Pitcher Trent Thornton closes door on Seminoles

Trevor Kelley, Tate Parrish and Mason McCullough — all three pitchers had a turn on the mound in the seventh inning of North Carolina’s Monday battle with Florida State. And all three combined for just two outs, loading the bases in a 3-3 game.

Enter freshman closer Trent Thornton. Once he takes the mound, he rarely leaves it.

On Monday, he defused that ticking bomb of an inning by getting third baseman Jose Brizuela to fly out, then stayed on for another two scoreless frames for his ninth win of the season.

It’s the type of performance that Thornton’s teammates have come to expect from him.

“He’s pretty much done that all year,” said junior Brian Holberton, who caught Thornton on Monday and delivered the game-winning hit.

“Talking to him on the mound, he’s just dead focused. He’s the perfect person on our team for that closer role.”

Since transitioning from being a mid-week starter to a full-time closer in the last few weeks, Thornton has tallied six saves and has earned himself All-ACC second team honors by leading all ACC pitchers with a 1.43 ERA.

“I’m starting to get used to it, knowing that later in games I’m going to get called on if the game’s close,” Thornton said. “And I think it’s easier to prepare for a save now because I know mentally what to prepare for. I’ve gotten used to the adrenaline and the pressure and the intensity.”

Before this season, Thornton had never closed a game in his life. He had never recorded a save, and he had also never blown one.

In the past couple of weeks, Thornton has experienced both sides of the role. On May 12, he surrendered three runs in the ninth against Georgia Tech in what became the first UNC series loss of the season. Five days later, he delivered three punchouts against Virginia to help UNC notch its first regular season title in 23 years.

Those types of experiences will only benefit Thornton as UNC heads into postseason play, coach Mike Fox said — particularly the negative ones.

“Trent Thornton needs to pitch in games where he experiences some failure,” Fox said. “I mean, that’s how you get better … It’s just part of the process of baseball.”

Thornton said he thinks the high intensity of recent games against top conference foes like Virginia and Florida State will help him prepare for the bigger stage of the ACC Tournament, which begins for UNC on Thursday.

Thornton is still a starting pitcher at heart. He said if given the choice he would prefer to be in the weekend rotation.

But he’s aware of the importance of his role, and he’s embraced it.

“It’s what I hoped for — I wanted to help the team win if possible,” Thornton said. “(I wanted to) get as many innings as I could personally. I didn’t necessarily see myself being a closer because I started in high school and everything.

“But I’m making the best of the situation.”

And so far, he’s also been the best man for the job.