The No. 24 North Carolina baseball team (7-1, 0-0 ACC) defeated Longwood (3-6 0-0 Big South), 16-1, at Boshamer Stadium on Tuesday evening.
What happened?
After a hitless first inning from the Lancers, the Diamond Heels struck first when first-year Vance Honeycutt hit a homer to center field. However, the inning quickly ended when redshirt junior Angel Zarate, sophomore Tomas Frick and junior Danny Serretti were all grounded out.
Neither team scored in the second inning due to a North Carolina double play and strong pitching from Longwood pitcher Logan Berrier. North Carolina's sole score in the third inning came from a Zarate double that allowed Honeycutt to convert his stolen second base to a run.
Two strikeouts from sophomore pitcher Connor Bovair effectively helped extend the Lancers’ scoring drought through the fourth inning. A wild pitch from Longwood pitcher Jack Lamb allowed sophomore Mac Horvath to advance to third base. The Rochester native scored shortly after.
The Lancers finally got on the board when a single to left field from Michael Peterson allowed Eliot Dix to score. The Diamond Heels answered with a run to close out the fifth inning with a 4-1 lead.
A quick, scoreless inning from the Lancers was followed by an eruption from the Diamond Heel lineup. First, a single from sophomore Alberto Osuna was followed by a double from sophomore Will Stewart. Osuna scored when sophomore Hunter Stokely walked to first base upon being hit by a pitch.
Bases were still loaded after Zarate walked, which allowed Stewart to score as well. Then, Frick hit a grand slam to extend the lead to 10-1. The monstrous sixth inning was capped off by a two-RBI single from Stokely, with Horvath and Serretti scoring.
The Lancers were held scoreless for the remainder of the game, while a four-run eighth inning from UNC put North Carolina up 16-1 going into the final inning.
