The UNC baseball program is heading to the Regional Finals!
The Diamond Heels are heading to the Regional Finals! pic.twitter.com/ckjU8fIOiU
— Keeping It Heel (@KeepingItHeel) June 2, 2024
After a thrilling victory over LIU on Friday night, the Diamond Heels followed it up with an impressive victory over defending national champion LSU on Saturday afternoon.
At first it was a pitchers duel in Chapel Hill, as both sides got strong outings from their starting pitchers through the first four innings. However, the offense would come alive in the fifth, courtesy of the Tar Heels’ star center fielder Vance Honeycutt.
With two men on, Honeycutt blasted a 413-foot homer to give the Tar Heels a 3-0 lead. It marked the 60th career homer for Honeycutt, as he’s now just the fifth player in ACC history to accomplish the feat.
Vance Honeycutt is HIM! pic.twitter.com/QT2ZM9lRsc
— Keeping It Heel (@KeepingItHeel) June 1, 2024
As expected, LSU would crawl back into the game, but timely double plays and key pitches from the Tar Heels bullpen was enough to withstand the multiple jams they faced.
Honeycutt wasn’t satisfied with one homer, as he blasted a solo shot in his following at-bat to re-extend the lead. The UNC baseball program added two more insurance runs in the bottom half of the eighth inning courtesy of a Gavin Gallaher RBI single and an RBI groundout off the bat of Alex Madera.
Shea Sprague drew the start for the Diamond Heels, as he was able to battle through 4.1 scoreless frames. The left-hander had to work with a high pitch count but was effective against a very good LSU offense, as he was able to turn the ball over to the bullpen in a scoreless game.
Both LSU runs were charged to Ben Peterson, who threw two innings in relief. After pitching on Friday night, Dalton Pence was called upon once again, as he threw 2.2 shutout innings to close things out for the Diamond Heels.
Now, the UNC baseball program will play in Sunday night’s regional final, as they await the winner of Sunday afternoon’s game between LSU and Wofford. With a win on Sunday night, the Tar Heels will secure a trip to the Super Regionals, a series that would be once again hosted at Boshamer Stadium.
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Publish date : 2024-06-01 03:00:00
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