Sometimes a midweek game is just a speed bump. For #2 North Carolina baseball, that speed bump came in the form of #9 Coastal Carolina, who rolled into Boshamer Stadium and handed the Diamond Heels a humbling 12-2 defeat—their first midweek loss of the season.

The Tar Heels entered the week riding high at No. 2 in the rankings for the second straight week, fresh off a 2-1 series win over Duke. But that series, while a win, had its own blemishes, including a lackluster performance in the second game that left a slightly bitter taste. The midweek matchup with the Chanticleers didn't help wash it down.

Starter Jackson Rose struggled from the jump, needing nearly 50 pitches to record just five outs before being pulled. Walker McDuffie stepped in and stabilized things, allowing only one inherited run to score while tossing four strong innings. The offense gave him a boost in the second when Cooper Nicholson crushed a two-run homer, briefly giving UNC a 2-1 lead.

For a while, it looked like a classic pitchers' duel might unfold. But the sixth inning changed everything. McDuffie surrendered a couple of RBI hits, handing Coastal the lead back. After UNC's bats went quietly in the bottom half, the floodgates opened.

Matthew Matthijs entered and immediately gave up a double, a bunt single, and an RBI double—without recording an out. Folger Boaz followed and allowed an RBI single plus a wild pitch before being lifted. Cam Seagraves finally got the first out of the seventh (on a sacrifice bunt, no less), but then added a wild pitch, a walk, and a single. Cam Padgett came in to clean up the mess, but not before Coastal had scored six runs in a nightmare frame that turned a close game into a rout.

It was the kind of inning—feasting on opponent mistakes and ground balls—that UNC has lived on all season. This time, they were the ones serving the feast. The Diamond Heels now head into a weekend off, hoping to reset and regain the form that had them looking like a juggernaut just a week ago.