under me. Thankfully it didn’t cost us.”

Coach Mike Fox said he would rather have had Morin hold the bunt and face the next hitter with men on first and third.

But the Tar Heels came through in the bottom of the ninth. Michael Russell led off with a single and stole second. A few batters later, Jordan scored him with a looping single to left.

Morin actually ended up with the win since UNC won the game in the bottom of the ninth, immediately after his blown save.

On Friday, the big inning was the eighth. The Tar Heels managed only one run during the first seven innings and entered the eighth trailing 6-1. But they came up with a five-run rally capped by Jordan’s two-out, three-run double into the right-field corner.

It still wasn’t enough. UNC didn’t score again, and Wake Forest’s Mark Rhine looped a sacrifice fly to right in the 12th to score the game-winning run.

Morin took the loss despite pitching four strong innings after entering the game in the ninth. His offense never picked him up.

UNC tied the series on Saturday behind another five-run inning.

North Carolina scored five runs in the first, riding back-to-back doubles by middle-of-the-order hitters Jacob Stallings and Cody Stubbs, then cruised to a win.

Russell had the big blow, a two-run double that bounced just fair over the third-base bag and put the Tar Heels up 4-0.

Hobbs Johnson earned his first win of the season in relief, giving up two unearned runs in 2.1 innings.

Fox said he didn’t want his team to start depending on high-scoring innings going forward.

“You can’t rely on the big inning in college baseball,” he said. “It just doesn’t work. I don’t know how many five-run innings we’ve had … but I would venture to say not many.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.