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Baseball
No. 15 North Carolina Edges Virginia in Series Finale
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 15 North Carolina (33-12, 15-9 ACC) clinched the series with a 5-4 victory over Virginia in the final game of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series on Sunday (April 28) at Boshamer Stadium.
The Cavaliers held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the contest but fell behind for good in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out, two-run home run Jackson Hesterlee. The Tar Heels scored in four consecutive innings beginning in the third.
Virginia pulled within a one after plating two runs in the top of the eighth. Senior Jack Weiller (Katonah, N.Y.) was credited with his 15th RBI of the season on a ground out that allowed Tanner Morris (Crozet, Va.) to score from third. Weiller was caught in a rundown during the next at bat but stayed in it long enough to allow Brendan Rivoli (Douglassville, Pa.) to come home from third base, making the score 5-4.
With two outs in the ninth, Virginia put the tying and go-ahead runs on base thanks to a hit by pitch earned by Cameron Simmons (Royersford, Pa.) and a single by Nic Kent (Charlottesville, Va.). North Carolina closer Austin Love was able to get the final out of the game to register his fourth save of the season.
Kent led the way for the Cavaliers with a 3-for-5 effort at the plate. Rivoli scored two runs and put forth his second multi-hit performance of the series with a 2-for-3 day in the batter’s box.
Reliever Andrew Abbott (Halifax, Va,) put an end to the Tar Heel scoring stretch by recording the final two outs of the seventh inning. He stranded a pair of North Carolina runners and struck out the final batter of the frame. He worked 1.2 innings of scoreless relief and struck out a pair of batters.
The Cavaliers wrap up their four-game road swing on Tuesday (April 30) against VCU at The Diamond in Richmond. First pitch is set for a 7 p.m.
Additional Notes
• The Cavaliers racked up 10 or more hits in each of the three games at North Carolina. The Cavaliers out-hit the Tar Heels, 11-9 in Saturday’s loss.
• Virginia fell to 6-7 in true road games this season.
• The one-run loss on Sunday was the third time this season Virginia has lost by a run in the rubber game of an ACC series.
• The Cavaliers are 4-7 in one-run games this season.