No. 21 UNC baseball overpowers Miami, 4-2, to secure series win –

No. 21 North Carolina baseball (21-6, 6-5 ACC) secured the series against Miami (14-14, 1-7 ACC) on Saturday afternoon, winning 4-2 at Boshamer Stadium.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jason DeCaro made his seventh start on the mound for the Tar Heels, entering with a 3.94 ERA and a 3-2 record.

DeCaro cruised through the top of the first with two strikeouts, retiring the Hurricanes in order. Miami’s right-hander Brian Walters followed suit, keeping UNC scoreless behind two strikeouts of his own. 

In the top of the second, Derek Williams broke the tie with a towering solo home run, giving the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead. In the bottom, graduate designated hitter Sam Angelo secured a three-game hit streak with his single up the middle, but North Carolina was unable to plate the scoring threat.

After DeCaro and the Tar Heel defense produced a hitless frame, UNC loaded the bases behind two singles and an infield error. With two outs, graduate shortstop Alex Madera worked a full count before grounding out, leaving North Carolina still without a run after three.

Besides the lone hit, DeCaro continued to coast through his fourth inning of work, upping his strikeout total to five. Angelo and first-year left fielder Sawyer Black both collected their second hits of the contest in the bottom half, turning over the lineup and bringing up junior centerfielder Kane Kepley with two outs and another scoring opportunity. Kepley grounded up the middle, but an infield error plated the first Tar Heel run.

The gift from the Miami second baseman broke the ice for the UNC offense. Still in the fourth, sophomore catcher Luke Stevenson, graduate first baseman Hunter Stokely and sophomore third baseman Gavin Gallaher recorded back-to-back-to-back two-out singles, opening up the North Carolina lead to 4-1. 

Both teams failed to reach a baserunner in the fifth.

In the sixth, a leadoff double and a single from Fabio Peralta cut North Carolina’s lead back to two and ended DeCaro’s day. UNC turned to first-year right-handed pitcher Ryan Lynch. He struck out the next two batters to work out of the frame. North Carolina failed to respond on offense.