Tar Heels Top Dukes Despite Rain

Due to inclement weather, the No. 1 North Carolina baseball team’s game against James Madison had a premature conclusion Wednesday.

But it didn’t end before the Tar Heels (44-4, 19-3 ACC) could build a 6-1 lead helping them secure a win when the game was canceled in the sixth inning.

Led by a strong pitching performance from right-handed senior Chris Munnelly, UNC held the Dukes to two hits through six innings of work, and Munnelly recorded six strikeouts.

Though Munnelly admittedly came out rusty, walking his first batter, he got hot quick, striking out two batters to close the inning.

“I just had to turn it up a notch after the first batter,” Munnelly said. “Make some better pitches, get ahead in the count and get the job done.”

As the game moved along, Munnelly’s ability to get the job done was critical, too.

In the fourth inning with the game tied 1-1, there were runners on first and third with two outs. Munnelly took it from there.

“It worked for me.”

On the other side of the innings, the Tar Heels had no problems producing run support for Munnelly to make his job easier.

With two RBI and a run, shortstop Michael Russell went 3-for-3, helping the Tar Heels put runs on the board.

“I just kind of saw the ball well and found a couple holes,” Russell said. “That about it.”

With a great start like that, one would think Russell would be disappointed about being rained out, but he said he was fine with the way the game ended even though it would have been nice to finish the game.

Munnelly agreed with Russell’s sentiment and said he’s happy just to have a result.