Carolina Shuts Down Miami For Friday Night Win

Friday, March 28

Chapel Hill

6 PM

North Carolina

20-6, 0

Miami

14-13, 0

Miami (FL)

North Carolina

Photo by: Ainsley E. Fauth

March 28, 2025 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: William Soule

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – 14 strikeouts on zero walks from the pitching staff powered North Carolina to a 2-0 win over conference foes Miami on Friday night in Boshamer Stadium.

The Tar Heels (20-6, 5-5 ACC) picked up their third shutout of the season thanks to stellar work on the mound from Jake Knapp and Walker McDuffie. The duo combined for the most punchouts without a walk for Carolina since May 20, 2021, against Georgia Tech.

On a day when the UNC bats struggled to find their footing, head coach Scott Forbes' team relied heavily on their arms and their defense to get the job done. It's the fewest hits in an ACC win for the program since a gritty 1-0 win over Duke on March 29, 2019.

Captain Knapp continues to be an absolute hoss on the bump for the Tar Heels. He's picked up the win in each of his last five outings, posting a 1.10 ERA with 38 Ks on just five walks.

Tonight, he recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts with just five hits in 7.0 innings. It's the first time the team has logged a shutout in his start since March 11, 2023 against Virginia.

McDuffie came in for the final two frames to pick up the save, allowing only one hit while adding four punchouts of his own. It is his second save of the year, the first true freshman Heel to record more than one since Trent Thornton had eight in 2013.

All of the scoring on the night came in the Carolina half of the fifth inning. Sam Angelo knocked a single to left that brought in Alex Madera and got Tyson Bass over to third. A Jackson Van De Brake sac fly then brought Bass across safely to give Carolina a 2-0 lead that was all it would need to secure the victory.