Honeycutt's home run lifts No. 15 UNC baseball to 2-1 win over No. 11 ECU
UNC junior outfielder Vance Honeycutt (7) fist bumps a teammate during the Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 game in Boshamer Stadium against ECU.
Vance Honeycutt came to the plate in a tie game in the bottom of the eighth inning after striking out in his previous two at bats. This time he didn’t strike out. Rather, on a 1-2 count he was handed a curveball and left the yard.
“It really didn’t feel like anything,” Honeycutt said. “That’s kind of how you know you got it.”
Honeycutt’s towering go-ahead solo home run lifted the No. 15 UNC baseball team (5-0) over No. 11 East Carolina (3-2), 2-1, Friday night at Boshamer Stadium. The victory is the 3,000th in program history.
First-year southpaw Folger Boaz got the ball for the Tar Heels after throwing five innings of one-run ball a week ago. He retired the Pirates in the top of the first.
In the bottom of the inning, UNC redshirt sophomore outfielder Casey Cook hit a rope into the gap in right center for a double. Pirates right-hander Trey Yesavage struck out Tar Heel senior infielder Parks Harber for the second out before issuing a walk to graduate outfielder Anthony Donofrio. Yesavage stranded a pair, however, striking out junior infielder Jackson Van De Brake to end the inning.
ECU outfielder Bristol Carter had trouble tracking the baseball in left field in the bottom of the second inning. He lost a fly ball off the bat of first-year catcher Luke Stevenson, and it fell for a double to start the frame. Graduate infielder Alex Madera hit another ball to left, and again Carter struggled to see it. The ball hit the base of the wall, Madera had a double, and Stevenson came around with the game's first run. Yesavage prevented further damage, striking out junior outfielder Vance Honeycutt and getting Cook to ground out to first to end the inning.
UNC first-year catcher Luke Stevenson (44) runs home during the Feb. 23, 2024 game in Boshamer Stadium against ECU.
Boaz issued two two-out walks to load the bases in the top of the fourth. But he dug in and forced Carter to fly out to end the inning.
With runners at first and third and one out in the top of the fifth, ECU’s Jacob Starling laid down a bunt. Boaz came off the mound to field and threw out Ryley Johnson at home. He exited after four and two thirds innings.
The Pirates quickly got on the board with a two-out RBI double from Jacob Jenkins-Cowart off UNC left-hander Dalton Pence. A perfectly executed relay from the Tar Heels, beginning with Honeycutt in deep right center field, prevented a second run from scoring and ended the inning.
“That was a huge play for us,” head coach Scott Forbes said. “That was a clean defensive play.”
Beginning in the bottom of the fifth, Yesavage struck out five consecutive Tar Heels to end his outing. He dealt six effective innings, allowing only one run while striking out 11.
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The score was tied at one until Honeycutt delivered the big blow in the bottom of the eighth. His fourth homer of the season traveled 409 feet to left field.
“I have full belief in [Honeycutt],” said sophomore right-hander Matthew Matthijs, who pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. “He’s a great player. He’s one of our best players, so he’s gonna get the job done.”
UNC senior right-handed pitcher Matt Poston shut things down in the ninth, striking out two and recording his first save of the season.
Game two of three between the Tar Heels and Pirates is Saturday in Fayetteville. First pitch is at 2 p.m.
