CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WITN) – East Carolina and No. 6 North Carolina played another entertaining contest Sunday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill as the Tar Heels scored six runs over their final three offensive frames to register an 11-6 victory.
ECU (2-4) and UNC (6-0) will reconvene Monday evening inside a sold-out Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium for the series finale which is set for a 5 p.m. first pitch.
The Pirates notched season highs in both runs (six) and hits (10) but could not quite hold on to a sixth-inning advantage. The Tar Heels finished the game with 13 hits while committing a pair of errors.
Hunter Stokely was the offensive hero for North Carolina, going 4-for-5 with a run scored and three RBI. Luke Stevenson also drove in a trio of runs on the strength of two base knocks. Kenan Bowman and Alex Bouche led the Purple and Gold with two hits apiece while Walker Barron logged a pair of RBI via a home run.
Folger Boaz (1-0) collected his first win of the season in relief, scattering two hits in 3.1 scoreless innings with a walk and three strikeouts. Lance Williams (0-1) was saddled with the loss after giving up two runs on three hits in 1.1 frames.
The Tar Heels jumped on top in the bottom of the first when leadoff batter Kane Kepley was hit by a pitch, Alex Madera drew a walk and Stevenson lined a 1-2 offering just over the right field wall to afford the home side a 3-0 lead.
Unfazed, East Carolina answered back in the top of the third. Bouche began the half inning with a double to left before advancing to third on a wild pitch and scoring via a Michael Kalinich double off the top of the left field wall. Bowman would then draw the Pirates within 3-2 with a two-out RBI single.
With Colby Wallace on second after getting hit and advancing on a wild pitch in the top of the fourth, Barron worked a 1-1 count and sent the next pitch sailing over the wall in left for a two-run shot that put ECU in front 4-3. Jack Herring extended the Pirate upper hand to 5-3 in the fifth with a sacrifice fly, but North Carolina plated two in the home half of the fifth to knot the score at five.
Bouche got off as pretty a swing as you’ll see with one away in the top of the sixth, putting East Carolina back in front by one at 6-5 with a majestic moonshot over the left field fence. The Tar Heels were able to pull away in the final few frames, however, scoring six unanswered to provide the game’s final margin.
Postgame Notes
- East Carolina turned in its first clean defensive effort of the season with a zero in the error column.
- The Pirates used eight freshmen in the contest, including the first three hitters in the lineup and four pitchers.
- The teams combined to go a respectable 8-for-20 with runners in scoring position.
- Freshman infielder Austin Irby, who celebrated his 19th birthday Sunday, extended his current hitting streak to five games.
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