UNC baseball ekes out 7-6 win over defending national champion Coastal Carolina

The No. 8 North Carolina baseball team escaped with a 7-6 win over the defending national champion Coastal Carolina (15-10) with nearly 2,000 people and over 100 dogs watching at Bark at the Bosh day on Tuesday.

What happened?

UNC (19-6) took an early first-inning lead when Logan Warmoth ripped a solo home run over the left field fence. The home run extended Warmoth’s 40-game on base streak and put the Tar Heels in front 1-0.

With a small lead, Tyler Baum went to work against the Chanticleer lineup. The first-year was perfect through three innings before Jordan Gore singled in the fourth. Unfazed, Baum finished out the inning with UNC’s lead intact.

Leading off the fourth, Kyle Datres matched Warmoth’s home run with a solo shot of his own to double UNC’s lead.

Baum finally found trouble in the top of the fifth. Former UNC second baseman Wood Myers started the frame with a solo home run of his own to right field, cutting the Chanticleers’ deficit to 2-1. Coastal Carolina evened the score at two in the very next inning thanks to yet another one-run homer, this time from Billy Cooke. One batter later, head coach Mike Fox sent for righty Brett Daniels to replace Baum.

With the bases loaded and only one out in the seventh, Brian Miller finally broke through with a line drive single to right field. The base hit scored Tyler Lynn and gave the Tar Heels a 3-2 edge. UNC’s next batter, pinch-hitter Brandon Martorano, drew a bases-loaded walk and Datres roped a single into right field, scoring two and extending the lead to 6-2.

After Daniels walked the first batter of the eighth, Fox turned to his closer Josh Hiatt for a non-save situation. Hiatt allowed the inherited run to score, but allowed no other base runners in the inning.

Cody Roberts doubled home another insurance run for UNC, but Coastal Carolina worked a ninth-inning two-out rally, punctuated by a three-run home run from Cory Wood to cut UNC’s lead to 7-6.

After a quick mound conference with Fox, Hiatt remained in the game and allowed the tying run to reach second thanks to a single and stolen base. Against his tenth batter of the night, Hiatt finally closed the door on the Chanticleers’ rally, forcing Billy Cooke to ground out weakly to the catcher Cody Roberts.

Who stood out?

At the plate, Miller provided the big hit when UNC needed it, driving home the Tar Heels’ third run and sparking a seventh-inning rally.

In the seventh, Datres added a two-run single to his solo home run to fourth inning home run. He finished the game two-for-three with three RBIs and a run scored.

When was it decided?

Datres two-run single in the seventh provided critical insurance for the Tar Heels — who had already blown a two-run lead earlier in the game. The four-run lead seemed to give UNC’s hitters a chance to catch their breath, as they added a seventh run in the bottom of the eigth.

This proved critical when Coastal Carolina scored three in the ninth and drew within a run of tying the game before Hiatt finished the job.

Why does it matter?

Any win is a big one against the defending national champions, even if Coastal Carolina lost a lot of talent after last year. The win for UNC also comes at the point in the season when the Tar Heels began their slide out of NCAA Tournament contention last year, and Fox is eager to avoid the same fate.

Where do they play next?

UNC travels to Tallahassee, Fl. for a weekend series with No. 10 Florida State this weekend, kicking off at 6 p.m. on Friday.

sports@dailytarheel.com