A three-run home run to left centerfield and a walk-off bomb in the bottom of the ninth helped the No. 15 North Carolina baseball team (13-2, 2-0 ACC) battle its way to a Saturday afternoon victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers (8-6, 0-2), winning 4-3 to clinch the series in its ACC opening weekend.
What happened?
A scoreless three innings came as no surprise, as frigid temperatures and consistent snow flurries in Chapel Hill created the most adverse conditions UNC has faced this season.
The weather, mainly in the form of gusting winds, led to numerous errors by both teams, as each committed three.
The Panthers plated two runs on a Johnny Castagnozzi error in the fifth inning. The second-baseman from New York called off the right-fielder behind him but dropped the ball, and this mistake let the visitors take a 3-0 lead.
Pitt still left three on base at the end of their fifth inning at bat, leaving the door open for North Carolina to counter. And in the sixth inning, the Tar Heels did just that, courtesy of a three-run homer off the bat of sophomore infielder Mac Horvath.
The Minnesota native brought sophomore first baseman Hunter Stokely and junior shortstop Danny Serretti home to even the score, but UNC left the inning with senior second baseman Mikey Madej stranded at second after first-year centerfielder Vance Honeycutt struck out swinging.
The seventh inning again saw North Carolina leave runners on base, this time with redshirt-junior outfielder Angel Zarate and Castagnozzi. Zarate extended his hitting streak to 15 games and his on base streak to 38, as he’s been the most consistent bat in the UNC lineup through the first month of the season.
In the eighth, Pitt went three up, three down and the Tar Heels left two on base for the fourth time in five innings. Horvath got stuck in scoring position on third base and redshirt-junior catcher Max Riemer – pinch running for Madej – was stranded at first.
