Friday, March 1
Chapel Hill
11 a.m.
North Carolina
8-2
12
vs
2
Princeton
1-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Princeton
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
4
2
North Carolina
11
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
X
12
15
0
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Baseball Scores 11 In First To Beat Princeton
March 1, 2024 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina sent 16 men to the plate, scored 11 runs in the bottom of the first inning, and defeated Princeton 12-2 Friday in the first game of a three-game weekend series at Boshamer Stadium.
It was the second time in 10 games this season that the No. 17 Tar Heels (8-2) scored double-digit runs in an inning, plating 10 against Wagner in the second inning of the series finale. It's the most runs they've put up in an inning since scoring 11 seventh inning runs against Seton Hall on Feb. 19, 2022.
Vance Honeycutt and Alberto Osuna had three RBIs in the first. After Matt Scannell stole home to give Princeton (1-3) a 1-0 lead, Osuna's two-run double gave UNC a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, he singled to right field to plate the final run of the frame.
Honeycutt reached on a dropped fly ball in his first at-bat, but he didn't give the Tigers a chance to catch the ball in his second at-bat, blasting a 423-foot home run that made the score 10-1.
"We got some help because they didn't make some plays, but we stung some balls," UNC head coach Scott Forbes said. "Our offense has done a good job of not letting teams off the hook."
Osuna, Alex Madera, and Casey Cook each collected two hits in the inning. The Tar Heels had 10 hits in the first and led 11-1 at the end of the frame.
Madera recorded the first four-hit game of his UNC career, collecting three doubles with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Cook registered three hits, and Honeycutt and Osuna had two each.
Princeton starter Sean Episcope (0-2) went one-third of an inning. He faced 12 batters and was lifted after Cook registered his second hit of the inning. The sophomore allowed 11 runs on eight hits with one walk and a strikeout.
Carolina starter Folger Boaz (2-0) struck out nine in 7.0 innings pitched and limited Princeton to two runs on three hits. He retired seven consecutive batters to complete the longest outing of his young career.
"He didn't have his best stuff today, but that shows how good he can be," Forbes said. "He had enough command to battle through and give us seven complete, which is really promising."
The second game of the series is slated for Saturday, March 2, at noon. Junior left-handed pitcher Shea Sprague is slated to pitch for the Tar Heels and will be opposed by Princeton sophomore Justin Kim.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
T1 – Scannell stole home (PU, 1-0)
B1 – Madera scored on a single to left by Cook (T, 1-1)
B1 – Osuna doubled to center field to plate Honeycutt and Cook (UNC, 3-1).
B1 – Luke Stevenson singled through the right side to score Donofrio (UNC, 4-1).
B1 – Colby Wilkerson's soft pop-up landed behind the pitcher's mound to score Osuna from third base (UNC, 5-1).
B1 – Madera singled up the middle to drive home Stevenson and Jackson Van De Brake (UNC, 7-1).
B1 – Honeycutt hit a three-run home run to center field (UNC, 10-1).
B1 – Osuna singled to right field to drive in Cook (UNC, 11-1).
B2 – Cook lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Wilkerson (UNC, 12-1).
T4 – Dyland Zdunek had an RBI single to right field (UNC, 12-2).
NOTABLES:
• North Carolina won its 16th consecutive game against Princeton and improved to 31-9 all-time against the Tigers.
• The Tar Heels improved to 8-0 at home this season.
• Madera became the first Tar Heel to have three doubles in a game since Tomas Frick against Stony Brook (3/5/23) a year ago.
• Honeycutt took fourth place on the program's all-time home run list by hitting the 43rd home run of his career. Mac Horvath ranks third on the list with 47.
• Cook recorded his third three-hit game and fifth multi-hit game of the season. He's hit safely in nine of 10 games.
It was the second time in 10 games this season that the No. 17 Tar Heels (8-2) scored double-digit runs in an inning, plating 10 against Wagner in the second inning of the series finale. It's the most runs they've put up in an inning since scoring 11 seventh inning runs against Seton Hall on Feb. 19, 2022.
Vance Honeycutt and Alberto Osuna had three RBIs in the first. After Matt Scannell stole home to give Princeton (1-3) a 1-0 lead, Osuna's two-run double gave UNC a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, he singled to right field to plate the final run of the frame.
