UNC Loses Pitchers' Duel to Liberty, 1-0
The Tar Heels are 6-16 in road games over the last two seasons
Coming off a 2021 season in which North Carolina went 6-14 on the road, head coach Scott Forbes spoke often this offseason about his team’s need to be tougher and find ways to win away from Boshamer Stadium.
So far this year, the 20th-ranked Tar Heels have proven to be the former, as evidenced most recently by their come-from-behind walk-off victories over Coastal Carolina. But they have yet to accomplish the latter in their first two tries, the latest a 1-0 loss to No. 12 Liberty on Tuesday at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
Two days removed from throwing 22 pitches in two scoreless innings of relief, Connor Bovair got the start for UNC (11-2) and quickly retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the first. Before he could get out of the inning, though, Aaron Anderson hit a solo homer just inside the right-field foul pole. The Flames (11-1) appeared to be on the verge of expanding their lead an inning later, loading the bases with two outs, but Bovair escaped the jam with a groundout.
Shaddon Peavyhouse, Shawn Rapp and Kyle Mott took over from there and combined to allow just one hit – an infield single – while striking out 11 in the next six innings. As great as they were, Liberty’s Mason Fluharty, Jeremy Beamon and Cade Hungate matched them seemingly pitch for pitch, scattering three hits over the final 4 1/3 innings en route to the shutout.
“I can’t imagine (the pitching) being much better,” said Liberty head coach Scott Jackson, who served as an assistant coach at UNC from 2009-16. “They can really pitch. They’ve done a great job. (Former Liberty and current UNC pitching coach) Bryant Gaines, obviously I’m a little bit biased, but he’s done an unbelievable job with their pitchers and some guys who this time last year weren’t where they are now. Kyle Mott is one of them, and gosh, he was lights out tonight – two innings and five strikeouts. We can pitch, too, and it was just a battle back and forth.”
Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, they found themselves on the wrong side of it. And after also losing 5-0 at East Carolina on Feb. 27, they’re now 2-11 in their last 13 road games.
Missed opportunities
Although UNC wasn’t able to push across a run, it had multiple scoring chances.
Vance Honeycutt led off the game with a single, but was thrown out trying to swipe second, marking the first time in 13 attempts that the freshman was caught stealing. That moment loomed large as Angel Zarate and Tomas Frick singled in the next two at-bats before Danny Serretti grounded into a double play.
The Tar Heels put another runner on second with two outs in the fourth, but Alberto Osuna popped out to second. An inning later, they had runners on second and third with two outs when Frick struck out, thwarting another opportunity.
Finally, in the ninth, Johnny Castagnozzi and Osuna singled to put runners on first and second with one out, but Hunter Stokely and Max Riemer struck out as UNC finished 2-for-16 with runners on and 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Dynamic duo
As phenomenal as the Tar Heels’ entire bullpen has been – posting a 1.43 ERA over 63 innings – Mott and Rapp have anchored it so far, and both were at their best Tuesday.
Making his NCAA-leading 10th appearance, Rapp allowed only one batter to reach (via a hit-by-pitch) while striking out three in two shutout innings. The effort lowered his ERA as a reliever to 2.72 over the last two seasons (12 earned runs in 39 2/3 innings over 30 appearances).
Mott came on for Rapp with two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the sixth and picked up right where the lefty left off, giving up one hit – an infield single – and one walk over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Mott recorded five strikeouts, matching his UNC high, set against Coastal Carolina on Friday. The right-hander notched 12 strikeouts in his final outing for Pitt Community College on May 10, 2019.
Not so sticky
With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Liberty’s Gray Betts hit Rapp’s first pitch foul toward the third-base coaches box. Rapp was preparing to throw his next pitch when Jackson called the third-base umpire over to show him the ball and ask the crew to check Rapp for sticky stuff.
Nothing was found, and Rapp proceeded to strike out Betts looking two pitches later on an 80 mph slider.
A scary scene
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Zarate – playing in left field – and Honeycutt – playing center – collided while trying to catch a fly ball in the gap. Honeycutt held on to it, but both players stayed on the ground for a few minutes before eventually getting up under their own power.
Although neither player left the game nor appeared to show any lingering effects, the collision could have likely been prevented with better communication.
What’s next?
With Wednesday’s home against Georgetown postponed due to inclement weather, the Tar Heels will return to action Friday when they host Pittsburgh in both teams’ ACC opener. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Picked to finish last in the Coastal Division in the ACC preseason coaches poll, the Panthers (7-4) are fresh off an appearance at the All-American Classic in Fayetteville, where they lost to Army, 5-3, before defeating Ohio State, 6-5, and Campbell, 11-5. Pittsburgh is slated to face High Point at 6 p.m. Wednesday.