The No. 8 North Carolina baseball team fell to No. 18 St. John's, 5-4, on Wednesday at Boshamer Stadium
What happened?
Early on, it was all Tar Heels (8-1). UNC jumped on the Red Storm early courtesy of an RBI single from Zack Gahagan in the bottom of the first.
But this lead did not hold for long. St. John's (8-0) was able to push across a run of their own off UNC starter Cole Aker in the second inning. In true see-saw fashion, the Tar Heels were able to plate another run in the bottom of the second via Josh Ladowski's first career hit, only to see the Red Storm tie it up in the next half inning.
North Carolina was able to break the chain by tallying two runs in the bottom of the third via some slick base running and a Cody Roberts RBI single. That 4-2 count would hold until the top of the seventh, when St. John's shortstop Jesse Berardi crushed a pitch over the fence in right center with a man on to knot things up at 4-4. In the eighth, St. John's outfielder Michael Donadio hit a long home run to right-center, putting the Red Storm on top for good.
Who stood out?
Gahagan gave the Tar Heels some early momentum with his RBI single and also stole home. He ended the day with two stolen bases, along with an RBI and a run scored.
When was it decided?
While both teams had their share of big-time plays, it was Donadio's home run in the top of the eight put the knife in this one. The Tar Heels went going back-and-forth with St. John's all game, but Donadio's blast sealed the deal.
