Pitching Propels Tar Heels to Hard-Fought Win Over Elon
Will Sandy, Connor Bovair excelled on the mound
As much as he would love North Carolina to defeat every opponent as handily as it did Seton Hall opening weekend, outscoring the Pirates 40-6 in three games, Scott Forbes knows that’s anything but likely. And in the 48 hours between Sunday’s series finale and Tuesday’s game against Elon, he ensured his players did, too, telling them that they’d find themselves in a dogfight sooner rather than later.
That proved to be the case from the start Tuesday, as the Phoenix jumped out to an early 1-0 lead and kept UNC’s bats at bay over the first three innings. The Tar Heels’ pitching staff, however, kept them in the game and ultimately set the stage for the hits they needed to secure a 5-1 win at Boshamer Stadium.
After starter Will Sandy allowed one run in the first four innings, Johnny Castagnozzi finally provided him some support with a two-run double in the fourth. At that point, UNC (4-0) turned to Connor Bovair to protect its 2-1 lead, and the righty delivered, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out seven over three scoreless innings.
Shortly after Bovair notched his last out in the top of the seventh, Mac Horvath hit an RBI single to increase the Tar Heels’ lead to two. Then, after a 1-2-3 eighth by Shawn Rapp, Castagnozzi hit a two-run home run that gave Kyle Mott plenty of cushion to close out the game.
“I think the story of our game was our pitching,” Forbes said. “I thought Will got us off to a great start. And then Bovair – who has been in the mix for a weekend job – looked outstanding. Shawn is Shawn – Shawn Rapp’s velocity continues to climb. And Kyle Mott could be a real difference-maker for us this year. His velocity is up, his command is up, he’s pitching more like he did in 2020. So I was most proud of getting a big hit in a big situation, but more importantly, how we pitched.”
UNC has allowed just seven runs this season, the fewest it has surrendered in the first four games of a season since 2013, when it gave up five to Seton Hall, Coastal Carolina and Stony Brook. The Tar Heels’ starters have been integral to that, allowing four runs (three earned) in 17 2/3 innings. But the bullpen has been phenomenal, giving up three runs (one earned) in 18 1/3 innings, striking out 27 and walking four.
“Those are the guys we need because that’s going to help us win down the road. …” Castagnozzi said. “We need guys to come out of the 'pen and give us a 1-2-3 inning, and that’s going to help the offense start clicking even more. If the bats are off, we have confidence in our pitchers that they’re going to get the job done and we can come up there and do our thing.”
Tuesday’s performance should only bolster that belief.
Sandy’s solid start
Tuesday’s game marked the second straight season that Sandy made his debut in a start against Elon, as the lefty allowed one hit and two walks while striking out six in five scoreless innings last February. As it turned out, that outing proved to be his best in an otherwise disappointing 2021 season, which he finished with an 11.42 ERA in 17 1/3 innings over 10 appearances (five starts).
Over the course of the offseason, Sandy started looking like his old self, turning in a strong summer with the Coastal Plain League’s Holly Spring Salamanders as well as a solid fall and preseason. Tuesday was a continuation of that, as the fourth-year junior allowed one run (unearned) on three hits and a hit-by-pitch while striking out three over four innings.
“Will has improved in every area, not just on the field but as a leader. …” Forbes said. “His breaking stuff is average, but his velocity is up a tick, which makes his off-speed a little bit better. So, to see him give us that good start is what we needed. We don’t need somebody midweek to necessarily go out there and throw seven innings with the depth of our bullpen, and we’re going to need to pitch guys just to make sure they’re staying ready for weekend. So he did a great job.”
Given his experience – his 21 total starts against Division I teams are nine more than any other UNC pitcher – Sandy could be a major difference-maker in a midweek role.
Bovair’s brilliance
Although he struggled at times in the fall and preseason, Bovair – who joined the Tar Heels this offseason after one year at Siena – flashed impressive stuff. On Tuesday, the righty’s arsenal was on full display as he used a 91-94 mph fastball to paint the corners and set up his curveball and slider – which he used to induce a few whiffs and freezes.
When asked postgame about the biggest adjustment he’s had to make since arriving at UNC, Bovair said the fall and preseason taught him he can’t get away with mistakes – such as letting a fastball leak over the plate – quite as easily at this level, among other lessons.
“Our team has a ton of great hitters, one through nine and with the bench guys,” he said, “and facing them throughout intrasquads in the fall, I think it really helped me learn how to pitch design, pitch call, place pitches, leave 0-2s certain places. I think that’s where the biggest change has been, just taking it pitch by pitch. And each pitch really does matter because the game can switch so quickly with one swing of the bat.”
Despite not opening the season in the weekend rotation, Bovair very much remains a candidate for the Sunday spot. But after also tossing a 1-2-3 eighth against Seton Hall last Saturday, there’s plenty of intrigue about his potential as a reliever.
“Watching him come in the last two times out of the bullpen, in the back of my mind I’m like, ‘Man, that’s another weapon,’” Forbes said. “I always feel like if you have two good starters and you’ve got a dominant bullpen, you can piece it together on Sunday. … (Shaddon) Peavyhouse and Bovair can come out of the bullpen or start, and they’ve got power stuff. And they’re both transfers, and they are tremendous kids. We got lucky with both of them.”
Castagnozzi cruising
Castagnozzi just missed a home run on his two-run double in the fourth, as the ball bounced off the top of the center-field wall. Four innings later, though, he hit a no-doubter over the scoreboard in left-center, with the ball leaving his bat at 106 mph and going an estimated 429 feet, per UNC’s analytics team.
In going 2-for-4 with a career-high four RBIs, Castagnozzi recorded his fourth multi-hit effort in as many games this season. His nine hits not only lead the team, but are the most by a Tar Heel through the first four games of a season since Levi Michael had nine in 2011.
Overall, Castagnozzi is slashing .600/.647/1.000 in 17 plate appearances. Perhaps most impressive of all? He’s only struck out once after striking out at a 38.7% clip as a true freshman last season.
“I have to give credit to Coach (Jesse) Wierzbicki,” Forbes said. “Him and Johnny spent a ton of time in the cages working on having an approach, because good hitters have approaches … Johnny’s biggest weakness last year was he swung at balls, him and Tomas Frick. And they’ve worked really hard to say, ‘OK, unless I get my pitch in a hitter’s count, I’m going to be OK letting the guy behind me pick me up.’
“Johnny has really improved at that. He’s laid off some really good pitches that I’ve watched so far in these four games that he swings at last year. And then if he swings at them early in the count, he lays off of it the next pitch, which is a sign of a guy who is starting to grow as a hitter.”
What’s next?
The Tar Heels will continue their season-opening six-game homestand at 4 p.m. Friday, when they welcome No. 25 East Carolina to Boshamer Stadium for the first game in a three-game series. UNC and the Pirates will play in Chapel Hill again at 2 p.m. Saturday in a game that was initially scheduled to be held at First National Bank Field in Greensboro before concluding the series at 4 p.m. Sunday in Greenville.
The preseason favorite in the American Athletic Conference, ECU dropped all three of its games against Bryant last weekend before beating Campbell 10-3 Tuesday.