At 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 15, Hurricanes Baseball suffered a 9-8 loss to North Carolina thanks to a walk-off hit in the 11th inning. However, one hour later, the Hurricanes put that defeat past them and beat the 13th-ranked Tar Heels 4-3 to earn themselves a series victory. It was the first time since 2015 that Miami won a series at Boshamer Stadium.
“That’s a real character-builder,” Miami head coach Gino DiMare said. “I challenged the team to see what they were made of. It’s tough to play an hour after that game the way it ended on the road. We knew it would take a total team effort, especially on the pitching side. I’m proud of our guys for the way that they fought and stuck together.”
DiMare couldn’t describe the game much better: it was a genuine team effort displayed by Miami (22-13, 10-8 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Offensively, a three-run third gave the Hurricanes a quick lead. Outfielder Lorenzo Carrier scored with a solo home run that rocketed into left field. The redshirt freshman hit his first two home runs of the season in the series, with the first happening in Miami’s 5-4 victory on Thursday. ‘Canes shortstop Dominic Pitelli added to Carrier’s home run with a two-RBI single that brought CJ Kayfus and Yohandy Morales home.
The difference between the two teams came from a Zach Levenson solo home run in the fifth. It was the junior outfielder’s seventh home run of the season.
All of Miami’s runs came off the arm of UNC (24-12, 9-7 ACC) starter Jake Knapp (3-3), who had four earned runs in just 4.2 innings pitched. He received the loss for the game.
Miami pitcher Ben Chestnutt (3-0) picked up the win. Entering the game in the third, he tossed for 3.1 innings and only allowed two hits and two earned runs. Junior Ronaldo Gallo started the afternoon for the Hurricanes after allowing the walk-off hit in the previous game. However, he put it past him, pitched for two innings and allowed one earned run.
Freshman Chris Scinta pitched two innings and had three strikeouts while UNC failed to score against him.
‘Cane’s reliever Alejandro Torres received his second save of the season on the afternoon. The redshirt sophomore pitched in all three games against UNC, and in the one inning he pitched on Saturday, he struck out a batter and propelled Miami to the series victory.
The ‘Canes will have two midweek games before hosting Georgia Tech in their next ACC series this weekend. The first of the two games will be against Bethune-Cookman at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.