Tar Heels Rally To Defeat Duke in Game Two

CHAPEL HILL, N.C – The North Carolina Tar Heels (16-13 ACC) evened up the series defeating the Duke Blue Devils (13-14 ACC) by a score of 11-5 on Sunday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.

It was a back and forth affair all day long until a breakout six-run inning for UNC in the eighth to clinch their 16th win of the season.

Freshman Max Carlson toed the rubber for the Tar Heels, logging in his seventh career start. Carlson would have an easy 1-2-3 inning in the top half of the first, including two strikeouts on just 13 pitches.

It did not take long for the Duke lineup to adjust to Carlson, as they made him work suddenly to get his pitch count up to 38 after the second inning. Peter Matt would lead off the second with a single. Two batters later, Ethan Murray, the Devils shortstop, smashed his seventh double of the season that scored Matt to take an early 1-0 lead.

The Blue Devils added to their lead, as first baseman Chad Knight would extend the inning with a two-out RBI of his own to collect his ninth of the season to make it 2-0 Duke.

Carlson was pulled after two innings giving up three hits, two earned runs, and striking out three. Shawn Rapp, another freshman, entered the game in the third for the Tar Heels, making his 14th career appearance. Rapp came into the day as one of UNC’s most effective relievers, supporting a 2.45 ERA.

Duke pitcher Jack Carey made his team-leading eighth start of the campaign. His 17 walks coming into the game in 21 2/3 innings were concerning, but he did quick work in the first inning, throwing 14 pitches with a strikeout. Carey had a lot of life to his fastball, hitting 95 MPH consistently. Despite his fastball velocity, he struggled with the command of the pitch and had more success with his offspeed. He had a solid overall start as he provided Duke with five innings of work giving up eight hits, four earned runs, one walk, and five strikeouts.

Fortunately for Carey, he did not have to see Tar Heel’s star outfielder Justice Thompson, a last-minute scratch after showing up late to the ballpark.

In the bottom of the third, Carey got into his first jam of the afternoon as UNC’s centerfielder Will Schroeder hit a leadoff double in his two-hit day. Duke’s lead would be cut in half after a Caleb Roberts RBI single for his team-leading 22nd RBI. A Chad Knight error with two outs would then tie it up 2-2 through three innings of play.

The Devils retook their lead to make it 3-2 in the top of the fourth. They collected three hits in the inning, including a Joey Loperfido two-out RBI single with the bases loaded. That now makes Loperfido 3 for 5 with the bases loaded in 2021.

Gage Gillian replaced Rapp in the fifth as the Tar Heels third pitcher of the game. Gillian supported a stunning 0.00 ERA in thirteen innings of work going into the appearance. Gillian would go three 2/3 innings giving up three hits, two earned runs, and four strikeouts. Nick Pry then followed him, but not until the top of the eighth. Pry would eventually be the winning pitcher to give him two victories on the season.

Duke quickly ended that impressive scoreless streak with two singles from Matt and Chase Cheek in Gillian’s first inning. A stolen base from Cheek made it runners on second and third with Ethan Murray at the plate. Murray would snag two more RBI’s to give him three total with a flare single that scored both runners for a 5-2 advantage for Duke.

Carey allowed four hits in the bottom of the fifth, including a game-tying two-run home run off the bat of Brett Centracchio to bring the score to 5-5.

Left-handed pitcher Matt Dockman would be the first man called out of the Duke bullpen in the sixth. He was productive, tossing two 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts keeping his team in the game.

The Blue Devils’ closer Jimmy Loper took over for Dockman in the eighth and got into trouble, which would ultimately lead to UNC’s massive six-run inning. Loper hit the first batter he faced, which would then be followed by three consecutive hits. Caleb Roberts roped an RBI double, Danny Serretti hit a shot over the right field fence for his sixth homer of the season, and Fick singled.

The Tar Heels late surge gave them an 8-5 lead and forced Loper out of the game without even recording an out. Colby Wilkerson recorded his second hit of the afternoon against Josh Allen of Duke with an RBI double to extend it to 9-5 Tar Heels.

Another error from the Devils would lead to two more runs and bring it to the final score of 11-5.

The Blue Devils and Tar Heels are set to wrap up their three-game set tomorrow at Boshamer Stadium, on April 13th at 6:00 pm. Duke attempts to win their first series at North Carolina since 2009.