After losing a weekend series to the Miami Hurricanes two weeks ago, the UNC baseball team responded in dominant fashion last week.
On Tuesday, the Diamond Heels mercy-ruled UNCW, 11-0, in seven innings behind eight combined RBIs from top-of-the-lineup hitters Gavin Gallagher, Casey Cook, Vance Honeycutt and Parks Harber.
Over the weekend, North Carolina (21-4, 7-2) swept Georgia Tech for its second ACC series sweep.
On Friday, UNC came back from an early 2-0 deficit behind an Alberto Osuna double, Alex Madera single and Cook home run. Dalton Pence iced the Yellow Jackets’ comeback for his second save, helping the Diamond Heels to a 5-4 victory.
North Carolina clinched the series on Saturday, whooping Georgia Tech 11-5. Sunday was more of the same, with UNC winning 9-2.
As a result of its new 5-game win streak, the Diamond Heels jumped six spots to 14th in the latest D1 Baseball rankings.
🆕 D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings: Week Six
(Presented by @NettingPros)@RazorbackBSB remains the No. 1 team in the land in the latest D1Baseball Top 25, while four new teams enter this week's tumultuous rankings. https://t.co/6FORc6Cd9K— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) March 25, 2024
North Carolina has been able to play at this high level thanks to a balanced hitting attack, as 11 regulars are hitting over .300 and help UNC sport the nation’s 19th-best batting average (.320). The Diamond Heels have 34 home runs and 206 RBIs as a team – Honeycutt leads the team with eight home runs, while Cook’s 37 RBIs are tops.
Pitching hasn’t been nearly as dominant, but it’s significantly better compared to last year. Three regular starters (Jason DeCaro, Olin Johnson, Shea Sprague) have an earned run average under 4.00, Matthew Matthijs leads the NCAA with nine wins while Dalton Pence may just be the best reliever in all of college baseball.
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