UNC defeats Louisville in first road matchup in four years

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 22 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the No. 12 Louisville Cardinals 13-9 in an ACC conference matchup on Friday night.

The Tar Heels (21-9, 7-6 ACC) came away with a win in the first of a three-game series with Louisville in their first road matchup with them since 2018 when they lost the first two games of the series before claiming the series finale.

UNC starting right-hand pitcher Max Carlson started things off for the Tar Heels, throwing four strikeouts, giving up five runs and six hits in just four innings while facing 21 batters. Shortly after, relief pitcher Kyle Mott subbed in and received the win, moving his record to 6-1 on the season.

While both Tar Heel pitchers gave up a combined nine runs in just six innings on the mound, it was the UNC batting effort that made the score so lopsided initially.

Outfielder Angel Zarate drilled a double which brought in infielder Vance Honeycutt and Johnny Castagnozzi for the first runs of the game at the top of the first. Shortly after with Zarate on second base, Alberto Osuna came to bat and smashed a two-run home run to left field giving the Tar Heels a five-run lead at 5-0 to end the first.

Throughout the next few innings Louisville pitchers Tate Kuehner, Cameron Robinson, and Carson Liggett gave up the next seven runs which included another Osuna bomb to right field at the top of the fourth to give the Tar Heels a 12-4 lead. Kuehner was credited with the loss as he faced 15 batters and finished with a 4.84 ERA, cutting his record so far to 4-2.

Here’s @baileylin_ with a postgame recap, enjoy! pic.twitter.com/rSsVRNAR25

— Spectacular Magazine Sports (@SpecMagSports) April 9, 2022

As for the Cardinals (21-8, 7-3), left fielder Cameron Masterman led the way with four RBIs, a home run, and another hit in five at-bats. Designated hitter Ben Bianco also was huge for Louisville, batting in two runs of his own which included a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth.

The Cardinals were able to cut their deficit to four as Tar Heels closing pitcher Davis Palermo took the mound during the eighth. Palermo would strike out three of seven batters in the final two innings to lead UNC to the victory.

The two teams face off again tomorrow at 1 PM ET in Jim Patterson Stadium on ACC Network Extra.