Photo courtesy of UNC Baseball
Cardiac Carolina Cools Off BC
Cardiac Carolina stifled the red hot Boston College Eagles in Chapel Hill this weekend in a high stakes ranked matchup. The Tar Heels needed to win this series to have a shot at taking sole control of 2nd place in the ACC standings. BC satin the top 4 coming into this weekend, so they are also making a run at the top of the conference. The Eagles are coming off a huge upset win over #9 Virginia, giving BC their second top ten upset of the season.
Game One
AJ Colarusso for Boston College has been on absolute fire for the last week or so. In six innings, Colarusso only gave up 5 hits and 1 run. Colarusso recorded 7 strikeouts and only 3 walks on his way to picking up the win. Thanks to a dominant performancefrom Colarusso and relief pitcher Cesar Gonzalez, the Eagles took game one by a score of 6-1.
The Diamond Heels scored their lone run of the game in the 2nd inning. A bad throw trying to pick off Owen Hull at 3rd allowed him to score. Ryan Lynch picked up the loss, moving his record to 2-3 overall this season. The Eagles lefty dominant starting rotation really came thru for them in game one.
Game Two
Jason Decaro got the start for the Heels for game two. He missed his usual game one start due to an illness. Decaro made it thru 2 and two thirds of an inning allowing no hits and one earned run. Freshman phenom Caden Glauber came in and tossed 5.1 innings and only gave up 2 hits, a run, and recorded 5 strikeouts. The Heels came out hot to start with captain Gavin Gallaher sending a homerun over the left field wall.
Jake Schaffner added two more runs with a 2RBI triple in the 2nd to make it 3-0 for the Diamond Heels. The Eagles responded with a run of their own on a wild pitch in the 3rd to make it 3-1, but the Heels answered yet again. Macon Winslow drove in another run in the 5th with a sac fly to drive in Schaffner. BC responded with another run in the 7th, but the Heels answered yet again with an RBI double from Colin Hynek.
Game Three
Folger Boaz got the start for the Heels in what would be a wild rubber match against BC. The Eagles opened scoring with a run in the 2nd, but the Heels answered with 3 in the 3rd. Carolina held that 3-1 lead until the 5th. An error that would have ended the 5th inning turned into 6 runs for the Eagles. The Heels got 2 more runs in the 6th thanks to a single from Tlyer Howe and a sac fly from Cooper Nicholson.
Carolina would keep the heat on with 3 more runs in the 7th to retake the lead. Jake Schaffner scored on a wild pitch and then Owen Hull drove in the go ahead run on a 2RBI single. The go ahead run came on a gutsy call from coach Forbes directing Winslow to score from 2nd base. BC was able to field a throw to home plate but could not get it in time. Jackson Rose picked up the win to move to 2-0 on the season.
Moving Forward
The Tar Heels move to 27-5-1 overall on the season. This is also the Diamond Heels’ second ranked series win so far this season. Carolina also now moves to 11-4 in conference play, taking sole control of 2nd place in the ACC standings. The Heels record at Boshamer stadium this season is now 19-4-1. It might still be early, but Carolina is building a top 8 caliber resume. The matchup with ACC leader Geogia Tech in a couple of weeks looms large. But before we get to that, the Heels host the Charlotte 49ers on Tuesday at 7pm at Boshamer Stadium.

