UNC baseball falls 6-2 to UNC-Wilmington in final non-conference game of season

The North Carolina baseball team fell to the UNC-Wilmington, 6-2, on Wednesday night at Brooks Field. With the loss, the Tar Heels (31-18, 10-14 ACC) split the season series with the Seahawks (34-11, 13-3 CAA).

What Happened?

The Seahawks jumped on the first-year pitcher Rodney Hutchison early. After a leadoff walk, Hutchison, who had not given up a home run all season, gave up back-to-back home runs to the heart of the order, giving UNC-W a 3-0 lead. The next batter also drew a walk, and scored on a bloop-single by sophomore Zack Canada. Giving the Seahawks an early 4-0 lead after the first inning.

First-year Cole Aker came in in relief in the second inning and retired the Seahawk batters in order. The Tar Heels were unable to take advantage of having two baserunners on in the top of the third inning,  and Aker’s next inning would not go as smoothly, as he had to pitch around a couple of walks to keep the score at 4-0.

In the bottom of the third inning Aker again struggled with his command. After walking the leadoff hitter, a groundout and wild pitch moved the runner to third, then senior Steven Linkous made Aker pay with a single that would drive in a run.

That was the only hit Aker gave up on the night, but he was replaced by sophomore Brett Daniels soon after. He picked off the runner at first before ever throwing a pitch to the plate. He then followed that up with a strikeout to end the inning.

UNC would pick up its first run of the game in the top of the fifth inning off of a throwing error to first base. UNC-W would get the run right back, however, after Daniels gave up a solo home run in the bottom of the frame.

The Tar Heels missed out on another scoring opportunity in the top of the sixth inning, and they left two more runners on base in the seventh inning, again failing to chip away at the five-run deficit.

North Carolina added one run on Eli Sutherland’s solo home run in the top of the eighth inning to make the score 6-2, but could not add on after leaving another runner stranded on the base paths. The Tar Heels would load the bases in the ninth inning, but again failed to score any runs.

Who stood out?

Redshirt junior Gavin Stupienski was the sparkplug in the lineup for UNC-W. 

The catcher was 2-3 in the game with two walks. His first hit was a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning that put his team up 2-0 early. His second hit came in the bottom of the fifth inning to push the lead back to five after UNC had scored the previous half inning. 

He reached the base two other times on the night, constantly keeping pressure on the Tar Heels' pitching staff.

When was it decided?

In the top of the sixth inning, sophomore Zack Gahagan led off by reaching base on an error by the third baseman. After Kyle Datres singled to give the Tar Heels two runners on with one out, catcher Cody Roberts singled to center. It looked as though the team would get a second run on the board and still only have one out. 

Instead the Seahawks’ right fielder gunned Gahagan out at the plate, ending the momentum. Brian Miller was retired to end the inning. 

Even though the Tar Heels would later score a second run, they would not get another great scoring opportunity until the ninth inning.

Why does it Matter?

This loss leaves the Tar Heels with only two series left in the regular season to improve the team’s NCAA Tournament resume. Had they been able to win this game, it would have given them consecutive wins against quality non-conference opponents. 

Where do they play next?

The Tar Heels come back home on Friday, when they will take on Notre Dame at 7 p.m. in the first game of a three-game series. 

@CPhillips2020

sports@dailytarheel.com