Heels Shut Down Cardinals In Run-Rule Win

Friday, March 20

Chapel Hill

8 PM

North Carolina

19-3-1

Louisville

15-7

Louisville

North Carolina

Photo by: AINSLEY E. FAUTH

March 21, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score

By: William Soulé

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Jason DeCaro and Caden Glauber dealt against the Cardinals on Friday night in Boshamer Stadium, leading Carolina baseball to an 11-1 eight-inning victory to open the series.

The No. 14 Tar Heels (19-3-1, 5-2 ACC) held Louisville to two hits on the night, easily its smallest output of the season (previous low was eight). The normally high-flying offense came in with the third highest batting average in the country but was effectively held at bay by the DeCaro and Glauber dynamic duo.

DeCaro had to battle throughout his 5.2 innings as he gave up a career-high six walks, but the preseason All-American was more than up for the challenge. Four strikeouts, just the two hits, and an earned double play helped him strand eight runners and allow only one run.

Following in DeCaro's footsteps in more ways than one, the 17-year-old Glauber entered in relief with two inherited runners and two outs. He needed just one pitch to get out of the inning, and he would not allow a Louisville baserunner for the rest of his 2.1 IP.

Glauber has been sensational out of the bullpen all season and the story was no different tonight in his first appearance in front of a national TV audience. He sat down three Cardinals while not giving up a hit or walk. 19 of the 23 pitches he threw were for strikes.

Of course, Carolina couldn't have picked up its program-record ninth shut out of the run-rule of the season without offense to support the fabulous pitching. The Heels racked up 13 hits and 10 walks to constantly be in dangerous positions. It was a well distributed attack as the top half of the lineup scored the runs with the bottom half providing the RBIs.

Macon Winslow reached safely in all five of his plate appearances, putting up two runs and an RBI on two hits and three walks. He is the only Tar Heel to have gotten on base in all 23 of the team's games.

Only slightly outdone by Winslow, Gavin Gallaher and Owen Hull got on base in four of their five trips to the plate. Gallaher scored three times while Hull drove in three.

No Tar Heel has been hotter at the plate in recent weeks than Hull. The George Mason transfer at one point two weeks into the season held a .091 batting average. Since breaking out of his slump with a three-hit game against NC A&T, the junior is averaging .473 to lead the team in that span.

Carolina took the lead for good in the third on some clutch hitting from Rom Kellis V and Tyler Howe. The starting corner outfielders on the day both faced two-strike counts and produced crucial bases-loaded RBIs.

The final nail came off the bat of Cooper Nicholson, who tattooed a ball 107 mph and 348 feet just over the fence in left that scored two and walked the game off for fans both in the stands and watching at home on ACC Network. It was the team's first nationally televised contest of the season.

The Tar Heels quickly turn around for a 2 p.m. ET first pitch on Saturday in Boshamer Stadium, looking to secure the series. Coverage will come on ACCNX.