In the final game of the regular season, the North Carolina baseball team (34-19, 15-15 ACC) trounced the No. 20 Florida State Seminoles (32-22, 15-15 ACC), 11-0, Saturday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.
What happened?
It didn’t take long for the Tar Heels to get on the board as, in the bottom half of the first inning, redshirt junior Angel Zarate lifted a lead-off home run on the first pitch he faced. Moments later, North Carolina had the bases loaded with two outs, but sophomore Tomas Frick struck out and ended the inning.
After holding Florida State scoreless for a second consecutive inning, UNC looked to increase its lead.
With bases juiced, the Tar Heels recorded back-to-back sacrifice flies from sophomore Mac Horvath and junior Danny Serretti. After this, North Carolina held a 3-0 lead.
Following the early fireworks from UNC, a pitchers duel would ensue.
In the fourth inning, junior Nik Pry got the call from the bullpen and instantly provided a spark for the Tar Heels’ defense. In his two innings on the mound, the Pinehurst, N.C. native totaled three strikeouts, including an inning-ending out with a Seminole in scoring position in the top of the fifth.
But, the two-team standstill would come to an end in the bottom frame of the same inning. Just like the team’s previous two runs, the Tar Heels called on a sacrifice fly to drive in their fourth run of the game, as Frick drove a ball to deep left field.
One inning later, North Carolina again found itself with bases loaded, this time with sophomore Alberto Osuna up to bat. The designated hitter delivered, as his 2-RBI single split the left-infield gap and gave UNC a sizable lead, 6-0.
