UNC baseball defeats Duke behind critical double play in the bottom of the ninth

The umpires left the field and walked down the stairs into the Duke dugout. The UNC infielders congregated in the middle of the diamond behind the mound. 

Every time there is a video review on a play at first base, the Tar Heel infielders ask their first baseman Hunter Stokely if the runner was safe or out. 

“And Stokely always has an answer for you,” graduate shortstop Alex Madera said. “Of course this time, he’s like, ‘I don’t know.’ So we’re all like ‘ummm.’”

That’s how fine the line was in No. 19 North Carolina’s 4-3 victory over Duke in game one of a three-game set on Thursday night at Boshamer Stadium. Graduate righty Jake Knapp improved to 6-0 on the season, dealing seven innings of two-run ball. Senior second baseman Jackson Van De Brake went 2-for-4 at the plate with a clutch two-run homer.

But the game was won on the smallest of margins: on two plays.

The first a piece of heads-up base running. The second a sparkling 1-6-6-3 double play.

“Figured we would make it dicey,” head coach Scott Forbes said jokingly.

With two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the eighth inning, first-year left fielder Perry Hargett smacked a double to left field. Hargett was in the starting lineup Thursday for the first time since March 19. 

The inning continued for junior center fielder Kane Kepley, who hit a ground ball to second. The high chopper took Duke second baseman Jake Berger onto the outfield grass. He fielded but slipped and fell to his knees. 

Hargett ran hard to third and never stopped. Forbes waved him home. 

“That’s something that we work on,” Forbes said. “People don’t see that type of stuff. Busting your tail, hitting the inside of the bag, getting in that lane and having a chance to score.”

Hargett slid in head first with an insurance run to make it 4-2. He pumped his fists. The Tar Heels exploded out of the dugout. Forbes did his best Tiger Woods at The Masters impression with an uppercut first pump.

“That’s the standard,” Van De Brake said of Hargett’s hustle play. “ That’s what we’re expected to do. We talk about it all the time. It’s not often you see a play like that work out that way. It ended up winning us the game.”

Now pitching with a two-run lead in the ninth, first-year right-handed reliever Ryan Lynch struck out the leadoff man. Then, he reached on a passed ball charged to sophomore catcher Luke Stevenson. A walk. A hit by pitch.

The bases were loaded with nobody out. 

Forbes lifted Lynch and turned to first-year righty Walker McDuffie, who got the first out at the expense of a run, a ground ball fielder’s choice. 

Madera was talking to sophomore third baseman Gavin Gallaher right before Lynch exited. 

“‘Of course, we have to make it more fun,’” he said to Gallaher. “We’re just in the moment and not really worrying about anything. Just deep breath and whatever happens, happens.

“In that situation, I definitely want the ball coming to me.”

Madera was playing in the shift on the right side of the infield, closer to where he played last year as a second baseman. Runners were at the corners.

Duke's AJ Gracia hit the ball on the ground up the middle. It deflected off McDuffie’s glove toward Madera. He fielded it, raced to the second-base bag for one and threw off-balance across his body to first. Stokely stretched as far as he could. The ball thwacked the leather of his mitt, and he face planted onto the dirt.

The first-base umpire punched the air. Out. Double play. Game over. 

North Carolina rushed the field to swarm Madera. It was the play of the game. 

But the umpires stopped the celebrations. With the game on the line, they were always going to take a second look.

Madera thought he got Gracia. So did Gallaher.

“You still have that thought, ‘What if he’s safe,’” Madera said.

If he was safe, the tying run would have scored.

“You on the bag?” they asked Stokely. 

“I think.”

“We had a pretty good idea,” Madera said. “But with Stokely not saying anything, we were like, ‘I don’t know how this is gonna go.’”

The umpires reemerged. One of them waved to the press box. He pointed to second base. Out.

Then, he pointed to first base. 

Out.

Van De Brake extended both of his arms, then embraced Madera. 

“Unreal,” Van De Brake said. “We knew he was out the whole time.”

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