UNC baseball still in control of its destiny after 16-4 win over NC State on Friday

The No. 17 North Carolina baseball team walloped No. 14 N.C. State, 16-4, at Doak Field in Raleigh on Friday night. With the win, the Tar Heels (34-20, 13-16 ACC) can clinch a spot in the ACC Tournament with a Game 3 victory Saturday. 

What happened? 

As it did the night before, UNC jumped all over the Wolfpack (33-18, 14-12 ACC) starting pitcher in the first inning. After Brian Miller grounded out to the pitcher to start the game, five-straight Tar Heels reached base. The latter three — Zack Gahagan, Brandon Riley and Kyle Datres — each came up with RBI hits to give their team a 3-0 lead. 

North Carolina extended its lead in the top of the fourth inning, as sophomore shortstop Logan Warmoth belted a ball over the left-field wall for a two-run home run. But N.C. State answered in the bottom of the inning with a two-run home run of its own, cutting the UNC lead to 5-2 after four innings. 

The Tar Heels broke the game open in the top of the sixth inning. After the leadoff batter struck out looking, UNC loaded the bases for junior centerfielder Tyler Ramirez. 

Ramirez slapped a single past the first baseman, scoring two runs and pushing North Carolina's lead to 7-2. The next batter, Gahagan, bunted home another Tar Heel to extend the lead to 8-2. 

A power outage following the top of the sixth delayed the game for about 20 minutes, and when play continued, it looked like UNC pitcher J.B. Bukauskas was feeling the effects of the extended hiatus. Bukauskas gave up a leadoff double and then a two-run home run that cut the lead to 8-4. He was able to work out of it, however, without allowing any more damage. 

In the top next frame, North Carolina bounced back and scored another five runs, pushing its lead to 13-4 and putting the game out of reach.  

Who stood out?

Warmoth continued his hot streak Friday night, going 2-for-4 with four RBIs and four runs scored. Through the series' first two games, the sophomore is a combined 6-for-9. He currently leads the team with 53 RBIs on the season. 

He also made plays on the defensive end as well, twice turning 6-3 double plays to get pitcher J.B. Bukauskas out of jams. 

Another player who left his mark at the plate was Datres, who came into the series hitting just .239. The infielder went 4-for-6 on the night, picked up an RBI in the top of the first inning and tripled in the top of the ninth inning. 

When was it decided?

It seemed like every time N.C. State threatened to get back into the game after the first inning, the Tar Heels fired back to keep a sizable lead. 

The most important of these outbursts came in the top of the seventh inning. In the previous frame, UNC jumped out to a 8-2 lead, but saw the Wolfpack cut the game to 8-4 after a lengthy power outage. 

When the Tar Heels returned to the batter's box, they put the game out of reach for good. The first two batters reached base, and the next batter — first-year Utah Jones — executed a safety squeeze to score a run. 

After Adam Pate was walked to put runners on first and second, Brian Miller hit a triple to right-center, scoring both runners and pushing the lead to 11-4. 

UNC would tack on two more in the inning, extending its lead to a hefty nine runs. 

Unlike the night before, the Tar Heels were able to string together hits in key situations. North Carolina hit an impressive 14-for-26 with runners on base and 10-for-20 with runners in scoring position. 

Why does it matter?

With the win, UNC is still in full control of its destiny heading into the final game of the regular season. 

The Tar Heels came into Game 2 in 10th place in the ACC, just ahead of Boston College. Only the top-10 teams will make next week's conference tournament in Durham. 

If UNC wins Saturday, it will clinch a spot in the ACC Tournament. If it loses and the Eagles win both games of their Saturday doubleheader, Boston College will take the last spot. 

Where do they play next?

North Carolina and N.C. State will meet in a rubber match at 1 p.m. on Saturday. If the Tar Heels win, they will compete in the ACC Tournament next week. 

@jbo_vernon

sports@dailytarheel.com