Diamond Heels Hold Off Hokies For 9-6 Friday Win

Friday, April 18

Blacksburg, Va.

6 PM

North Carolina

30-8, 12-7

Virginia Tech

24-14, 9-10

North Carolina

Virginia Tech

April 19, 2025 | Baseball

Box Score

By: William Soulé

BLACKSBURG, Va. – North Carolina rode another productive day at the plate to a 9-6 win in the series opener against Virginia Tech on Friday night.

The Tar Heels (30-8, 12-7 ACC) picked up their seventh straight victory thanks to clutch hitting and commanding pitching that never let the Hokies truly get a foothold in the game. Carolina was efficient in high-leverage situations, adding four of their runs with two outs and going 4-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Small ball scored the first run of the game for Carolina. Kane Kepley led off with a walk, stole second, advanced on a wild pitch to get to third, and finally made it home on a sac fly. It is the eighth straight conference game in which the Heels have scored first, going 6-2 in that stretch.

Tech tied it in the third before Luke Stevenson's 12^th home run of the season put UNC back in front just two batters later. The Heels would score in the next four frames to build their lead.

Nine-hole hitter Carter French singled to score Sam Angelo off his double in the fifth. In the next inning, Hunter Stokley followed Stevenson's lead with an opposite field homer that scored two. It was the fifth oppo long ball of the year from a guy who only had one in his three previous seasons.

A three-run homer for the Hokies cut the Tar Heel lead to one in the bottom of the sixth, but Carolina answered right away once again. Kepley smoked his sixth triple of the season to right center before Jackson Van De Brake brought him in. The three-bagger puts Kepley in a tie for the fifth most in program history.

The inning continued with the reigning ACC Player of the Week Gavin Gallaher, who fought to a full count with two outs and won the at-bat with a single that scored Van De Brake.

Insurance came for Carolina in the ninth thanks to a big helping of plate discipline. Kepley led off with a single and then four of the next six Tar Heels that came to the plate would draw a walk and put up two more runs in the process.

ACC ERA leader Jake Knapp picked up his eighth win of the season, going 5.1 IP with seven strikeouts and only two walks. Walker McDuffie entered in relief and settled in nicely after a rocky start. He finished with six strikeouts and two walks in 3.2 innings to earn his fourth save. Virginia Tech was forced to use eight arms on the night to just the two for Carolina.

The programs will return to Atlantic Union Bank Park on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET for game two of the series. Coverage will once again be held on ACCNX.