Small Ball, Mound Work Complete UNC's Weekend Sweep

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The Diamond Heels sent both the moms and the seniors home happy Sunday afternoon, completing a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh with a 7-3 victory at Boshamer Stadium. The win marked North Carolina’s first ACC series sweep at home this season and improved the Tar Heels to 40-9-1 overall and 20-7 in conference play.

Made-To-Order Offense

On Friday, it was the long ball. On Saturday, it was a complete all-around performance. On Sunday, it was small ball. Scott Forbes’ squad laid down a season-high four sacrifice bunts in the series finale, walked seven times, while none of UNC’s seven runs came by way of an extra base hit. 

After piling up eight extra-base hits across the first two games of the series, Gavin Gallaher’s first-inning double to right-center stood as the Tar Heels’ lone extra-base knock Sunday afternoon. Instead, timely singles and productive outs carried the Diamond Heel offense, with four of UNC’s seven runs coming after successfully advancing runners with sacrifice bunts.

Old Arms, New Arms, Same Tricks

Folger Boaz got the ball Sunday for the first time since April 19 against Georgia Tech, and the junior made the most of what could have been his final regular-season start at Boshamer Stadium. Boaz finished with a season-high eight strikeouts — one shy of matching the career high he set against Princeton in his third appearance as a Tar Heel back in March 2024.

Caden Glauber followed up Friday night’s dominant outing with another solid performance, allowing one hit across 3.1 innings of relief. The freshman, however, battled command issues, issuing a season-high five walks.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the eighth with a 6-2 lead, Walker McDuffie, making his third consecutive appearance, delivered the game’s biggest pitch, fanning Pittsburgh catcher Sebastian Pisacreta with a full-count slider to all but clinch the Senior Day sweep for the Tar Heels.

The Diamond Heels will make a trip to the beach for their second midweek matchup with UNC Wilmington on Tuesday. First pitch from Brooks Field is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday.