The North Carolina baseball team pulled out all the offensive stops against Elon Wednesday night, overpowering the Phoenix en route to a 14-2 victory.
Things got going early for the Tar Heels, who were perhaps still feeling the rhythm that led the team to a 11-2 drubbing of UNC-Ashville the night before.
After Tyler Ramirez and Landon Lassiter led off the bottom of the first with consecutive singles, Korey Dunbar lifted a deep fly ball to left-center, just deep enough for UNC to take a lead it wouldn't relinquish the rest of the night.
The Tar Heels would run into some trouble in the third inning, however, as lefty freshman Hunter Williams struggled to find his command for a second straight start. After walking the bases loaded, Williams was relieved by Trevor Kelley, who made his 101st career appearance for North Carolina.
"(Williams) had unbelievable command right out of the gate, it was like boom-boom-boom... and all of a sudden the wheel came off," said Coach Mike Fox. "But you know they're freshman, they're puppies — they'll grow up to be dogs someday."
Kelley was able to work out of the bases-loaded jam unscathed, and in the bottom of the third, the Tar Heels bats looked poised to put the game out of reach for good.
After Lassiter walked with one out, junior Skye Bolt successfully executed a hit-and-run play to move Lassiter to third. This was the beginning of a six-run inning for the Tar Heels, the latter two coming from a double by Zach Gahagan.
Bolt would prove to be the offensive catalyst for North Carolina the entire night against Elon. In the fourth, just one inning removed from sparking the Tar Heels' six-run frame, Bolt hit a towering two-run home run, his sixth on the year, over the wall in right center. The blast pushed the lead to 10 for UNC.
In total, 10 Tar Heels recorded an RBI on the night, powering the Tar Heels to a season high 14 runs.
