Following a 14-3 win on Friday, the North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team (2-0) dominated its opposition once again in a convincing 19-0 shutout win over the Seton Hall Pirates (0-2).
What happened?
The Tar Heels cashed in on an early pitching error as junior outfielder Angel Zarate picked up the run to make it 1-0. By the end of the second inning, the Tar Heels were leading by a comfortable score of 3-0. North Carolina would hold Seton Hall scoreless through all nine innings, continuing to make batting a challenge for the Pirates as they did in the previous game.
Seton Hall struggled with errors, committing four throughout the game. The first two errors led to consecutive runs for the Tar Heels to open the game, and they could never fully reorganize themselves. This was especially apparent in the seventh inning when the Tar Heels loaded the bases and scored a mind-boggling 11 runs to blow the game open, making the score 18-0. From here, North Carolina was able to cruise to a relatively swift finish, and ultimately win 19-0.
Who stood out?
First-year centerfielder Vance Honeycutt continued his incredible start to the season as he swung a ball out of the park in the second inning, picking up his third home run in just his second game as a Tar Heel. Danny Serretti also shined in the first half of the game as he hit a double, proceeding to score on the heels of a single from sophomore centerfielder Tomas Frick.
Sophomore infielder Johnny Castagnozzi also scored a run, on his birthday, after another throwing error by the Pirates in the fourth inning. The offense would only continue for the Tar Heels in the seventh inning as four players for the Tar Heels had at least two runs by this time.
When was it decided?
The Tar Heels continually showed off the resiliency of their team as they held the Pirates scoreless through eight innings. Even when the Pirates looked like they may have been gaining some momentum, the Tar Heels always found a way to earn that third out. North Carolina had a lockdown performance pitching and fielding the ball, leading a shutout performance all afternoon long. The Tar Heels led an all-around phenomenal performance in just their second game of the season.
