No. 4 UNC baseball falls, 7-0, to hand Stanford the series

The No. 4 North Carolina baseball team (14-2, 1-2 ACC) lost to No. 7 Stanford (12-2, 2-0 ACC), 7-0, on Sunday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.

The Tar Heels finished with just five hits and couldn’t capitalize on limited scoring chances, dropping the series finale. 

Right-handed pitcher Aidan Haugh set the tone early for the Tar Heels, making quick work of Stanford’s top of the order. 

At the plate, the Tar Heels struggled to find their rhythm against Stanford. Sophomore center fielder Kane Kepley and sophomore catcher Luke Stevenson both struck out looking on full counts. Junior third baseman Gavin Gallaher made solid contact, but his sharp line drive was snagged by Stanford’s shortstop to end the inning. Through one, neither team had recorded a hit.

The Tar Heels showed early promise in the bottom of the second when graduate first baseman Hunter Stokely reached on an infield single to short, recording the Tar Heels’ first hit of the game. But any momentum was quickly erased, as a sharp grounder to short led to a smooth 6-4-3 double play. A routine groundout to second ended the inning, keeping the game scoreless.

At the plate, Stevenson lined a single to right field to start the bottom of the fourth. Gallaher advanced Stevenson into scoring position with a groundout to the pitcher, setting up a potential scoring opportunity. But once again, the Tar Heels couldn’t capitalize. Stokely went down swinging, and graduate right fielder Tyson Bass grounded out to second to end the inning.

After cruising through the first four innings, Haugh ran into trouble in the fifth. A leadoff solo home run to left field put Stanford on the board, breaking the scoreless tie. Moments later, a throwing error by Gallaher allowed the runner to advance to third, putting UNC in a difficult spot.

Stanford took advantage, executing a well-placed sacrifice bunt to bring in a second run, extending its lead to 2-0. Haugh limited the damage by freezing the next batter on a strikeout looking, stranding a runner at second.

UNC, however, failed to respond at the plate. Through five, UNC’s offense remained stagnant, managing just two hits while searching for a way to break through.

The Tar Heels turned to freshman right handed pitcher Walker McDuffie in the sixth, but Stanford quickly capitalized. After a strikeout, a double to left put a runner in scoring position. A fly out brought the Tar Heels within an out of escaping, but a walk and back-to-back RBI singles to right extended Stanford’s lead to 4-0. In a chaotic sequence, a baserunner was caught stealing, but not before another run scored, making it 5-0.

The Tar Heels brought in junior right-handed pitcher Matthew Matthijs to pitch the eighth, but Stanford added to its lead. After a leadoff single, Matthijs battled back with two strikeouts, but a wild pitch advanced the runner into scoring position. Stanford capitalized with an RBI single to left, pushing the deficit to 6-0 before a pop-up ended the inning.

The Tar Heels couldn’t generate offense in response. Hargett struck out swinging, but Kepley worked a walk to give North Carolina a baserunner. Any hopes of a rally were short-lived, as Stevenson struck out swinging and Gallaher lined out to second, leaving another runner stranded.

Through eight, UNC remained scoreless, struggling to find momentum at the plate.

The Tar Heels turned to freshman right-handed pitcher Camron Seagraves to close out the ninth. He retired the first two batters on routine groundouts but couldn’t escape unscathed. Stanford tacked on another run with a solo homer to left, extending the lead to 7-0. Seagraves bounced back with a strikeout looking to end the frame.

UNC’s offense showed brief signs of life in the bottom of the ninth. Bass lined a single to right and stole second, putting himself in scoring position. Madera followed with a single to left, advancing Bass to third and giving the Tar Heels their best scoring opportunity of the night. But Van De Brake struck out looking, leaving both runners stranded as the Tar Heels failed to push a run across.

North Carolina returns to action Tuesday at 6 p.m. versus UNCW in Wilmington. 

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