Walk-Off Wins Highlight Tar Heels' Series Sweep of Coastal Carolina
UNC showed resiliency all weekend in improving to 11-1
Nearly 750 days had passed since Boshamer Stadium last saw anything like that, the sort of drama and heroics that only baseball can provide.
On Feb. 15, 2020, Joey Lancellotti hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to give North Carolina a 2-1 win over Middle Tennessee. The massive swing propelled the Tar Heels to a season-opening sweep and offered fans hope for what was to come. Ultimately, though, it proved to be one of the few highlights in a season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not since then had UNC walked off an opponent at the Bosh. And that made this weekend all the more special for the Tar Heels, as they sandwiched a pair of walk-off victories Friday and Sunday around a 4-0 shutout Saturday to sweep Coastal Carolina.
Down 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth Friday, Tomas Frick got the rally started with a one-out single up the middle. Danny Serretti and Johnny Castagnozzi then followed, singling back to back to tie the score at 3 and bring Mac Horvath to the plate. As he dug into the box with the winning run on second, Horvath was 0 for his last 13. But the sophomore didn’t look it as he fought back from an 0-2 count to single into left field, scoring Serretti and sending the crowd into a frenzy.
“I had a good feeling (the game was over on contact),” Horvath said. “I rounded first and I wasn’t even looking. I was just watching Danny to see if he’d touch home plate. It was an awesome feeling. I looked right at Johnny – he’s my roommate – and we were freaking out, like, ‘Oh, my God, we did it!’ It was awesome.”
After Frick, Castagnozzi and Horvath all struggled in pressure situations as freshmen last season, the coaches challenged them to improve their approaches and slow the game down at the plate. The preseason and first nine games of the season showed they have. Friday’s ninth inning, however, provided the best evidence yet.
“If that’s not freshmen growing up into sophomores,” head coach Scott Forbes said. “You look at Johnny, you look at Frick, you look at Horvath. Horvath is off to a slow start … but he wanted to be in that spot. Those three guys last year, in my opinion, they’re out because that’s a legitimate Power 5 closer (in Coastal Carolina’s Jack Billings) there at the end.”
Two days later, UNC (11-1) again found itself in a 3-3 game, only this time in its first extra-inning game of the season. With runners on second and third with two outs in the 10th, the Chanticleers (7-5) intentionally walked Angel Zarate to face Eric Grintz – who had just entered the game in the top of the inning for Frick, who was lifted for a pinch-runner in the ninth.
Stepping into the box for just the fourth time this season and the 29th time in the last two years, Grintz quickly fell behind 0-2. He took the next pitch for a ball, then sliced one down the right-field line that landed just foul.
“When I hit that foul ball down the right-field line, I looked back in the dugout and gave Coach (Bryant) Gaines a big smile and he gave me a fist pump,” Grintz said. “I was super confident in myself there. I trusted all my preparation, all my hard work, that if the guy gave me a good pitch to hit, I was going to put a good swing on it.”
That he did, lacing the next pitch down the left-field line to score Will Stewart from third and prompt another jubilant on-field celebration that culminated with Grintz’s teammates ripping his jersey off.
This weekend marked the first time the Tar Heels walked off two games in a series since walking off two games against Boston College on April 20, 2019. As notable as that is, it’s even more impressive that they pulled it off after trailing both Friday and Sunday in the eighth inning or later – last year’s team was 0-24 when trailing after six.
“It just shows how resilient our team is,” Grintz said. “I think our culture is so good and based on that hard work. We don’t get caught up with the failures of this game. If we get punched in the mouth, we’re ready to punch back. We just try to keep a steady heartbeat during that time. Doesn’t matter how the game is going, we just try to play it how it is. The big thing we’ve been talking about these last couple of days is playing the full 27 outs.”
Stoking the fire
Despite being one of UNC’s toughest hitters to face this offseason, according to Gage Gillian, Hunter Stokely came into the season on the outside looking in for a starting job. But with the Tar Heels searching for consistency at second base, Forbes and his staff decided to move Johnny Castagnozzi to the keystone – where he made 31 starts last season – and start Stokely at first Wednesday against Winthrop.
