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UNC baseball overcame an early three-run deficit and came back to defeat East Carolina 7-5 in the Chapel Hill Regional of the NCAA tournament. The Heels are now only one win away from advancing to the Super Regionals.
The Heels got off to a slow start. ECU got out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the first and promptly scored two runs on UNC starting pitcher Jason DeCaro. The Pirates played small ball to get there, using three singles and a bunt to score before Jeff Sabater hit a double and give ECU a 2-0 lead at the end of the inning. They added a third run in the third inning to take their largest lead of the game at 3-0.
UNC’s bats woke up in the fourth inning. Erik Paulsen and Tyler Howe both hit singles to get on base before Colin Hynek launched a homer to deep center to bring them in and tie the game up at three apiece. East Carolina immediately yanked starting pitcher Luke Payne and replaced him with Charlie Hoagland, who managed to get the Pirates out of the inning without any further damage. ECU returned the favor in the bottom of the fourth, chasing DeCaro after he issued two outs walk. The Heels brought in freshman Caden Glauber.
The Heels took the lead in the fifth inning on a sac fly by Paulsen, scoring Gavin Gallaher. The sixth inning saw UNC break the game open as the Heels scored three more runs to run the lead up to 7-3. RBI doubles by Jake Schaffner and Gallaher did most of the damage; meanwhile, Glauber did what he’s been doing all season and continued to mow down Pirate batters. ECU did manage to get two runs back off a seventh inning triple, but Glauber and closer Walker McDuffie held the line to give UNC the win.
Glauber ended up getting the win; he threw 4.1 innings, allowing only three hits and two runs while striking out eight batters. McDuffie got credit for the save after striking out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth. Hynek finished with two hits, three RBIs and scored two runs; Gallaher was also a big part of the offense, driving in two runs while scoring once as well. Gotta tip my hat to Pirates second baseman Braden Burress as well, who managed to get on base every at bat; he finished with three hits, scored three runs, recorded an RBI, and was walked twice.
Now the Heels get to rest and await the winner of tomorrow’s first game. VCU eliminated Tennessee 5-4 earlier on Saturday; the Rams and the Pirates will play to see who gets a shot at UNC Sunday evening. Hopefully, the extra rest will help the Heels wrap up the region quickly and advance.
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