Fifth-inning flurry seals win for UNC baseball over Campbell

Everything changed in an instant — or more like three.

Down 3-2 to Campbell heading into the bottom of the fifth inning Tuesday night, the North Carolina baseball team was desperate for offense. Both of the Tar Heels’ runs to that point had come in the first inning, first on a balk and then on a walk with the bases loaded. But after that, nothing.

At least not until the bottom of the fifth.

With runners on the corners and no outs, Korey Dunbar stepped to the plate. Then, with a two-RBI double to left-center, the onslaught began. It was the first of three consecutive doubles for UNC, who went on to win 8-3 on Tuesday night.

“I think we kind of caught a second wind,” Dunbar said.

Dunbar’s double scored Landon Lassiter — who doubled to start the inning — and Tyler Ramirez, giving UNC a 4-3 lead it would never relinquish. The Tar Heels would go on to rack up five of their 11 hits in the fifth inning alone.

“Me and Landon knew we were up, so we were kind of talking in the outfield,” Ramirez said. “We were like, ‘Let’s just get it going, let’s see if we can get something started,’ and luckily we did.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had that many hits in one inning before, so its good to get the offense going.”

After Dunbar’s two-RBI hit, Joe Dudek and Skye Bolt fired doubles of their own to keep the scoring going. By the end of the inning — which both started and ended with a Lassiter at-bat — the Tar Heels had scored four runs.

The team took advantage of Camels pitcher Coley Thompkins, who relieved starter Heath Bowers in the bottom of the fifth. Thompkins threw only seven pitches all night, but in his limited appearance, the senior gave up all three doubles and two earned runs.

And while the team wouldn’t have another outburst like it did in the bottom of the fifth, UNC still managed to rack up a few more runs.

Dunbar hit a solo shot in the sixth, but not to be outdone, Ramirez popped a dinger over the center field wall in the eighth. The homer, Ramirez’s fifth of the season, would be UNC’s last hit of the night.

Trevor Kelly earned the win over the Camels, pitching 4.1 innings in relief and conceding no runs. Starter Benton Moss gave up two earned runs in his 4.2 innings of work.

But in a season where offensive inconsistency has plagued UNC, Tuesday’s fifth-inning outburst proved decisive. The team finished the night with 11 hits, a mark that gave Coach Mike Fox some reassurance.

“Success breeds confidence a little bit, so its nice to see some balls go out of the park tonight,” Fox said. “A big inning for us recently has been two runs, so it’s nice to see us have a big one.

“We needed it.”

sports@dailytarheel.com