Marathon men: UNC baseball beats Wake Forest in 15-inning battle, wins series

Ahead of a home matchup with Wake Forest, head coach Mike Fox wanted his team to prove that it could grit out a win against a conference opponent.

So far, North Carolina (18-10, 8-4 ACC) had shown its potential against top competition, but had effectively fallen short of expectations. The team hadn't won many close games this year.

The Tar Heels spanked No. 7 Florida State, 16-8, in the opening game of last weekend’s series, but dropped the last two and the series. In its ACC opener, UNC outscored No. 20 Louisville, 10-3 in one matchup, but dropped two other games by a combined three runs and lost the series.

Given such close losses, Fox was looking for his team to show a little resilience.

“We needed to win a tough, close game in the league,” Fox said. “If nothing else, to show these guys we can do it.”

Against Wake Forest, Fox got just what he wished for. North Carolina edged out the Demon Deacons in a 3-2 victory that went the distance — and then some. The Tar Heels drove in the deciding run in the bottom of the 15th inning. The Tar Heels followed that performance with a 6-1 win on Saturday and an 8-6 comeback win on Sunday. It was the program's first sweep against Wake Forest since 2013 and UNC has now won nine of its past 11 games.

Yes, the first game went fifteen innings. It was the longest game played at Boshamer Stadium in almost 36 years and went on for four hours and 30 minutes. Despite the length, junior Brandon Riley said the game felt quick.

“It was such high intensity throughout the game that it just kind of flew by,” Riley said.

Riley and the Tar Heels didn’t treat each inning as languid, but rather as an opportunity to put the game away.

“It wasn’t watching the clock, or anything like that,” he said. “You were just waiting for your next chance to score.”

For Riley, that chance came in the bottom of the 15th. In a game where runners on base were hard to come by, North Carolina received a gift. Cody Roberts led off the inning with a bunt, and thanks to an overthrown ball to the first baseman, Roberts found himself on second with no outs. 

Michael Busch advanced to first after being hit by a pitch, and Kyle Datres moved Roberts to third on a fly out to center. 

Riley was up with only one out and runners at the corners. The situation was favorable for the Tar Heels, but no sure thing. After all, they had already blown good chances to take the lead for good.

In the seventh, North Carolina had two on and no outs. The score had been knotted at 2-2 since the fourth inning, and it felt like it was time for the Tar Heels to break the game open. But Wake Forest pitcher Griffin Roberts delivered three straight outs. Still 2-2.

Then, with a runner on in the bottom of the ninth — a time ripe for making a hero — Brandon Martorano sent one to deep center. The ball fell about two feet short of the fence that stood 400 feet from the plate. It probably would have been out at any other spot in the ball park. The score was still 2-2.

In the eleventh, Zack Gahagan was thrown out at home, denying the Tar Heels the winning run — still 2-2.

“We had plenty of scoring opportunities that could have ended the game,” Riley said. “It never felt like we didn’t capitalize on anything; we were just waiting for the next chance.”

So in the bottom of the 15th, Riley stepped to the plate with the go-ahead run on third, the score still 2-2.

Though North Carolina had squandered chances to drive in the game-winning run already, Riley didn’t feel overcome by the pressure. The lefty stepped to the plate and focused on the at-bat, not the moment.

“I was just looking for a first-pitch fastball because I knew he was just trying to get ahead,” Riley said.

When that fastball came, he dug in his heels and drove a line drive over the outstretched glove of a helpless shortstop, sending the ball safely down into the center field grass.

Roberts barely had time to cross home plate before the North Carolina dugout cleared and the Tar Heels rushed on the field in celebration.

“It’s pretty, pretty crazy,” Fox said. “That would have been tough to go in the locker room after losing this one after 15 innings. I’m glad we won.”

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