The No. 18 Diamond Heels defeated the Charlotte 49ers with a final tally of 5-3 Tuesday at Boshamer Stadium.
What happened?
First-year pitcher Cameron Padgett started the pitching for the Tar Heels and allowed two runs in the top of the first inning after two line drives to opposite sides of the field. The offensive side of the inning found the Tar Heels in a bases-loaded situation. However, they could not convert as they picked up their third out to close the inning trailing 0-2.
Padgett pitched a hitless second inning to send UNC back to bat. Junior infielder Johnny Castagnozzi got the hitting started for North Carolina as he singled to right field. The Tar Heels soon found themselves in a bases-loaded situation but could not convert and the second inning ended with a score of 0-2.
Padgett had another successful inning as he allowed only one hit before the 49ers picked up their third out on a double play by the Tar Heels. On the offensive side of the third inning, junior infielder Mac Horvath singled to the catcher and sprinted to first base. One batter later, junior first-baseman Hunter Stokely walked to allow Horvath to advance to second. On a wild pitch, Horvath stole third base and Stokely advanced to second. Soon thereafter, Castagnozzi singled to left field allowing Horvath to advance home and another hit batter allowed Stokely to advance and tie the game. The Tar Heels picked up their third out and the third inning ended tied at two
Padgett pitched his third consecutive runless inning in the top of the fourth frame to send UNC back to bat. The Tar Heels had an unsuccessful offensive showing and the fourth inning concluded knotted at two.
The fifth inning began with a pitcher change as Padgett retired to sophomore pitcher Dalton Pence. Pence allowed no hits after the change and turned the inning over to the Tar Heels’ offense. The Tar Heels had the same result in the fifth inning as they could not convert with one man left on base.
The 49ers had a hitless top of the sixth inning and earned three outs quickly to give UNC the opportunity to take their first lead of the game. The Tar Heels had success in the bottom of the sixth inning as Horvath singled to left field; soon after, he advanced to third as Stokely singled to right field. Horvath continued moving when junior catcher Tomas Frick singled, allowing Horvath to advance home. The Tar Heels soon earned their third out but ended the sixth inning leading 3-2.
The 49ers found themselves unable to convert once again in the seventh inning and turned it back over to the UNC offense. The Tar Heels continued their success as Horvath homered to the scoreboard to earn UNC its first home run of the game. Van De Brake walked home and extended the Tar Heels’ lead to three. The top of the eighth inning led to a home run from the 49ers to close their deficit to two. Junior pitcher Matt Poston took over for Pence and quickly handed Charlotte its third out. UNC had an unsuccessful inning and earned its third out on a double play with two runners left on base. The penultimate inning ended with UNC leading 5-3. The 49ers were unable to score in the top of the ninth inning and the Tar Heels walked away with the win
