Heels Top Rams In Tuesday Clash

Tuesday, February 25

Chapel Hill

4 PM

North Carolina

8-0

VCU

2-6

VCU

North Carolina

February 25, 2025 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: William Soule

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Diamond Heels won their fourth game in four days with a 9-4 victory over VCU on Tuesday night at Boshamer Stadium.

The Tar Heels (8-0, 0-0 ACC) have run out to their first 8-0 start since 2019, the best start the team has had under head coach Scott Forbes. Nine unanswered runs from the bottom of the third on helped UNC retake the lead and keep it for good.

The scoring got started for the Heels when Luke Stevenson, in the DH spot today, drove in Kane Kepley with a single up the middle. The big momentum swing, however, came shortly after that from the bat of Hunter Stokely who belted a three-run bomb to right field to tie the game.

Stokely, fresh off hitting .667 against East Carolina over the weekend, continues to be a force for this Carolina offense. His first homer tied it up, he scored from first on a Rom Kellis double to take the lead, and added another long ball in the eighth to put the final nail in the coffin. It is his first career multi-home run game and his first time hitting homers in back-to-back games since April 2023.

The leadoff man Kepley added a pair of RBIs off a deep double in the seventh to give the Heels a more comfortable lead. He stuffed the stat sheet on Tuesday with a two runs, two RBIs, one hit, one walk, a hit-by-pitch and a stolen base.

True freshman Walker McDuffie picked up his second win of the season with a commanding effort in this 3.1 innings of relief that steadied the ship in the middle of the game for UNC. He entered with the bases loaded in the fourth and walked off the field with no damage done.

Across the next three frames he struck out the side twice and tallied seven punchouts in total. He still has yet to give up a run 9.1 innings of work this season.

The pitching staff as a whole racked up 14 strikeouts and left 11 VCU baserunners stranded. Combined with the 17 Ks on Monday against ECU, it is the first time since March 2-3, 2019 against UMass-Lowell that the team has recorded back-to-back games with 14+ strikeouts.

The Tar Heels are right back at it tomorrow for their fifth game in as many days, this time taking on NC A&T in Boshamer Stadium. First pitch will be at 4 p.m.