In its conference opener, the No. 14 North Carolina baseball team (11-4, 0-1 ACC) fell to the No. 17 Virginia Cavaliers (13-0, 1-0 ACC), 7-3, on Friday evening at Boshamer Stadium.
What happened?
The Cavaliers jumped on starting pitcher Max Carlson quickly. Leadoff batter Ethan O’Donnell lined a single to center field on the third pitch he faced. Shortly thereafter, third baseman Jake Gelof ripped an RBI single to plate the first run of the game.
In the following inning, Virginia’s offense came alive. Second baseman Justin Rubin lasered a 2-RBI double off the left field wall to triple the Cavaliers’ lead. Moments later, O’Donnell cracked his second hit of the day — this time a two-run blast to balloon Virginia's advantage to 6-0.
North Carolina fought back in the bottom half of the inning, as junior first baseman Hunter Stokely knocked a single through the second-base gap. One batter later, junior second baseman Jackson Van De Brake blasted his seventh home run of the year to cut the Diamond Heels’ deficit to four.
After three straight scoreless frames, North Carolina appeared to be on the verge of cutting further into its hole. Van De Brake laced an infield single and outfielders Casey Cook and Patrick Alvarez earned a hit-by-pitch and walk, respectively, to load the bases. But with the bases jammed and no outs, graduate pitcher Nick Parker retired the next three UNC batters with a pair of strikeouts and a flyout to escape the inning.
Gelof would snap Virginia’s three-inning drought in the top of the sixth. The preseason All-American rocked a solo blast to center field to tack on another Cavalier run.
UNC would respond in the next inning. Junior third baseman Mac Horvath cracked a leadoff single and junior catcher Tomas Frick would reach first by way of an error. Van De Brake notched his third RBI of the day with a single to shallow left field to trim the Cavaliers’ lead to 7-3.
The junior second baseman’s single proved to be the final scoring play of the game and UVA prevailed, 7-3.
