North Carolina
19-6
South Carolina
17-9
Carolina Overpowers South Carolina In Charlotte
March 26, 2025 | Baseball
The Tar Heels (19-6, 4-5 ACC) got the win in an offensive slugfest against their border rivals to the south, once again proving themselves capable of conquering any type of contest. Four home runs on the day tied a season high and certainly helped as the squad fought to overpower the Gamecocks.
The scoring got going for Carolina in the second inning when Tyson Bass battled through a seven pitch at-bat to take a 3-2 pitch deep to center for his second home run of the year. The transfer outfielder has been red-hot in his last two outings, going five-for-nine with seven RBIs.
The Heels retook the lead in the third with a lengthy two-out rally. With the first two batters retired, the next six reached including a Luke Stevenson solo shot and a two-RBI single for Bass with the bases loaded. The Carolina catcher's homer left the stadium at an estimated 438 feet, the second longest of the year for UNC.
Carolina's offense continued to pour runners on in the high-scoring affair. Sawyer Black added his second homer of the season in the fourth. Gavin Gallaher smacked a two-out, two-RBI double in the sixth to push the lead out to five.
The Gamecocks would not go quietly into the Charlotte night however, tying the game on the back of a four-run sixth inning. The Tar Heels answered right back with a massive five-run top of the eighth.
Kepley led off with a walk before Stevenson sent out his second home run of the game. The streaking Bass then scored Stokely once again. Alex Madera, who had singled for the second time on the day, came across on a wild pitch before Sam Angelo brought in Bass.
Head coach Scott Forbes got production from the top to the bottom of his lineup on Tuesday night. Every single Tar Heel starter scored, four doing so more than once.
Walker McDuffie, Olin Johnson, and Ryan Lynch were the key performers on the mound for North Carolina. The true freshman McDuffie entered in the first and calmed the waters after USC jumped out to an early lead. He went 2.0 innings with three Ks and only one hit.
Johnson followed with 3.0 innings of no-hit work, only allowing one run off a walk. Lynch had to steady the ship after the Gamecocks rallied, but held them to two hits and one run in his 2.2 IP in picking up the win.
The Tar Heels will return to the friendly confines of Boshamer Stadium for the first time in three weekends as they prepare to host ACC foes Miami. First pitch on Friday, March 28 is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET with coverage on ACCNX.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lynch, Ryan (2-0)
L: Zach Russell (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Gallaher, Gavin 1
HR: Stevenson, Luke 2 ; Bass, Tyson 1 ; Black, Sawyer 1
RBI: Stevenson, Luke 4 ; Gallaher, Gavin 2 ; Bass, Tyson 4 ; Angelo, Sam 1 ; Black, Sawyer 1
SH: Black, Sawyer 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kepley, Kane 2 ; Stevenson, Luke 2 ; Stokely, Hunter 2 ; Gallaher, Gavin 1 ; Madera, Alex 1 ; Bass, Tyson 2 ; Angelo, Sam 1 ; Van De Brake, Jackson 1 ; Black, Sawyer 1
SB: Madera, Alex 1 ; Holbrook, Reece 1
HBP: Madera, Alex 1 ; Van De Brake, Jackson 1
Batting:
2B: Jase Woita 1 ; Beau Hollins 1 ; Henry Kaczmar 1
HR: Nathan Hall 1 ; Ethan Petry 1
RBI: Nathan Hall 3 ; Ethan Petry 1 ; Beau Hollins 1 ; Henry Kaczmar 2
SF: Nathan Hall 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nathan Hall 1 ; Ethan Petry 1 ; Blake Jackson 1 ; Dalton Mashore 1 ; Beau Hollins 1 ; Jordan Carrion 1 ; Cayden Gaskin 1 ; Henry Kaczmar 1
HBP: Kennedy Jones 1 ; Jordan Carrion 1
