Pitcher Aidan Haugh's career-high 10 strikeouts guide UNC baseball past ECU

GREENVILLE — Head coach Scott Forbes approached Aidan Haugh before the fifth frame of North Carolina's final series game against East Carolina University. 

The senior right-handed pitcher had already fanned a career-high nine batters. After a rough first inning, Haugh was putting on his best performance in Carolina Blue. He was riding a high. 

So, when Forbes asked Haugh in the dugout if he wanted to pitch the next inning, the senior replied with two quick words. 

“Hell yeah.”

In the bottom of the fifth, the Pirates went three up, three down. Haugh struck out one more batter with a 93 mph fastball. 

Haugh's career-high 10 strikeouts in five innings of work propelled the Diamond Heels to a 6-3 victory over ECU at Clark-LeClair Stadium on Monday evening. The pitcher's 17 called strikes and 20 whiffs on 99 pitches helped seal UNC's first weekend series sweep of the Pirates in program history. It's the most strikeouts recorded by a UNC pitcher since Max Carlson struck out 11 against Miami in March 2022, and it pushed UNC to its best start since the 2017 season. 

“That was a big step for him,” Forbes said. 

Last season, Haugh worked his way into a different role after injuries plagued the bullpen. In April, the pitcher's role changed from reliever to Sunday starter 36 games into the year. Short outings turned into four- and five-inning performances.

Following the jump, he struggled with his command. His pitches lacked variety. He walked 15 batters and gave up 37 hits following that April start. 

After being selected in the 16th round of the MLB Draft, Haugh decided to come back to UNC. In the offseason, he worked to develop the things that stifled him throughout the year. 

“I really just worked on confidence in all the pitches,” Haugh said. 

And on Monday, the things plaguing Haugh last season seemed to return.

On his third pitch of the game in the bottom of the first, ECU's Alex Peltier singled to left center. Then, the next batter singled down the left field line. Pirates' Austin Irby grounded out to second base to plate Peltier. Three batters in and the Tar Heels were already down by one. 

But this is what Haugh used the off-season for. He had better command and more variety. He needed to settle in and forget about the early run. 

“If you try to think about it, then you're going to make the same mistake,” Haugh said. “It's really just forgetting about the last pitch and focusing on the next one.”

With one out and one runner on second, Haugh worked to dig himself out of the small hole. The senior sent an ECU batter down looking on the next at-bat. Then, to get out of the inning, Haugh recorded the final out on a 2-2 count with a slider. 

He made that mental shift, and he didn't look back. 

Haugh recorded two strikeouts in the second and then three in the third. After striking out two more in the fourth, he told Forbes to let him back out there for the fifth — an inning Forbes said he deserved. 

“He's worked his tail off,” Forbes said. “He held his stuff, and at the end, he was reaching back and letting it be and he made some really good pitches.”

Haugh's time at North Carolina has been defined by adjustments and settling into his roles. Monday's outing was a culmination of that. 

@_emmahmoon

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