Weak pitching, cold bats define UNC in non-conference loss to N.C. State at DBAP

DURHAM — The opponent — one the North Carolina baseball team had faced almost 300 times dating back to 1895— was familiar. The setting was not.

No. 15 UNC (24-13, 12-6 ACC) began its toughest stretch of the season with a 8-3 loss to No. 4 N.C. State on Tuesday night at the neutral confines of Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Maybe the unfamiliar ballpark explains why the Tar Heels, winners of 22 of their last 28 games heading into the contest, looked flat on the field for most of the game. The one silver lining for the Tar Heels is the fact that the game was recorded as a non-conference contest, so UNC did not fall further behind first-place Duke in the ACC Coastal Division. 

"I thought State just beat us handily in pretty much every phase of the game," head coach Mike Fox said. "I thought everybody out of their bullpen was good. They didn't make mistakes. We left the ball up and that was pretty much the game."

Neither team did much damage in the first inning, a bad omen for the Tar Heels, who are now 9-11 when failing to score in the opening frame. Disaster quickly struck in the second in the form of a two-run home run off the bat of N.C. State catcher Patrick Bailey. Bailey’s two-run blast seemed to rattle Tar Heel starting pitcher Rodney Hutchison Jr., who lasted just 3.1 innings on the night, his shortest start since Feb. 25. 

The Tar Heels fought back in the bottom half of the inning. An RBI fielder’s choice from designated hitter Clemente Inclan scored left fielder Ashton McGee in the second inning, cutting the deficit in half. 

In the fourth inning, matters got worse for the Tar Heels. The Wolfpack loaded the bases with one out against Hutchison. With one out, second baseman Zack Gahagan attempted to field a routine ground ball and with a chance at a double play, he bobbled it, allowing two runs to score, the second sign that this was not UNC’s day.

First-year reliever Joey Lancellotti was the lone Tar Heel pitcher who looked unfazed, striking out a career-high five hitters and allowing just one hit in 3.2 innings of work.

"It was awesome," Lancellotti said of his performance. "Get in front of this crowd and everything, a tense environment like this, it was awesome to be able to get into the game today. It's been going good and hopefully it will keep on rolling."

It was Lancellotti's pitching that kept the score at 5-1, setting the stage for a potential comeback bid.

It looked like that comeback was in the works in the eighth inning when the Tar Heels loaded the bases for McGee. 

McGee stepped up to the plate and calmly slapped a ball through the left side of the infield, plating two runs to make it 5-3. But catcher Cody Roberts followed with a strikeout to end the threat and strand both runners. N.C. State put a stamp on the win in the ninth with a three-run home run that was met with loud cheers from the large Wolfpack contingent.

UNC does not need to hit the panic button, having won seven of ten matchups in April. But with the dispiriting loss against the Wolfpack, this weekend’s series against a mediocre Georgia Tech squad becomes more crucial. The Tar Heels will be led by third baseman Kyle Datres, who extended his career best hitting streak to 17 games in the loss.

"We just gotta flush this game, obviously not the outcome we wanted," Datres said. "We got a big series coming up with Georgia Tech. We gotta get ahead in the series on Friday and go from there."

One thing is certain. The Tar Heels will hope for a much better showing when they return to DBAP on May 22 for the ACC Championship Tournament.

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