Just as it has done before plenty of times this season, the UNC baseball team’s offense nearly bailed out a rough outing by starting pitching.
North Carolina trailed LSU 8-1 entering the eighth inning, after the combination of starting pitcher Aidan Haugh, reliever Kyle Percival and reliever Connor Bovair struggled through 5 2/3 innings. A 7-run deficit would normally be too large for teams to overcome, but when you have the Diamond Heels’ offense, nothing is impossible.
UNC closed its gap to 8-4 in the seventh inning after a 2-run single from Anthony Donofrio, but that was the closest it got, leaving the bases loaded with one out in the ninth inning in a loss that pushed the Chapel Hill Regional to a Game 7 Monday at 6 p.m. ET.
Freshman catcher Luke Stevenson struck out with the bases loaded for the second-to-last out of the game, then Friday night hero Gavin Gallagher lofted a deep fly ball to left field for the final out.
You could argue the 12 men left on base cost the Diamond Heels a chance at advancing to host a Super Regional next weekend, but you also can’t pin this loss on hitting.
If North Carolina pitching doesn’t give up eight runs in the first five innings, hitters don’t feel the pressure to try and hit home runs with every swing. Even if UNC only allows four runs to the defending champion Tigers, the deficit is a lot more manageable.
LSU left fielder Josh Pearson mashed a 2-run home run in the first inning, which then signified the start of an offensive explosion.
Let’s take a deeper dive into what Tar Heel nation thought of Sunday night’s loss:
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