The Diamond Heels’ five-game win streak came to a screeching end Tuesday, losing 8-5 to No. 8 Coastal Carolina on the road.
The Tar Heels came out with a boost of confidence from the series sweep over NC State, scoring three runs in the first inning. However, Coastal answered with three in the bottom half due to a two-run homer.
The next inning, UNC would go cold. Meanwhile, the pitching woes continued with two more runs, one from a home run and the other from an unearned error. After that, both teams went scoreless until the seventh inning when Coastal added extra insurance three-run homer to put the score at 8-3.
UNC did attempt a comeback, ending their scoring drought in the eighth innings with a homer from Max Riemer, which counted as a two-run RBI, with Austin Hawke tagging home plate from the hit. After holding Coastal in check in the eighth, UNC had one last opportunity to get back into the ball game.
Down three, Mac Horvath got things going with a triple to get into the scoring position. Hunter Stokely hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Horvath, bringing the Tar Heels within two. Unfortunately, that was the game’s final run, ending North Carolina’s five-game win streak.
The Tar Heels will be back in action Thursday for their final series of the regular season as they travel to South Carolina for a meeting against Clemson.
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