Tar Heel baseball winning streak hits 10 games

In its first midweek game without center fielder Skye Bolt-, the No.1 North Carolina baseball team needed some electricity.

Coastal Carolina (24-13) pitcher Austin Kerr — who hadn’t pitched more than five innings all year — managed to hold the Tar Heels hitless into the sixth inning.

But with one out and a man on first base, senior Chaz Frank sent a thunderous shot to right center. The ball ricocheted off the outfield wall, and Frank pulled into third with UNC’s first hit — an RBI triple that evened the score at one.

“He adds a spark to us,” coach Mike Fox said.

A Colin Moran sacrifice fly brought Frank in, and the Tar Heels (35-2) grabbed hold to a lead they would not relinquish.

Fox said the knock was a relief for a team not used to having a goose egg in the hit column.

“It lets the air out a little bit,” Fox said. “Anytime you’re being no-hit and you get your first hit and it creates a run for you as well … it’s like, ‘OK, if that’s what we were waiting on, we’ll take it.’”

While the Tar Heels were uncharacteristically struggling in the batter’s box, they had no trouble on the mound as senior right-hander Chris Munnelly held the Chanticleers to only five hits and one run — a solo shot over the right field wall in the top of the fourth.

Frank said his pitcher’s performance put UNC in the position to pull back into the game.

“It does take pressure off us hitters,” Frank said. “Sometimes we only have to throw up two runs, three runs, and we’re going to get the job done.”

The feeling is mutual. Munnelly said he had added confidence that stemmed from North Carolina’s booming bats of late.

“I just know that if I keep doing my job it’s just a matter of time before they put runs on the board,” Munnelly said.

As he predicted, Munnelly’s teammates gave him some breathing room.

Frank’s triple seemed to break through an invisible barrier for the Tar Heels, who only managed three more hits in the game, but all but one of the knocks drove in a run to put UNC up 5-1 in the seventh.

The Chanticleers threatened late in the game after Munnelly was pulled to a standing ovation and replaced by Chris McCue. Two innings later, with two outs and two on base in the top of the ninth, freshman Trent Thornton was called from the bullpen to close the book.

The first batter Thornton faced singled to left field to load the bases, but a groundout on a full count gave him the save.

“When the game’s on the line like the game was on the line tonight, then let’s go to Trent,” Fox said. “It wasn’t a save situation, we were four runs up, but we thought about it … (and) it worked.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.