That decision paid off against the Eagles, as the sophomore went 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch. As impressive as that performance was, he followed it up with two-hit games in all three games against the Chanticleers, finishing the series 6-for-12 with four RBIs.
With UNC trailing 2-1 in the fifth Friday, Stokely recorded his first RBI when he hit a two-out, two-strike single to left. After coming up clutch with two RBIs Saturday, he again stepped up in a pair of big moments Sunday, tying the score at 2 on a two-out, two-strike single in the sixth and jumpstarting the Tar Heels’ offense with a one-out single in the 10th. No matter the situation, he never seemed fazed.
“He’s a tough guy to pitch to because he’s got a good swing, he stays on pitches and he trusts what Coach (Jesse Wierzbicki) tells him in different situations to look for,” Gaines said. “He did that (Saturday), he did it again (Sunday), and he’s one of those guys who I don’t think has much of a heartbeat when he gets in the box. His heart slows down rather speeds up in those moments. That’s what you need in games like this. You’ve got to have somebody get us going just like that.
“I’m really, really proud of him. I know the rest of the coaches are, too, because he stayed with it. He really deserves to be rewarded the way that he has been.”
Having also tallied a two-run single off the bench Tuesday against Longwood, Stokely finished the week 9-for-16 with six RBIs in five games. Outside of misplaying a pop fly in the first inning Friday, he also played solid defense, securing the starting spot that eluded him in the preseason for at least the foreseeable future.
“Coach Forbes said my time would come pretty much every day to me,” said Stokely, who went 5-for-27 in 12 games last season. “I just listened to him and kept working my tail off every day.”
Mott’s moment
With the score tied at 2 in the seventh Friday, Kyle Mott came in with one out and runners on the corners. On his first pitch, Coastal Carolina’s Matt McDermott put down a perfect squeeze bunt down the first-base line that, despite a great effort by Mott, scored the go-ahead run from third. A wild pitch followed, allowing the runners to advance to second and third, but Mott buckled down and struck out the next two batters to escape the inning without any further damage.
It was smooth sailing from there for the righty, who allowed just one batter to reach via a walk over the next two innings. He notched three more strikeouts in that span to give him five total, his most since coming to UNC from Pitt Community College prior to the 2020 season. Even more importantly, his performance helped set the stage for Horvath’s eventual walk-off.
“Kyle Mott was outstanding. …” Forbes said. “Getting out of that first inning and Mott getting us in (down) only 3-2 when they had second and third with one out gave us a legitimate chance. That’s a credit to Kyle Mott, and it’s been awesome to see his comeback after a tough year last year.”
Friday marked the first time that Mott spoke to reporters about his struggles in 2021, when he surrendered four runs in two innings over four appearances.
More often than not, the fourth-year junior said, his focus “was on the wrong stuff as far mechanically” as he worked tirelessly to figure out what was ailing him, all to no avail. A summer with the Coastal Plain League’s Holly Springs Salamanders helped him regain his form, but the time he spent at home in Fuquay-Varina over winter break proved to be just as important.
“When I went home, I was like, ‘Let’s just be an athlete,’” Mott said. “I like fielding groundballs during BP, just playing baseball, and I was like, ‘Let’s just throw the ball like I used to throw it across the infield in high school, like I used to throw a football.’ That really made it simple for me as far as using your body to throw the ball as hard as you can, and when you unleash your body like that and you have the trust, stuff will follow. It shows how important confidence is in this sport, especially as a pitcher.”
After giving up one run on one hit and one walk in one-third of an inning Sunday, Mott’s ERA sits at 2.00 in nine innings this season. He ranks second on the team behind Shawn Rapp in appearances (seven). He also ranks third on the team in strikeouts (15).
Mixing, matching
Throughout the offseason and even after they named Shaddon Peavyhouse the Sunday starter, Forbes and Gaines said they felt comfortable piecing pitching together on Sundays – as UNC has done several times in the past – because of the team’s newfound pitching depth.
