Two newcomers, Dylan Harris and Aaron Sabato, lead UNC to 8-5 win over Miami

With the sun shining down on fans at Boshamer Stadium, the No. 14 North Carolina baseball team’s newcomers put on an offensive performance, which led the team to an 8-5 victory over Miami (15-5, 3-3 ACC) on Sunday afternoon.  

In the rubber match of a three-game series, North Carolina (16-5, 2-4 ACC) out-hit Miami, 10-7.  Six of those 10 hits for North Carolina came off the bat of two newcomers: first-year Aaron Sabato and junior transfer Dylan Harris. By doing so, they helped North Carolina secure its first ACC series win of 2019.  

Sabato went 3-4 on the day with two home runs and four RBIs. This was the first game where Sabato collected four RBIs — a career high. In addition to Sabato’s success at the plate, Harris went 3-5 on the day with a double, home run and a single. Combined, Sabato and Harris hit three home runs and drove in five runs for North Carolina in this contest. 

“I mean it can’t be understated, getting new guys in that can help you win,” head coach Mike Fox said. “We knew what kind of player Dylan (Harris) was, and everybody (had) seen that from Aaron Sabato. We all saw that in the fall. He’s got something special." 

To begin the game, Miami was able to score some runs early off North Carolina starting pitcher Austin Bergner.  With one out in the inning and two men on base, Miami’s Adrian Del Castillo hit a three-run home run to give his team an early lead at 3-0.  

That deficit did not faze the Tar Heels as they headed back to the dugout. Sabato said that North Carolina was focused on creating a big inning of its own to respond. 

"If we wanted to win the big-inning war, we had to score a bunch of runs to quiet them out in their dugout," he said.  

That's exactly what North Carolina and Sabato did.

In the bottom of the first, Harris — a transfer from Walters State — doubled off the right field wall and then scored off a double by Michael Busch. Busch then scored from third base on a fielders choice, beating out a throw from the Miami third baseman. Sabato then hit a two-run home run over the left field wall to give his team the 4-3 lead. UNC never gave that lead up.  

After giving up three runs in the first inning, Bergner, who now had the lead, improved. Through six innings, Bergner faced 26 Miami batters and gave up six hits and four runs. Once he left the game, three other pitchers emerged from the North Carolina bullpen and combined to only give up only more run on a home run.

While the North Carolina pitching staff was able to quiet the Miami offense, the Hurricanes were unable to stop the Tar Heels — especially Harris and Sabato.  

North Carolina went on to score four more runs after that inning, three of which came from homers by Sabato and Harris. Harris extended his streak reaching base to 17 games, a team best. He credits his success at the plate with an aggressive mentality.

"I just stayed in attack mode and made sure I was staying in the middle of the field, because that first pitch I hit was a fastball," Harris said.

Similarly to Harris, who hit his home run in the second inning, Sabato hit a home run in his second at bat as well. In the third inning, Sabato hit his second two-run home run of the day over the right field wall. In the three-game series against Miami, Sabato had five hits, six RBIs and three home runs.  

Throughout the game, Harris and Sabato made their presence known offensively and were able to drive in five runs for their team in a game they needed to win to secure their first ACC series win of the season. Fox said the pair set the tone for North Carolina's offensive success.

"These kids hate to lose, and it was a great win for us; those newcomers play very well for us,” he said. 

@TorreNetkovick

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