UNC’s lineup needed a mentality shift.
The team’s batting average had slumped, and the Tar Heels dropped both of their first two conference series. But once North Carolina hitters began approaching at-bats differently, things changed.
“These guys got to a point where they stopped chasing batting average,” head coach Scott Forbes said. “They said, ‘OK, we are at the point in the season where all we care about is winning as a team. I may not hit .500 [this season], but I can hit .500 today.'”
In No. 16 North Carolina’s sweep of Wake Forest this past weekend, the Tar Heels scored 31 runs — tied for most in any series this year. They recorded two run-rule victories in back-to-back games against an ACC opponent for the first time in program history. Production from the back half of the lineup sparked the offensive explosion with what Forbes called a contagious effect, bleeding into the rest of the batting order.
It was hitters like sophomore third baseman Gavin Gallaher who ignited North Carolina’s offense in games one and two. After a 3-for-5 performance, including two home runs against Elon last Tuesday, Gallaher rode his hot hitting into the early innings of game one against the Demon Deacons.
His home run in the bottom of the fourth headlined a 3-for-3 day at the plate on Friday. The next afternoon, Gallaher homered again for his fourth blast in three games. In total, he tallied six hits and six RBIs to help the Tar Heels run-rule Wake Forest in two blowouts to take the series.
It’s a stark contrast to the start of the season where Gallaher struggled at the plate early. It took 14 at-bats over the first four games of the season before he recorded his first hit. But now, the third baseman is UNC’s hottest hitter thanks to small tweaks in his mechanics.
“We worked on more of my posture in the box,” Gallaher said. “Specifically my load and making sure I'm in a good hitting position when my foot is down.”
Batting sixth in the lineup, Gallaher's uptick in batting average has spread to later hitters in North Carolina’s lineup. In the nine-hole, junior left fielder Carter French’s three hits over the first two games were a boost at the end of the order.