It wasn’t always perfect, but Sunday’s win showed why they continue to feel that way, as eight pitchers allowed three runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking seven.
“It’s something we’ve really tried to do a good job of preparing our guys to do,” Gaines said. “We tried to match them up in the preseason, and we figured at some point we’re going to have to do it just like we had to do it (Sunday). I didn’t even realize it was that many guys. We tried to get through parts of the lineup with different guys that we thought matched up really well. … It was impressive to see those guys do those things. Quite honestly, I wasn’t surprised to see them do it. I was more happy for them to prove they could actually do it in a game, when it really mattered.”
Making his third start of the season and the eighth of his career, Peavyhouse – who spent four seasons at Coastal Carolina before joining the Tar Heels in the offseason – gave up one run on two hits while walking two and striking out one in 2 2/3 innings. The righty flashed impressive stuff before giving up a solo homer to Dale Thomas with two outs in the third, topping out at 95, per UNC’s analytics team.
Although Peavyhouse has yet to pitch four innings this season, Gaines explained that’s not necessarily what the team needs from him.
“You've got to go out there and basically treat it like you're closing,” said Gaines about his message to Peavyhouse entering the season. “If we get some length out of him, hey, that’s great. But for us, with the depth that we have in our bullpen, especially if our first two starters give us a little bit of length, it gives us some flexibility that Sunday to be able to go to a Shawn Rapp with two outs in the third inning against a matchup that we felt like we needed to go in. He’s done exceptionally well, especially considering he’s starting at this level for the first time.”
A controversial call
With the score tied at 2 with two outs in the top of the eighth Sunday, Zarate made an unbelievable throw to home plate to nab the runner trying to score from second. The runner was initially ruled out, but after a review, the umpire crew called Frick for obstruction and the runner was ruled safe to give the Chanticleers a 3-2 lead.
Forbes argued the call and was subsequently ejected for the first time as the Tar Heels’ head coach.
“They said Frick obstructed him from being able to get to the plate, which I don’t necessarily agree with because the throw was coming in and Frick wasn’t blocking the plate – he just went up the line to go get the ball. …” Gaines said. “I don’t really agree with it. I know Coach Forbes certainly doesn’t agree with it. It’s one of those calls that I felt like could have gone our way – and honestly should have gone our way.”
Gaines took over as acting head coach after Forbes’ ejection, and in the bottom of the eighth, the Tar Heels immediately responded to the call with a game-tying solo home run by Alberto Osuna.
“I was like, ‘Hell yeah, man. I get to run this thing,’” Gaines said on the ejection. “I knew at some point it was coming, and I was hoping at some point that it was gonna be in a close game like it was. It was fun just to be on that side of it where I'm not just thinking about pitching. Coach (Wierzbicki) is coaching third and we're having to make these decisions. Credit to our guys. They stayed with it and I felt like they knew they were gonna win the whole time. As long as us coaches didn't screw it up, I knew our players were going to be able to get it done.”
Mr. Consistent
In reaching base in all three games this weekend, Zarate extended his on-base streak to 35 games, dating back to last season. Having also reached base in 39 straight games between the 2019 and 2021 seasons, he’s the only Tar Heel to have two on-base streaks of 35 games or more since 1999, Mike Fox’s first season as UNC’s head coach.
UNC on-base streaks of 35 games or more since 1999
• Logan Warmoth, 41 games from April 24, 2016 to March 31, 2017
• Zarate, 39 games from June 1, 2019 to March 23, 2021
• Michael Busch, 38 games from March 30, 2019 to June 10, 2019
• Colin Moran, 37 games from March 12, 2011 to May 15, 2011
• Zarate, 35 games from April 4, 2021 to present
• Brian Miller, 35 games from May 20, 2015 to Apr 13, 2016
What’s next?
For just the second time this season, the Tar Heels will hit the road Tuesday, when they’ll visit Liberty. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Worthington Stadium at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
The preseason favorite in the ASUN Conference, the Flames (10-1) – who moved up to No. 12 in the Baseball America Top 25 Monday – are coming off a three-game weekend sweep of Canisius.