No. 16 UNC baseball sweeps Wake Forest with 3-2 win on Sunday afternoon

No. 16 North Carolina (28-8, 11-7 ACC) swept Wake Forest (24-13, 9-9 ACC) with a, 3-2, victory in Sunday afternoon’s series finale at Boshamer Stadium. 

The 31 runs UNC scored over the weekend tied the most in a series this season — matching the total from North Carolina’s sweep of Stony Brook — and helped the Tar Heels outscore the Demon Deacons 31-4 on the weekend.

“You have to credit our offense the first two games,” head coach Scott Forbes said. “For bridging the gap and bringing it like that.”

Another quick start for North Carolina, thanks to an error by Wake Forest second baseman Dalton Wentz in the first allowed UNC baserunners Jackson Van De Brake and Luke Stevenson to score from second and third. The two unearned runs helped the Tar Heels take an early lead which it kept through the first six innings.

A double play in the top of the fifth helped sophomore starting pitcher Jason DeCaro’s outing. After Stevenson put out a Wake Forest batter on a dropped third strike, graduate first baseman Hunter Stokely then threw out a greedy Demon Deacon runner across the diamond who tried to steal third base on the throw down. The play ended the inning and helped erase DeCaro’s only runner in scoring position through five. 

But in the top of the sixth, a double off the bat of Wake Forest hitter Cam Nelson and a single moments later by Marek Houston tallied a two-out run for the Demon Deacons. After going to the bullpen for first-year Walker McDuffie, the reliever recorded the final out of the sixth — a fly out to left field.

“I was pretty fired up when you face a guy that good,” McDuffie said. “You’re obviously gonna compete at your highest level and try and match and I got the best of him.”

DeCaro finished the day with six strikeouts, and only one earned run through five and two-thirds innings. He allowed only two hits on the outing, with both coming back-to-back with two outs in the sixth. 

Aside from the two runs in the first inning, UNC’s offense sputtered. The Tar Heels recorded only one hit over the next five innings, adding no support to their early lead. 

This helped Wake Forest tie the game after loading the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh. McDuffie conceded a walk to allow the Demon Deacons to score uncontested, before striking out the next batter to end the inning. 

In the bottom half of the inning, UNC responded with an RBI single off the bat of first-year designated hitter Lee Sowers. The opposite-field base hit scored graduate second baseman Alex Madera from second in Sower’s first collegiate start.

Standing on first base, he turned to UNC’s dugout and celebrated his first career hit. 

“Couldn’t hold it back,” Sowers said. “I was really excited and really grateful to be in that position.”  

McDuffie retired the next six batters in order, closing the door on a Wake Forest comeback and earning the win for North Carolina. 

The Tar Heels will host UNC-Charlotte at home on Tuesday night, before traveling to Blacksburg, V.A. to face Virginia Tech in a three-game series next weekend. 

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