Carolina Wipes Out the Hokies to Secure Semifinals Spot

CHARLOTTE, NC– The No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels shut out the No. 1 Virginia Tech Hokies, 10-0, to conclude pool play at Truist field.

It was all Carolina in tonight’s matchup as they secured the final spot in the semifinals for the ACC Championship.

The Tar Heels came ready to play, putting themselves on the board in the top of the first inning. Angel Zarate started the lineup and came out with a double to right field. Serretti then flied out to left field, making way for Zarate to put one run-up. Vance Honeycutt knocked the first home run of the game out to right-center sending Horvath home. UNC didn’t stop there; with six hits the Tar Heels were up 4-0.

It was a home run derby for the Tar Heels tonight in Charlotte. Zarate hit a monster homer to right field to go 6-6 in home runs during this week’s tournament. Honeycutt decided to add another home run to his collection making this his 19^th of the season. Serretti followed the trend with a dinger to left field giving UNC their seventh run.

Sophomore, Henry Weycker, came in as pitcher in the fourth inning in hopes to be the Hokies saving grace. Weycker allowed three hits with one strikeout and two groundouts. The Virginia Tech outfield also stepped up to get the needed outs to limit the Tar Heels run streak. This lasted until the top of the seventh when Tomas Frick hit a double to center field for Madej to advance to third and Osuna to home plate. Honeycutt was also able to add a run off an error for the Tar Heels to go 9-0.

North Carolina’s left-hander, Brandon Schaeffer, played a sensational nine innings to keep the Hokies from earning a single run. He finished with six strikeouts while allowing only six hits in tonight’s game.

The Tar Heels reached double digits in runs in the ninth inning with a double by Stockley to add another score for Madej, ending the game 10-0.

North Carolina goes on to play Notre Dame in the semifinals on Saturday, May 28^th at 5 P.M.