The North Carolina baseball team (17-14, 11-11) fell to No. 17 Pittsburgh (19-10, 13-9), 6-2, in the first of a three-game series on Saturday.
What happened?
Originally scheduled for Friday evening, the series opener was rescheduled to Saturday at 1 p.m. due to inclement weather.
Pittsburgh struck first with a two-run homer from senior outfielder Nico Papa, which also scored sophomore infielder Sky Duff, giving the Panthers a 2-0 advantage. The Panthers' lead grew after an overthrow to second base allowed outfielder Ron Washington Jr. to advance to third base, and he was driven in on a double by infielder David Yanni.
With UNC down 3-0 in the second inning, sophomore Justice Thompson singled up the middle and later scored on a hit by graduate first baseman Brett Centracchio. In the bottom of the inning, two strikeouts by sophomore pitcher Connor Ollio helped the Tar Heels escape without giving up any runs.
In the top of the third inning, senior outfielder Dallas Tessar got on base after being hit by a pitch. Tessar later scored after a sacrifice fly from Thompson, which cut the Pittsburgh lead to 3-2.
In the bottom the bottom of the fourth, it seemed as though Pittsburgh would build on its lead after junior outfielder Jordan Andserson hit a triple to right field. However, the next sent a fly ball into left field and Tessar rifled the ball to home plate to complete the double play.
Over the next few innings, the Panthers eventually started to pull away from the Tar Heels. In the bottom of the fifth, Washington Jr. homered to left to give Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead. Duff led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, and came all the way around to score following three wild pitches.
A sacrifice fly from Pittsburgh's Ramon Padilla in the bottom of the eighth gave the Panthers an extra insurance run, as they led the Tar Heels, 6-2, as UNC took its final at bats. Following a two-out, pinch hit double by Clemente Inclan, Tessar flew out to end the game.
