Tar Heels Drop Heartbreaker at Louisville
Scott Forbes discussed the series loss, how UNC hopes to move forward
For much of Sunday’s series finale at No. 11 Louisville, No. 20 North Carolina looked as if it might rebound from Saturday’s frustrating 9-8 walk-off loss to the Cardinals and come away with its first series win in three weeks.
Much like it did in Friday’s 13-9 victory, UNC jumped on Louisville early, seizing a 5-1 lead after three innings. With that score still intact, the Tar Heels seemed destined to expand on it after loading the bases with one out in the top of the sixth. Before they could even try, though, the contest came to a screeching halt.
Due to a bomb threat that was called into the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, both teams were instructed to leave the field and fans were evacuated from Jim Patterson Stadium. A sweep of the facility by the K-9 units and bomb techs of the Louisville Metro Police Department followed, and after a two-hour, 16-minute delay, play resumed without fans. Unfortunately for UNC, its offensive success didn’t, as it squandered its bases-loaded opportunity with a quick fly out and a groundout.
Despite that, the Tar Heels maintained their 5-1 lead over the next three innings. But in the bottom of the ninth, Louisville erupted for four runs to tie the game and send it into extras. Both teams fought valiantly over the next 90 minutes. Yet, in the end, the Cards came out on top, as Isaac Humphrey singled with the bases loaded in the 14th to hand UNC a heartbreaking 6-5 defeat and end the game more than seven hours after it started.
Following the loss, head coach Scott Forbes spoke with Boshamer Bulletin about the series and where the Tar Heels (21-11, 7-8 ACC) stand after dropping three straight league series and eight of their last 11 games.
Boshamer Bulletin: What was your reaction when you found out about the bomb threat? How did you approach the situation with your team?
Scott Forbes: There’s nothing we could really do about it. When they told us what was going on, I just said, “Well, we’re getting our guys out of here.” Originally they said we could just go to the locker room, and I was like, “Well, that doesn’t make any sense if it’s a bomb threat.” So we got on the bus and found us a grocery store and got us some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the guys. Our guys were great. They wanted to finish the game, didn’t want to be given the win. I thought we handled it great. There was nothing we could really do. Obviously, with that long of a delay, we knew we couldn’t put (Kyle) Mott back out there (on the mound), so that was a blow. But you just have to deal with the hand that you’re dealt.
BB: You said the guys wanted to play, but was there any conversation with Louisville about calling the game?
SF: No, fortunately we had chartered a plane. That’s why you do it, in case it rains or whatever. We just didn’t know if they were going to allow us to finish it originally, but we made it clear that if they allow us to, we want to finish it. Unfortunately, we didn’t end up on the winning side, but I couldn’t be more proud of our guys and how they fought.
BB: You guys jumped on them early Friday and again on Sunday, but after a strong start Sunday, did you notice anything change approach-wise as things slowed down offensively?
SF: Obviously, winning Friday was big, because if you go on the road in this league you’re trying to win the series, but you also want to make sure you don’t come back with three losses. I thought we should have had a chance to or could have won all three games. To win Friday, we went for it (Saturday) because we should have. We had a chance to win it on the road in a tough environment, and our guys did the same thing (Sunday). To jump on them first, I thought it was important and gave us some momentum. (Brandon) Schaeffer pitched pretty good. At the end of the day, we did just what we wanted to do – we had a 5-1 lead heading to the ninth.
BB: You talked about how you couldn’t put Mott back out there Sunday, but Davis Palermo gave you 2 2/3 great innings and Connor Ollio was sensational over 3 2/3. How impressed were you with them and the way they stepped up?
SF: No doubt. Davis, we could have left him out there another inning if we hadn’t pitched him Friday and Saturday, which we had to do because our starters haven’t been giving us any length. When your starters don’t give you length, it wears and tears on your bullpen. That’s a great example of, Davis is probably finishing that game. He was almost out of gas before we took him out, but he was able to get that last out for us. We needed somebody else to finish it in the ninth, and we didn’t get it done. But then obviously a bright spot is Connor Ollio coming in and throwing really well and giving us a chance to win. We just could not manufacture a run.
BB: What went into the decision to pull Caden O’Brien after facing two batters in the ninth?
SF: He just hasn’t looked good, honestly, recently, but we thought, “OK, he’s older, he’s done it. Let’s get him out there and let him close this game down.” Giving up the solo home run and then the walk, you don’t have a choice with their best guys coming up – you’ve got to go to somebody else.
BB: You mentioned not getting a lot of length from the starters and the effects of that. Over the last few games, the walks have gone up compared to where they were at early in the year. Is that due to fatigue? Or is something else contributing to that?
SF: No, I don’t think (it’s fatigue). We walked quite a few after that Friday night game against Virginia Tech. The zones are tight. TrackMan is an issue now, so you’ve got to be on the plate and you have to make pitches. I think that’s why scoring is up because the umpires are being held accountable for that TrackMan strike zone. It could be a little bit of fatigue because you get a little more tired and your arm is going to drag a little bit and you don’t have quite as good stuff and you might hit a guy or walk a guy when normally you wound’t.
BB: Alberto Osuna (8-for-16 with three home runs and 10 RBIs) had a big weekend after you pulled him out of the starting lineup for about a week. What went into the decision to reinsert him Friday? How impressed were you with how he responded this weekend?
SF: He’s a great teammate, he’s an extremely hard worker – one of our hardest workers – and his attitude is really good. I thought when he came off the bench, he had a couple of really good at-bats against South Carolina (on Wednesday), even though we were down. And I thought, “OK, that’s a good response. Let’s get him back in there. We need that power.” And man, he really had a great weekend for us.
BB: Angel Zarate also had a great weekend, specifically in the outfield – throwing out three baserunners, including two at home Sunday. How far has he come with his arm strength over the last few years to become a guy who now has 10 outfield assists on the season?
SF: Unbelievable. That kid is unbelievable. It’s because he works. He takes a lot of pride in his throwing. It’s not a coincidence that he has those assists. It doesn’t just happen. He takes pride in it. It’s a little thing, obviously, but he spends as much time on that as he does on hitting.
BB: It’s been a tough stretch, and with the way the league is set up, it doesn’t get any easier. What is the message to the team almost halfway through April?
SF: I told them this time, “Alright, we lost a 14-inning game to Miami and we let it linger. We’re not doing that this time.” Obviously, we got swept at Miami, so you’ve got to be positive. We won Friday’s game and we should have won the series, and we know that. But we can’t let it linger because if you let it linger, you’re not going to play well the next time you’re on the field. So we talked about that. We’ve talked the whole season, from the beginning, about how you’re going to have adversity, you’re going to have challenges and you just have to keep playing and be process oriented. It’s something we talk about a lot and these guys understand.