UNC baseball hammers Arizona in the first game of the super regional series
After a dominant Chapel Hill Regional, UNC baseball met up with Arizona on Friday in the first game of a best-of-three series in the Chapel Hill Super Regional at Boshamer Stadium. The Diamond Heels ran away with this one early and easily, winning 18-2, despite Jake Knapp struggling on the mound through the first few innings.
After going down 1-0 in the top of the first inning, the Tar Heels came back scorching hot at the plate, scoring five runs to boost the lead for Knapp on the mound. Luke Stevenson got back to his usual self after just one single in the entire Chapel Hill Regional. Stevenson had an RBI single and a three-run home run in the first two innings.
Gavin Gallaher, the Chapel Hill Regional MOP, went 13-for-18 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in that four-game stretch. He continued his streak with an RBI single in the first inning for his 66th RBI on the season to lead the team.
The other player that got involved early was first baseman Hunter Stokely. Stokely hit a three-run homer in the first inning, scoring Gallaher and Stevenson. By the end of the second inning, North Carolina had stretched out an 8-1 lead.
Knapp was still struggling on the mound, loading the bases multiple times in back-to-back innings, allowing just one run in both of those scenarios. He ended his day allowing nine hits with two earned runs and three strikeouts over 7.0 innings.
The two runs for Arizona didn't matter much as North Carolina just kept piling on the runs in the ensuing innings. Gallaher tacked on another RBI, as did Stokely. Alex Madera got on the board with a two-RBI single in the sixth inning. Carter French scored on a throwing error by Arizona before Stokey hit his fifth RBI of the contest in the eighth inning.
You would think that the runs would stop there, but they didn't. Sam Angelo hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning as well, scoring Stokley and Tyson Bass. Kane Kepley had the final run of the game with a solo home run, just two at-bats after Angelo.
North Carolina will match up with Arizona for Game 2 of the best-of-three series in the Chapel Hill Super Regional on Saturday at noon. If the Tar Heels win, their ticket to Omaha will be punched. If they lose, they will play a win-or-go-home Game 3 on Monday.
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