UNC baseball prevents UVA sweep with 12-7 win on Saturday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Parks Harber stepped up to the plate in a tie game in the seventh inning. 

North Carolina had just squandered a large lead for the second time in three days, and Virginia was eyeing a series sweep. But Harber wasn’t fazed. He said his approach was the same as with any other at bat.

“If I get a pitch over the plate, I need to be in a position to hit it,” Harber said.

On a 1-2 count, he hit it over the fence — just a few feet left of the right-field foul pole.

“[It] just kind of let the air out,” head coach Scott Forbes said.

Harber’s homer kickstarted a late-inning renaissance for the Tar Heels in game three against UVA on Saturday. UNC held on to beat the Cavaliers, 12-7, preventing a Virginia sweep. 

The senior first baseman recorded four RBIs, including the go-ahead solo shot in the seventh after Virginia completed the erasure of a six-run UNC lead in the previous frame. Redshirt sophomore outfielder Casey Cook drove in three runs, and graduate outfielder Anthony Donofrio was a double shy of the cycle. The 10th-ranked Tar Heels are 26-6 on the year and top the standings of the ACC coastal division at 11-4.

After a road sweep of Wake Forest over Easter weekend, UNC was riding a nine-game win streak before Thursday’s series opener against Virginia. It was a rough first inning for first-year starter Folger Boaz, allowing six runs on two big flies in the opening inning, but the streak looked set to reach double digits after the Tar Heels put up a seven spot in the third to take an 11-6 lead. 

“Getting out big in the beginning is huge, but we gotta keep stacking runs [and] keep scoring,” Harber said on Saturday. “Virginia is really, really talented. They have a really good offense, and we knew they were going to come back, and they were going to put up runs too.”

The Cavaliers’ offense is the best in the ACC. UVA leads the conference in batting average and runs scored — ranking second nationally in both categories.

Boaz left after just two innings, requiring the bullpen to work overtime. The Tar Heels' relievers struggled, and the bats went cold. UVA scored eight unanswered runs off the UNC pen over the final six innings to take game one, 14-11.

North Carolina did not lead in game two, losing 7-2 with the only Tar Heel runs coming through two solo homers off the bat of junior outfielder Vance Honeycutt.

Saturday’s game then became crucial. It was almost a mirror image of Thursday’s.

Almost.

UNC got out to a big lead early, scoring six in the first two innings. The highlight was a two-run moonshot from Donofrio that flew over everything in right field and traveled 491 feet.

But, like in Game One, Virginia came back. After the Cavaliers tied the game at six, Forbes did not have a special message for his team. He trusted his club. 

“I didn’t say a word,” Forbes said. “This group, you gotta stay out of their way. There’s never an effort issue. There’s a really good leadership throughout the dugout.”

Harber had a big swing in a big moment. First-year catcher Luke Stevenson hit one off the batter’s eye in center for a 2-run homer. Harber plated two more with an RBI single an inning later. And after more bullpen problems in the sixth inning, senior righty Matt Poston finished off the victory, allowing one run over three and a third.

Forbes said the win is indicative of his team’s strong character. The Tar Heels didn't leave Charlottesville with dejection, but rather, momentum.  

“Road series are tough,” Donofrio said. “The perseverance to come back and salvage [the final game and], be able to get a W, is huge.”

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