The rivalry has bred these types of close games, especially over the last few years. Just two years ago, in 2013, the two went 18 innings in the ACC Tournament and later matched up in the College World Series. And when things looked to be heading a similar way Saturday, UNC fans knew they needed to make their presence felt.
As N.C. State’s Tommy DeJuneas took the mound against UNC’s Skye Bolt in the 10th, the sea of light blue focused its energy on trying to throw him off his game.
DeJuneas walked Bolt. Then Landon Lassiter. Then Tyler Ramirez.
By the time Zack Gahagan stepped into the batter’s box, the bases were loaded with no outs. The North Carolina dugout could see what the crowd was doing to DeJuneas, as the players waved their hands to get the crowd louder. By the time both DeJuneas and Gahagan settled in, the roar of the crowd was almost deafening.
“When the crowd gets excited, we get excited,” Gahagan said. “We were just trying to make things happen, and when the crowd gets behind us, it’s a good feeling.”
But this wasn’t the case for DeJuneas. With a 1-1 count, the Charlotte, N.C., native threw a fastball high and a little too tight to Gahagan. The pitch nailed Gahagan in the left forearm, sending Bolt home and handing UNC the game 3-2.
UNC won in the bottom of the 10th without a hit and only totaled five the entire game. This was the story for the Tar Heels all weekend against their intrastate rivals. They didn’t produce much offense, but when they did, it was when they absolutely needed it.
In the first game of the series, UNC only amassed three hits, but in the end, they had the only one that mattered. In the bottom of the seventh with the score tied at one, Bolt hit a deep shot over the wall in right-center that proved to be the deciding run in the Tar Heels’ 2-1 win.
