UNC walks off against Oklahoma State for third straight game

If the No. 10 North Carolina baseball team has anything this year, it's an affinity for the dramatic. 

Sunday afternoon the Tar Heels (5-1) continued to tear the heart out of visiting No. 12 Oklahoma State, winning in walk-off fashion for the third consecutive game this weekend thanks to an Eli Sutherland RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth inning. 

With the 4-3 victory against the Cowboys (2-5), UNC has now won each of its first two series of the season and is on a four-game winning streak. 

The finale began much the same as Saturday's contest, with Oklahoma State taking an early lead thanks to a first-inning home run. Cowboy shortstop Donnie Walton did everything possible to lead his team to victory, from that two-run blast against Jason Morgan in the first inning, to a double in the fifth and a single in the seventh. 

The highly touted junior finished 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs and two RBI, but it still wasn't enough to hold the Tar Heels at bay. 

After a second consecutive short outing from their starting pitcher — Morgan tossed 4.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits — the Tar Heels again showed the strength of their bullpen. Five different relievers combined to throw the final 4.2 innings, all of which were of the shutout variety. Junior A.J. Bogucki in particular performed well, striking out three batters in 1.2 innings of work without allowing a single base runner. 

That effort from the relievers allowed UNC to hang around, and work more magic in the final frame — something that's starting to become a habit for Coach Mike Fox's young team. After back-to-back walks and a textbook sacrifice bunt from first-year catcher Cody Roberts, Sutherland worked out of an 0-2 count and forced a ground ball through the right side of the infield to drive in two runs and secure the sweep.

North Carolina's bats were silent for most of the day — the team finished with just five hits — but good pitching and solid defense once again allowed the team to stay within striking distance pull another win, seemingly, out of nowhere. 

Quotable

"Yeah we did it again. It’s hard to believe. I’ve been doing this a long time and I can’t recall ever three games in a row walking off a team. But it was exciting. It’s a fun locker room right there, I know that." -- Coach Mike Fox on back-to-back-to-back walk-off wins this weekend. 

Notable

Sophomore center fielder Tyler Ramirez led the Tar Heels with two hits on the day, including a double down the right field line that tied the game 2-2 in the third inning. Ramirez has started the 2016 season on a high note, hitting a team-best .450 (9-for-20) through the first two weeks of play.

Three numbers that matter

.172: UNC's batting average on the day after hitting just 5-for-29 Sunday afternoon. The offense will likely have to improve, as the late-inning heroics will be hard to sustain over the course of the season.

18: The number of strikeouts that Bogucki and Hansen Butler have combined through 11.2 innings of work this year. The two were the highlights of an impressive bullpen this weekend and look to be solid options for Fox to go to as games wear on. 

12: The number of stolen bases the Tar Heels have as a team this season. Fox emphasized the need to take advantage of his team's speed this year, and so far they have only been caught stealing twice.

What's next?

North Carolina has its first midweek game of the season on Wednesday, March 2, with Winthrop coming in to town at 3 p.m. 

@CarlosACollazo

sports@dailytarheel.com