The No. 17 North Carolina baseball team (17-5, 3-4 ACC) defeated the Boston College Eagles (9-10, 2-5 ACC), 5-1, Friday afternoon at Harrington Athletics Village.
UNC’s pitching, led by graduate Jake Knapp, held Boston College to one run, starting the weekend series off with a win. The Tar Heel offense started out slow but gained momentum later in the game, scoring five runs on six hits, including two home runs.
Despite earning a leadoff walk to start the game, the Tar Heels offense went three up and three down following two strikeouts and a runner caught stealing. Knapp followed suit and held Boston College scoreless, only facing three batters in the bottom of the first inning.
North Carolina threatened in the second, starting with a single by graduate first baseman Hunter Stokely. After a series of at-bats advanced Stokely to third, he was stranded after left fielder Black struck out swinging, holding the Tar Heels scoreless once again. Knapp followed up with a strong inning, retiring all three batters he faced to keep the game 0-0.
The pitching duel continued as Boston College pitcher A.J Colarusso retired the next three batters with the help of the Eagles’ defense. Knapp held firm, earning three outs and facing one over the minimum due to a hit-by-pitch. The score remained 0-0 after three innings.
Both the Eagles and Tar Heels remained scoreless in the fourth inning.
North Carolina scored the first run of the game after a home run by graduate infielder Sam Angelo gave it the 1-0 lead. The Tar Heels defense held strong in the bottom of the fifth as sophomore catcher Luke Stevenson caught the runner stealing second base for the second out, followed by sophomore third baseman Gavin Gallaher making a tough throw over to first for the final out of the fifth inning, keeping the score 1-0.
The pitching remained strong as Colarusso and Knapp retired all three batters they faced in the sixth inning, keeping the score 1-0 heading into the seventh.
The Tar Heels continued to click, scoring two more runs from hits by senior second baseman Jackson Van De Brake and first-year left fielder Sawyer Black to go up 3-0 in the seventh inning. The Tar Heels offense continued to threaten but came up empty.
