The No. 5 UNC baseball team (10-0) defeated Stony Brook (3-4), 16-2, on Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.
First-year Perry Hargett earned his first start in left field of the 2025 season, after going 3-for-4 in his only at-bats of the season. Led by the sophomore battery duo of sophomore pitcher Jason DeCaro and sophomore catcher Luke Stevenson, DeCaro came into Friday’s outing without giving up an earned run in 10 and one-third innings pitched.
“I thought DeCaro set the tone — he was outstanding", head coach Scott Forbes said. “It was great to see some guys get in there, their first at bats as Tar Heels. That’s always exciting."
He worked a quick 1-2-3 inning in the first against the Seawolves. Junior centerfielder Kane Kepley started off the ballgame with a line-drive single and stole second base two pitches later, his eighth of the season.
Sophomore third baseman Gavin Gallaher moved from ninth in the lineup on Tuesday to the three hole Friday and that move immediately paid off, as Gallaher brought home Kepley with a single to center field to give North Carolina the early lead.
Graduate right-fielder Tyson Bass took an extra base hit away in the top of the second from Cam Santerre, preventing the Seawolves from scoring. In the bottom of that frame, Hargett made his moment count, homering in a 3-1 count to extend UNC’s lead to two in the second. This was the first time a UNC player has hit home runs in back-to-back at bats since Vance Honeycutt did it in the Super Regionals in 2024 against West Virginia.
Later that inning, Kepley notched a two-out double down the third base line and Stevenson followed that up with his own double, making it 3-0 UNC.
DeCaro worked his way out of a jam in the third inning, striking out second baseman Johnny Pilla looking with two on to end the threat.
“[Stevenson's] unreal back there defensively,” DeCaro said. “He’ll steal some strikes for you too, which is great, just seeing him back there every time is just very comfortable for me.”
