UNC's Balanced Approach Secures Series Over Pitt

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Pittsburgh threw everything it had at North Carolina on Saturday – literally – to no avail as the Tar Heels secured their eighth ACC series of the season with a 12-2 win in Boshamer Stadium. Ryan Lynch earned his fourth win of the season, going six innings before giving way to Walker McDuffie in the seventh. Cooper Nicholson’s three-RBI day led seven Heels with runs batted in as the Heels moved to 19-7 in the ACC, 39-9-1 overall.

Wading Through Sea of Arms

In case you weren’t familiar with Pittsburgh’s pitching staff before this weekend, now you are. The Panthers rolled through 10 of the 19 pitchers on their roster Saturday afternoon — the most arms North Carolina has seen in a game this season. It’s become something of a Saturday trend for Pitt, which has now used six or more pitchers in five of its last six Saturday contests.

Regardless of who was on the mound, though, Saturday marked a far more complete offensive performance from the Tar Heels.

After relying almost exclusively on the long ball in Friday’s series opener, North Carolina got home runs from Nicholson and Tyler Howe on Saturday, but manufactured the majority of its offense through sacrifice flies, singles and doubles. Eight of the Tar Heels’ 12 runs Saturday came without the benefit of a homer. The Tar Heels didn’t record an at-bat with a runner in scoring position until the eighth inning of game one, but on Saturday, they had their first such opportunity in the third inning, before finishing the afternoon 4-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Pitchers Are Players, Too

In what Scott Forbes called the moment of the game, Lynch’s Houdini act in the top of the first inning saved the Tar Heels from an early jam.

Trouble appeared to be brewing immediately as Lynch surrendered back-to-back singles to open the game before hitting Panther right fielder Lorenzo Carrier to load the bases with nobody out. From there, though, the right-hander bailed himself out of the hole, fielding consecutive ground balls — the first turning into a 1-2-3 double play, and the second a routine 1-3 putout — to strand two runners and keep the Panthers off the board.

McDuffie Bounces Back

In a return to regularly scheduled programming, Walker McDuffie bounced back Saturday afternoon following Friday night’s rare stumble, where he retired just one of the five batters he faced while allowing a run and loading the bases. In game two, whatever rust lingered appears to be gone as McDuffie looked like his old self, retiring all six batters he faced on  26 pitches while not allowing a single baserunner and striking out one. 

The Diamond Heels will go for a Senior and Mother’s Day sweep on Sunday. First pitch at the Bosh is set for 1 p.m.