No. 3 North Carolina won a top-five showdown with No. 2 Georgia Tech, taking two of three behind dominant pitching and early offense at Boshamer Stadium.
The Tar Heels (33-7-1, 15-6 ACC) homered nine times and held the nation’s highest-scoring lineup to 11 runs across the series. The Yellow Jackets (32-7, 16-5) were limited to two runs or fewer in the first two games before salvaging the finale.
North Carolina launched three home runs in the first three innings Friday and rode strong pitching to a 5-2 win. It was the program’s highest-ranked home win since sweeping No. 1 Virginia in 2011.
Jason DeCaro, who was celebrating his 20th birthday on Friday, set the tone as he allowed one run on five hits with four strikeouts over five innings. He became the first pitcher this season to hold Georgia Tech scoreless through five.
Relievers Caden Glauber and Walker McDuffie combined for four innings of one-run, one-hit relief. The Jackets’ two runs tied their season low, and their six hits were their fourth fewest. Their top four hitters, who entered hitting a combined .373, went 2-for-16.
Jake Schaffner opened the first with a double and scored on Owen Hull’s RBI before Macon Winslow followed with a three-run homer for a 3-0 lead. Colin Hynek and Erik Paulsen added solo shots. Schaffner finished 3-for-4, and Tyler Howe added a double and a single. A record regular-season crowd of 4,357 filled the stadium.
North Carolina slugged three more home runs in a 14-4 run-rule win Saturday, clinching what had been billed nationally as the “series of the season.”
The Tar Heels, off to the second-best start in program history, scored three runs in the first inning for the second straight day and outscored Georgia Tech 12-0 before allowing a run. They improved to 21-0 when scoring in the first and 28-0 when posting the game’s first multi-run, scoreless “kill shot” inning, per PEARatings.
Schaffner and captain Gavin Gallaher reached to start the first, and Hull drove in the opening run for the second game in a row. Hull then delivered the decisive swing in the second, crushing a first-pitch grand slam to right for his third home run and first collegiate grand slam. He added a sacrifice fly and finished with six RBIs.
Winslow homered for the second straight day with a two-run shot to center, Cooper Nicholson added a solo homer, and Howe’s two-run double plus a bases-loaded walk to Carter French enforced the run rule.
Starter Ryan Lynch allowed three runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. McDuffie and Matthew Matthijs followed with 3 1/3 innings of one-run relief. Georgia Tech, which had not been held under five runs in back-to-back games this season, was held to four or fewer for a second straight day.
The Tar Heels have won three straight weekend series against the Yellow Jackets, and head coach Scott Forbes is 10-5 in the matchup, including six consecutive wins.
North Carolina could not complete the sweep Sunday, falling 5-2 as its offense cooled.
Georgia Tech took its first lead of the series in the opening inning, turning a leadoff walk and throwing error into a run. The Tar Heels answered in the bottom half — they scored in the first in all three games — but never built the early cushion they enjoyed in the first two wins.
Freshman right-hander Folger Boaz went 2 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on four hits with four walks. Matthijs (2 1/3 innings, one earned run, three strikeouts) and Jackson Rose (2 2/3 scoreless innings, two strikeouts) settled the game, but the offense never recovered.
After struggling in the first two games, Georgia Tech’s Drew Burress and Vahn Lackey produced some of their best plate appearances of the weekend to help generate traffic for the Jackets’ staff.
French collected three hits from the No. 9 spot, and Schaffner added two leadoff singles and scored both times.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: North Carolina Baseball: Diamond Heels win series over Georgia Tech