UNC baseball falls, 13-9, to Stanford resulting in first loss of season

The No. 4 UNC baseball team (13-1, 0-1 ACC) fell, 13-9, to Stanford (11-2, 1-0 ACC), on Friday evening at Boshamer Stadium, marking the team's first loss of the season.

Behind insufficient pitching, North Carolina's deficit ballooned in the fifth inning after Stanford recorded a six-run inning. It's the largest amount of runs UNC has given up since facing Duke in May 2024. Sophomore pitcher Jason DeCaro gave up a career-high seven hits and eight runs. Seven Tar Heels saw the mound during the loss. 

But the Diamond Heels wasted no time getting to work.

In the bottom of the first with no outs, sophomore catcher Luke Stevenson singled straight up the middle, sending junior outfielder Kane Kepley to third. Graduate first baseman Hunter Stokely followed with a sacrifice hit, allowing Kepley to score. Back to back base-hits by graduate outfielder Tyson Bass and graduate infielder Alex Madera racked up another two runs for the heels. UNC led 3-0. 

Looking to carry the same momentum, Stanford quickly got into scoring position in the second. First-year infielder Charlie Bates lined a double to left field, sending two Cardinal players home, cutting the Tar Heels lead to one. 

Following a scoreless half inning for North Carolina, Stanford pushed another runner home to even the score 3-3.  

Sophomore third baseman Gavin Gallaher answered in the bottom of the third with his first hit of the day, rocketing a double to left center. But junior pitcher Matt Scott would not let the Diamond Heels capitalize on the opportunity, retiring the next three hitters.

With one out and runners perched on first and second in the top of the fourth, Stanford scored again to take its first lead of the game. Then, a base hit sent two more Cardinal players home to extend their lead 6-3. 

“Losses, they make you better if you let them,” head coach Scott Forbes said. “I’m really looking forward to see as a coach how these guys will respond.”

Looking for an answer, with bases loaded, Stevenson stepped up to the plate drawing a walk to cut the Cardinal's lead to 2. Gallaher immediately followed by singling to center field, allowing both senior infielder Jackson Van De Brake and Kepley to score, knotting the game at 6-6.  

North Carolina would soon be down again, after junior Jimmy Nati homered to left field. Following another single, the Tar Heels went to the bullpen and brought out first-year pitcher Ryan Lynch. But his time on the mound was short lived after walking and hitting back to back batters.

Junior pitcher Kyle Percival stepped up hoping to get the Diamond Heels back on track. However, his second pitch led to a grand slam, which made the score 12-6 in the top of the fifth. 

UNC had no response in the bottom of the fifth. 

Stanford would not let up. Miscommunication from North Carolina's defense and two consecutive doubles from the Cardinals led to another run. The score sat 13-6. 

The Tar Heels could not find a way to swing the momentum in their favor, having two scoreless half innings.

At the top of the eighth, UNC graduate pitcher Dylan Weber retired all three hitters in his debut wearing Carolina Blue. This still wasn’t enough to put the Diamond Heels back on course. 

In a last minute attempt, North Carolina had the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with no outs. An error from the Cardinal allowed Bass and Stokley to run home, cutting the deficit to five.

“Not surprising at the end that our guys were battling,” Forbes said. “It's a special group.”

North Carolina snuck in one more run before closing out the game, but the team was unable to overcome the large deficit. 

The Tar Heels return to action in Chapel Hill tomorrow at 1 p.m.

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