UNC beats Pittsburgh 13-2 in Sunday finale to earn sweep in ACC home opener

The North Carolina baseball team picked up its first ACC home-opening series sweep since 2011 with a 13-2 win over Pittsburgh in Sunday’s finale.

What happened?

Right-handed pitcher Taylor Sugg got the ball rolling for the Tar Heels (12-8, 4-2 ACC) in the first by striking out all three Panther (11-7, 1-5 ACC) hitters.

In the bottom half of the inning, UNC loaded the bases for shortstop Ike Freeman. Freeman, who was 12-31 in his last ten games, continued his hot hitting with a two-run double, raising his average with runners in scoring position to .500 for the season.

In the second, the Tar Heels added to their lead as four straight men reached base to get things started. Right fielder Kip Brandenburg drove in the third run of the game on a single that barely reached the outfield grass. Two batters later, first baseman Michael Busch launched a home run to left-center field to score two more, making it 6-0.

From there, the Tar Heels cruised.

In the third, catcher Cody Roberts joined the hit parade, blasting a double to left field that scored the seventh run of the day.

The Panthers were able to claw at the Tar Heels lead in the fourth and added two runs to make it a 7-2 game. With the bases loaded and one out, Freeman made an error, allowing two men to score.

The Tar Heels came right back with two runs in the fourth inning, courtesy of a two-run home run from center fielder Brandon Riley. 

In the fifth, Freeman picked up two more RBIs on a two-run single. Ben Casparius came in as a pinch hitter for left fielder Ashton McGee and drove in yet another run on a double to make it 12-2. 

Sugg was effective for most of the day and went a career-high 5.1 innings to pick up his second win of the season, allowing just one earned run in the process. The Tar Heels added another run in the seventh inning on an RBI groundout, and the 13-2 score held the rest of the way.

Who stood out?

Freeman led all hitters with four RBIs on the day. He and teammate Zach Gahagan each contributed three hits in the winning effort. Gahagan also scored four times on the day. Busch hit a mammoth homer and picked up his 27th RBI of the season. Riley was the third Tar Heel with a multi-RBI day, hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning.

When was it decided?

Freeman's two-run double in the first inning set the tone for the afternoon. From there, UNC scored six runs in the second inning to quickly put the game out of reach.

Why does it matter?

Coming off a rocky 1-1 stretch in midweek games, it was important for the Tar Heels to get back on track this weekend. They did so and in the process picked up their second three-game winning streak of the season and moved to 4-2 in conference play.

When do they play next?

UNC takes on Maryland on Tuesday at 6 p.m. from Boshamer Stadium before beginning an important three-game home stand against Florida State on Friday.

@christrenkle2

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