The North Carolina baseball team (41-17, 17-13 ACC) cruised past Boston College (31-27, 12-18 ACC) in the ACC semifinals, 13-5, on Saturday, advancing to Sunday's ACC Championship Game.
What happened?
The Tar Heels scored the game's first runs in the bottom of the first inning, with first-year Danny Serretti's RBI groundout and junior Ike Freeman's RBI single giving UNC an early 2-0 lead.
The Eagles answered with an RBI single of their own in the next frame to halve the lead, but North Carolina scored two more runs in the third inning to keep Boston College at bay. Junior Michael Busch scored on a wild pitch, then Ashton McGee's sacrifice fly sent first-year Aaron Sabato home.
In the fifth inning, the Tar Heels stretched the lead to six when a single and subsequent error by Boston College sent three runs home. Trailing 7-1, the Eagles responded with a four-run sixth inning, kicked off by a solo home run by BC's Jack Cunningham. Then, a groundout and a pair of singles scored a run apiece.
Those would be the last runs of the day for the Eagles, however. UNC used three pitchers to finish the game, who were able to shut out Boston College and allow just four hits combined.
The Tar Heels added six more runs in the last four innings to give themselves a significant cushion. With the Eagles unable to rally, North Carolina cruised to a high-scoring win and advanced to the ACC Championship.
Who stood out?
Busch – who was recently named first team All-ACC – starred at the plate for the Tar Heels, going four for five at the plate with four runs and a pair of RBIs. Freeman also impressed, earning three hits in four at bats and batting in two runs. As a team, North Carolina posted 13 hits and drew nine walks.
