Tar Heels Show Toughness in Season-Opening Sweep of Seton Hall
UNC rallied early, never looked back
As North Carolina progressed through its fall season, Angel Zarate noticed it more and more.
Coming off a 28-27 season in which the Tar Heels went 11-20 in games in which their opponent scored first, the fifth-year outfielder couldn’t help but recognize that every time a team fell behind during instrasquad scrimmages, it always stormed back. So, when the coaches asked him at the end of the fall what he thought was different between this year and last year, he knew exactly what he wanted to bring up.
“I said this is going to be huge during the season,” Zarate recalled, “because it can happen that quickly.”
Fast-forward four months later, and there UNC was, trailing Seton Hall 2-0 entering the bottom of the first inning of Friday’s season opener. Not even 10 minutes into the season, Zarate’s theory was being put to the test. And then, just like that, it happened: Zarate homered on the first pitch he saw, Danny Serretti went yard minutes later and suddenly the route was on.
Beginning with the back-to-back home runs by the two veterans, the Tar Heels outscored the Pirates 40-4 over the rest of the series en route to a dominant season-opening sweep (14-3, 19-0, 7-3). The 40 runs are the most UNC has scored in its first three games since 2003, when it scored 43 against Delaware State and Seton Hall.
“To see that right out of the gate was good,” said head coach Scott Forbes of his team’s early rally. “I think our team believes in each other and they believe that one through nine in our lineup can hit a home run or hit a double, so we’re never going to be out of a game. That’s one thing we’ve worked on or talked a lot about, but you have to apply it and understand what toughness truly is, and I thought they showed that right away.”
The Tar Heels showed it Sunday, too, falling behind 1-0 in the second before erupting for seven unanswered runs between the third and fifth innings. Zarate – who reached base in all three games to extend his on-base streak to 26 games, dating back to last season – was again at the heart of the rally, driving in two runs with his fourth-inning single. But as was the case all weekend, he wasn’t alone, as four other players drove in runs and Johnny Castagnozzi and Reece Holbrook collected two hits apiece.
Across all three games, 12 different Tar Heels combined for 36 RBIs, offering a glimpse of what Zarate saw months ago.
“It’s good that a bunch of guys who were in the starting lineup and even the guys who were sitting the bench, they’ve made huge strides toward having quality at-bats,” he said. “We know when one person gets a quality at-bat, it’s contagious. This guy has a good at-bat, then the next guy will, and just not trying to do too much.
“It’s a long game, and you’re never out of it until the last pitch is thrown. I think our guys realized we can put up the runs and do a lot of damage; we just have to try to control what you can and pass it on to the next guy.”
A debut to remember
Ever since Vance Honeycutt arrived on campus, Forbes has praised him for his elite speed on the basepaths and his penchant for making the spectacular play in center field. The Tar Heel head coach has certainly recognized his ability at the plate, too, but Forbes has tried not too compliment it too much out of concern of putting too much pressure on the freshman.
That same reason factored into his decision to not put Honeycutt in the leadoff spot on Opening Day. But those efforts might be all for naught after Honeycutt turned in one the best opening series for a UNC freshman in recent memory.
After drawing a walk in his first career plate appearance Friday, Honeycutt hit a solo home run in the fourth, becoming the first Tar Heel to homer in his first collegiate at-bat since Drew Poulk on Feb. 16, 2007, against Seton Hall. Honeycutt then hit a three-run blast in the eighth to finish 3-for-4 with two home runs, four RBIs, four runs and a stolen base. His three hits were the most by a UNC player in his collegiate debut since Wood Myers had three against the College of Charleston on Feb. 15, 2014.
“I came out pretty nervous,” said Honeycutt, whose father, Bob, played at UNC from 1988-89, and mother, Leah Ann, was a member of the track and field team. “I was growing up coming to these games and watching these great players play here whenever I was younger. To be able to wear the jersey and play for this amazing program, it just means the world.”