Honeycutt reached on a dropped fly ball in his first at-bat, but he didn't give the Tigers a chance to catch the ball in his second at-bat, blasting a 423-foot home run that made the score 10-1.
"We got some help because they didn't make some plays, but we stung some balls," UNC head coach Scott Forbes said. "Our offense has done a good job of not letting teams off the hook."
Osuna, Alex Madera, and Casey Cook each collected two hits in the inning. The Tar Heels had 10 hits in the first and led 11-1 at the end of the frame.
Madera recorded the first four-hit game of his UNC career, collecting three doubles with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Cook registered three hits, and Honeycutt and Osuna had two each.
Princeton starter Sean Episcope (0-2) went one-third of an inning. He faced 12 batters and was lifted after Cook registered his second hit of the inning. The sophomore allowed 11 runs on eight hits with one walk and a strikeout.
Carolina starter Folger Boaz (2-0) struck out nine in 7.0 innings pitched and limited Princeton to two runs on three hits. He retired seven consecutive batters to complete the longest outing of his young career.
"He didn't have his best stuff today, but that shows how good he can be," Forbes said. "He had enough command to battle through and give us seven complete, which is really promising."
The second game of the series is slated for Saturday, March 2, at noon. Junior left-handed pitcher Shea Sprague is slated to pitch for the Tar Heels and will be opposed by Princeton sophomore Justin Kim.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
T1 – Scannell stole home (PU, 1-0)
B1 – Madera scored on a single to left by Cook (T, 1-1)
B1 – Osuna doubled to center field to plate Honeycutt and Cook (UNC, 3-1).
B1 – Luke Stevenson singled through the right side to score Donofrio (UNC, 4-1).
B1 – Colby Wilkerson's soft pop-up landed behind the pitcher's mound to score Osuna from third base (UNC, 5-1).
B1 – Madera singled up the middle to drive home Stevenson and Jackson Van De Brake (UNC, 7-1).
B1 – Honeycutt hit a three-run home run to center field (UNC, 10-1).
B1 – Osuna singled to right field to drive in Cook (UNC, 11-1).
B2 – Cook lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Wilkerson (UNC, 12-1).
T4 – Dyland Zdunek had an RBI single to right field (UNC, 12-2).
NOTABLES:
• North Carolina won its 16th consecutive game against Princeton and improved to 31-9 all-time against the Tigers.
• The Tar Heels improved to 8-0 at home this season.
• Madera became the first Tar Heel to have three doubles in a game since Tomas Frick against Stony Brook (3/5/23) a year ago.
• Honeycutt took fourth place on the program's all-time home run list by hitting the 43rd home run of his career. Mac Horvath ranks third on the list with 47.
• Cook recorded his third three-hit game and fifth multi-hit game of the season. He's hit safely in nine of 10 games.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Boaz, Folger (2-0)
L: Episcope, Sean (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Shapiro, Caden 1
RBI: Zdunek, Dylan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Scannell, Matt 1 ; Kelly, Jordan 1
SB: Scannell, Matt 1
CS: DiPietrantonio, Nick 1
HBP: Scannell, Matt 1 ; Kelly, Jordan 1 ; Koonin, Jake 1
Batting:
2B: Madera, Alex 3 ; Cook, Casey 1 ; Osuna, Alberto 1
HR: Honeycutt, Vance 1
RBI: Madera, Alex 2 ; Honeycutt, Vance 3 ; Cook, Casey 2 ; Osuna, Alberto 3 ; Stevenson, Luke 1 ; Wilkerson, Colby 1
SF: Cook, Casey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Madera, Alex 2 ; Honeycutt, Vance 2 ; Cook, Casey 2 ; Donofrio, Anthony 1 ; Osuna, Alberto 1 ; Stevenson, Luke 1 ; Van De Brake, Jackson 1 ; Wilkerson, Colby 2
SB: Honeycutt, Vance 1
HBP: Dix, Eliot 1 ; Van De Brake, Jackson 1 ; Wilkerson, Colby 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
2b/ss
AB
5
R
2
H
4
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball1B/DH
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
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