One was enough.

A towering three-run homer by senior third baseman Chad Flack was the biggest blow in a five-run fifth inning as the third-ranked Tar Heels topped the Pack 5-2 at the USA Baseball Complex.

''We made a mistake to Flack,'' Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said after the opener of the three-game ACC series. ''You make a mistake to Flack and he’s obviously capable of doing what he did.

''We made a mistake to Flack and missed. And he didn’t. So there you go — there’s the ball game.''

Flack hasn’t been missing too many balls lately for the Heels (21-4, 8-2 ACC). He struggled at the plate early in the season but was hitting a torrid .556 over his last seven games entering the series, with 12 runs batted in.

''He’s locked in,'' UNC coach Mike Fox said.

The Pack (14-9, 4-6) was coming off a dismal 3-0 loss to Marshall on Wednesday in which State was limited to one hit — an infield single.

But the Pack jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second off UNC starter Alex White (4-2) as designated hitter Jeremy Synan ripped a two-run single to center.

White, a sophomore righthander, prevented further damage in the fifth. State had runners at the corners with one out, but White calmly fanned shortstop Tommy Foschi and then second baseman Dallas Poulk.

White walked a season-high five batters but matched his career high with 11 strikeouts before leaving with two outs in the sixth.

''Alex did what we expected — give us a chance to win'' Fox said.