Honeycutt followed up that performance in a big way Saturday, when, in his first at-bat of the game, he launched a 1-1 pitch over the scoreboard. The ball left his bat at 105 mph and went an estimated 424 feet, per UNC’s analytics team. The homer made him the first Tar Heel to hit three in the first two games of a season since Seth Williams in 2008.
As much as the coaches thought of Honeycutt – who the San Francisco Giants picked out of Salisbury (N.C.) High in the 20th round of the 2021 MLB Draft – Forbes said he never saw him as much of a power hitter before he enrolled.
“In a short amount of time, he’s improving already as a hitter,” Forbes said. “You don’t find many guys who have that much speed who can also combine it with that much power. So, at times, it can be tough because you might want to lay a bunt down but you’re thinking, ‘Geez, if he finds the barrel, the ball is out of here.’ It’s a good problem to have.”
In Sunday’s series finale, Honeycutt reached base only one time via a hit-by-pitch. But he made the Pirates pay, stealing second and third before scoring on a Patrick Alvarez single. Honeycutt’s three stolen bases on the weekend were as many as any returning Tar Heel had last season – Serretti and Zarate each had three.
‘A really emotional moment’
When Max Carlson walked off the Boshamer Stadium pitcher’s mound with an elbow injury on April 11, 2021, Forbes feared the worst: that the talented righty would not just be sidelined for the rest of last season, but for all of this season, as well.
Fortunately for Carlson, he avoided Tommy John surgery and instead underwent an internal bracing procedure in May. And after spending nine months rehabbing, there he was Saturday, back on the same mound where his promising true freshman season abruptly ended.
The significance of the moment wasn’t lost on Carlson, who allowed three hits while striking out five and walking one over four shutout innings.
“Words can’t even describe the feeling,” he said. “Excitement is an understatement. Playing baseball my entire life, getting into college because I play baseball, it’s hard when it’s taken away from you. It was a really emotional moment for me.
“… You’ve got to work really hard to come back from something like that and even get back to who you were before. But I had the greatest support staff behind me in my rehab back at home, my rehab here. Terri Jo (Rucinski, head athletic trainer), Coach (Bryant) Gaines and the whole coaching staff were there for me, guiding me through this process. I couldn’t have done it alone.”
For a pitcher making his first appearance in 314 days, Carlson didn’t show much – if any – rust, retiring 11 of the first 13 batters he faced. The Pirates put some pressure on him with back-to-back two-out singles in the fourth, but he induced a weak grounder to second to escape the jam unscathed.
Carlson ultimately threw 75 pitches, 43 for strikes. His fastball sat 90-92 mph.
“That kid is a bulldog,” said Tomas Frick, who played travel ball with Carlson with Canes National. “I didn’t expect anything less from him. It’s Max Carlson. Absolute bulldog. It was very good to see him out there. I was so happy, and our whole team was so happy for him to go out there and compete again.”
Solid starts
As much excitement as there was for Carlson’s start, there was perhaps just as much for WVU Potomac State transfer Brandon Schaeffer’s on Friday and Coastal Carolina transfer Shaddon Peavyhouse’s on Sunday.
In the days leading up to his start, Schaeffer – the first Tar Heel pitcher to make his UNC debut as the Opening Day starter since then-freshman Ryan Snare in 1998 – said he was approaching it as just another game. Once he took the mound Friday, though, in front of 2,155 fans, his nerves kicked in. That showed throughout the first inning, as he gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. But the lefty bounced back to hold Seton Hall scoreless over the next five innings, striking out five while allowing just two hits.
“Going out there, it’s a completely different scene than I’m used to,” Schaeffer said. “The fans and everything, it’s awesome. But basically, just settling down and sticking to what my strengths are – which is throwing strikes, pounding the zone and getting after guys. I made a few bad pitches and they put a few good swings on the ball, and before you knew it, it was 2-0. But just being able to go back out there and settle in was the key.”
