UNC Preseason Scrimmage Notes
Brandon Schaeffer's stellar start, Danny Serretti's offensive outburst highlighted the three exhibitions
With its season opener against Seton Hall rapidly approaching, North Carolina held three spring scrimmages Friday and Saturday at Boshamer Stadium.
Boshamer Bulletin was on hand for the entirety of Friday’s six-inning scrimmage and for most of Saturday’s doubleheader, which featured a seven-inning game followed by a six-inning game. Below are a few notes from all three exhibitions.
Play of the weekend
Vance Honeycutt added yet another play to his offseason highlight reel in Saturday’s second game, when, with one out in the top of the fourth, the freshman belted a two-run home run off the batter's eye in center. The homer – which traveled 438 feet, per UNC’s analytics team – handed Navy a 5-0 lead. It also came an inning after he stole home as a pinch-runner.
Five who stood out
Brandon Schaeffer: The WVU Potomac State transfer all but cemented himself as the Tar Heels’ Opening Day starter Friday, tossing five shutout innings for Blue. The lefty allowed just one hit – a leadoff double in the fifth – and one walk while striking out six and throwing 43 of his 67 pitches for strikes. Over three preseason starts, he surrendered one run on three hits and four walks in 13 innings, striking out 16.
Danny Serretti: The veteran shortstop turned in his best offensive performance of the offseason Friday, going 3-for-3 with two doubles – including the lone hit off Schaeffer; Serretti was also on Blue, but Scott Forbes kept him in the dugout to face Schaeffer in the fifth. Serretti then added an RBI double in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Shaddon Peavyhouse: The Coastal Carolina grad transfer has been up and down this offseason, but made a strong case Saturday to open the season as the Sunday starter, tossing 5 1/3 shutout innings in Game 2 for Navy. The righty allowed two hits and two walks while striking out four. The most impressive portion of his outing came in the fourth, when, after throwing seven of his first eight pitches for balls, he buckled down and threw five straight strikes to escape the inning unscathed.
Colby Wilkerson: With his team trailing 4-0 in Game 1 on Saturday, the sophomore infielder – known more for his glove than his bat – got Blue on the board with a 399-foot solo homer to left-center. Wilkerson added a single in Game 2 and finished with two walks across the three games – one of which came Friday after he fell behind 1-2 to Schaeffer.
Brandon Eike: Although he only registered one hit – a double – on the weekend, the sophomore put together some impressive plate appearances, drawing three walks and driving in the first run of Saturday’s second game with a sacrifice fly. In his first plate appearance Friday, he fell behind 1-2 before working an 11-pitch walk.
Other observations
In addition to Peavyhouse and Schaeffer, the Tar Heels got a solid start out of Will Sandy, who started Game 1 on Saturday for Navy. The lefty gave up three runs (two earned) in 5 1/3 innings on six hits and one walk, striking out three. He also made a great defensive play for his final out, sprinting into foul territory to make a sliding grab in front of the third-base dugout.
UNC’s other starters included Caleb Cozart, Max Carlson and Connor Bovair.
Starting for Navy on Friday, Cozart allowed one run on two hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings, striking out one.
Starting for Blue in Game 1 on Saturday, Carlson surrendered four runs (three earned) in four innings on three hits. (Walk and strikeout totals are unavailable).
Starting for Blue in Game 2 on Saturday, Bovair gave up five runs on six hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings, striking out four.
In pitching both days, the trio of Kyle Mott, Davis Palermo and Nik Pry combined to surrender four hits and two walks over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out five.
Reece Holbrook’s only hit of the weekend proved to be a big one – a 389-foot solo homer to right-center in the sixth inning of Saturday’s first game. The talented freshman also made a nice defensive play Friday, throwing out a runner trying to advance to third on a fly out to center.
Across all three games, Casey Cook notched four hits – including a double and an RBI single in Game 2 on Saturday. There’s a strong possibility that he’s in the Opening Day lineup, likely in left field.
Tomas Frick drove in two runs on as many sacrifice flies Friday.
After going 0-for-3 with a walk on Friday, Patrick Alvarez bounced back to go 3-for-5 with two walks on Saturday.
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