UNC baseball holds off Florida State, advances to ACC championship game
North Carolina was disappointed after falling short of earning the regular-season ACC title, but the Tar Heels said on Friday that a tournament title would be a good alternative. The team is one win away from adding that to its resume.
No. 3 seed UNC beat No. 2 seed Florida State, 7-5, on Saturday night in the ACC Tournament semifinals in the team’s third win over FSU in 10 days. The victory set up a date with Clemson in the ACC title game at noon Sunday.
“‘I’m really happy for our guys, because we practice a lot of things that don’t show up in the box score, that we did a good job of executing tonight that helped us win,” UNC head coach Scott Forbes said.
“They handled the details of the game better than we did today,” Seminoles coach Link Jarrett said. “We were in it; great atmosphere, great competition. We didn’t handle the details of this well enough.”
The Tar Heels (41-12) entered the game knowing the Seminoles would battle.
Florida State (38-14) picked up one win over UNC in the regular season where the two teams traded runs. Saturday’s game, featuring one tie and four lead changes, was similar to what the Heels experienced in Tallahassee one week ago.
“You love playing in close games. That’s what you play baseball for,” Carolina shortstop Alex Madera said. “But I think this one meant a little bit more to us. Obviously, we lost game three, and we really wanted to sweep. Being able to pull that through was was awesome.”
It took 13 batters for UNC to record a hit, but once the offense got going, there was plenty of action at the plate for both squads.
Third baseman Gavin Gallaher contributed the team’s first hit and drove in the first run. His single up the middle scored center fielder Kane Kepley.
The Tar Heels retook the lead in the top of the fifth, courtesy of two singles — one from Hunter Stokely and one from Alex Madera — and Carter French’s single to center.
A disastrous fifth inning could’ve ended UNC’s title run. The Tar Heels’ pitching faltered, it used three arms, and a defensive error gave Florida State a lead. The staff loaded the bases and walked in a run. Then, in an attempt to turn two, Jackson Van De Brake committed a throwing error and allowed two Seminoles to cross home.
The Heels responded quickly. Van De Brake hit a leadoff double in the following half inning to make up for his miscue. He crossed home plate on Luke Stevenson’s two-RBI home run, his 18th of the season.
After two scoreless innings, UNC added insurance in the ninth. Madera led off with an error before designated hitter Perry Hargett outran his bunt. The two moved into scoring position after Carter French’s sacrifice bunt. Kepley knocked in a single to score both and give Carolina a 7-5 lead.
Forbes said Hargett and French used to be weak bunters, but they’ve improved dramatically.
“They bunt every single day. That’s something you have to do,” Forbes said. “You have to get it down to win championships, for sure, so that’s a credit to these guys.”
The Seminoles needed two pitching changes to get out of the inning but not without loading the bases.
Jason DeCaro started on the mound for the Tar Heels. He threw 4.1 innings where he gave up five hits and one run — FSU first baseman Myles Bailey’s 15th home run of the year — while striking out four and walking three.
Up to that point, DeCaro limited FSU’s ability to score. He gave up a leadoff double and a walk in the third, putting runners on the corners. He got out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts — including a 79- mph curveball against ACC Player of the Year Alex Lodise — and a groundout. The sophomore escaped another jam in the fourth, only allowing Bailey’s solo shot, despite having runners on.
DeCaro entered the game with a 3.37 ERA on the season and a 1.55 ERA in the previous five games.
Aidan Haugh was responsible for walking in the run during the fifth but settled into his long relief effort, only giving up one hit. Walker McDuffie also pitched one inning and picked up his second save in as many days.
Florida State’s lone win over UNC took place with Wes Mendes on the mound. He started Saturday’s game and kept the Heels in check for the first three frames. Mendes gave up six hits, five runs and struck out seven — five in the first nine batters — in five innings.
