One day after scoring nine runs in its series-opening win, No. 15 North Carolina’s bats went cold in the first of two games against No. 11 Virginia Saturday, as the Tar Heels lost 2-1 at Boshamer Stadium after the Cavaliers took the lead in the top of the ninth inning.
UNC’s inability to get anything going on offense meant that a quality start by first-year pitcher Luca Dalatri was spoiled.
What happened?
Dalatri, who was making his fourth start for UNC (11-4, 1-1), was great for the Tar Heels, recording five strikeouts over 8.1 innings pitched.
But the young pitcher’s mistakes – which were few and far between – occurred at both the beginning and end of his outing.
With the game tied, Dalatri began the ninth inning by issuing a walk to Virginia (13-2, 1-1) catcher Robbie Coman, who reached second base after a sacrifice bunt. At that point, Dalatri was replaced by first-year relief pitcher Josh Hiatt, who gave up an RBI-single to sophomore first baseman Nate Eikhoff that put the visitors ahead. The run was charged to Dalatri.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, there appeared to be hope for the Tar Heels following a one-out double by sophomore third baseman Kyle Datres, but UNC was unable to send him home.
In the first inning, Dalatri was taken advantage of by his counterpart when Virginia junior pitcher Adam Haseley took the first pitch he saw Dalatri and powered it over the left field fence for his sixth home run of the season, giving the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead.
After the early mistake, Dalatri was impressive for the Tar Heels. Able to locate his pitches well and switch speeds effectively, he didn’t allow a single extra-base hit and held Virginia hitters to 0-5 with runners in scoring position.