Peavyhouse also faced some adversity in his start, loading the bases with one out in the second. The Pirates scored the game’s first run on a soft infield single, but the right-hander struck out the next batter on a 2-2 slider and then induced an inning-ending grounder to short. He ultimately finished having surrendered one run on five hits and a walk over 3 2/3 innings, striking out four.
“I thought him getting out of that second inning with the bases loaded and one out was big for us and for him,” Forbes said, “because at the end of the day, I know he’s got a lot of experience, but it’s still the first time he’s pitched in a UNC uniform.”
Although he didn’t start, Siena transfer Connor Bovair also made a strong impression Saturday, striking out one in a 1-2-3 frame.
Frick’s refined approach
As impressive as Frick was as a true freshman last season, both behind and at the plate, he struggled with runners in scoring position, slashing .167/.237/.259 over 60 plate appearances. Subsequently, Forbes often spoke about the need for the energetic catcher to slow the game down in such situations, and it appears he has, thanks in large part to the help of Dr. Jeni Shannon.
The director of UNC’s mental health and performance psychology program, Shannon meets with individual student-athletes on a one-on-one basis and works with teams to offer mental health and performance psychology support. Forbes said Shannon’s work with his team includes meeting separately with the pitchers and the position players to talk about, among other things, the importance of breathing techniques and routines – two things that Frick said he placed an emphasis on this offseason.
That was evident throughout the fall and preseason, and resulted in Frick starting all three games against Seton Hall in the cleanup spot. The sophomore made the most of his opportunities in that position, going 4-for-9 overall and 2-for-4 with a sacrifice fly and all five of his RBIs with runners in scoring position. He had 16 RBIs in 53 games last season.
“Him and Johnny have really worked on controlling the zone and slowing the game down a little bit when they do get two strikes, because you’re going to hit with two strikes, too, about 54% of the time,” Forbes said. “Tomas struggled in that situation, but he struggled because he was trying so hard and he was swinging at everything. He’s worked harder at just trying to move the ball, stay short and, if you walk, the guy behind me has to take care of it.”
Rapp, bullpen shine
Coming off a redshirt freshman season in which he thrived as a reliever and showed flashes of his potential as a starter, Shawn Rapp appeared to be a strong candidate to open this season in the rotation. Whenever his name came up this offseason, though, the coaching staff tended to talk about how great a weapon they thought he could be out of the bullpen.
The lefty was just that this weekend, allowing only one baserunner (via a walk) and striking out six in 3 1/3 scoreless innings over two games. His performances lowered his ERA as a reliever the last two seasons to 3.34 (12 earned runs in 32 1/3 innings over 22 appearances).
“Last year, with a couple of injuries to the pitching staff and the starting rotation, I had to pick up some of that slack here and there – do some starts, do some different things,” Rapp said. “And I like that; I like being able to do different things, kind of be like a Swiss Army knife. But wherever they see me, wherever they think I can help us most, I’m happy to do it. This weekend, especially with three pretty good starts, I was obviously out of the bullpen. I’m just trying to thrive in whatever role they put me in.”
Rapp’s two outings highlighted a great weekend by the bullpen, which gave up three runs (one earned) while striking out 18 and walking three in 13 1/3 innings. That the Tar Heels didn’t have to call on Tanner Quick, Will Sandy, Alden Segui or Carson Starnes – all of whom should make an impact this season – speaks to the team’s newfound pitching depth.
“At points last year, it kind of felt like some guys were getting stretched out,” Rapp said. “When they were lagging, their arms were hanging and they kind of had to go that extra inning and maybe something didn’t go right or they didn’t have as much success as you know they were capable of. But coming into this year, I think we have so many good arms and so much talent that if you’re not having a good day and you can see it after a hitter or two, you come out and somebody else comes in and helps you out. I think it’s going to help all of us be more fresh and have more success all the time.”
What’s next?
The Tar Heels will continue their season-opening six-game homestand when they host Elon at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Coming off a 22-22 season in 2021, Elon was picked fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason coaches poll. Bovair and Sandy are the most likely candidates to get the start against the Phoenix, which dropped two of three games to Fairfield this weekend.