UNC Defeats NC State 9-6 in ACC Tournament

CHARLOTTE, NC- NO. 6 UNC toppled NO. 3 N.C. State 9-6 in the ACC Tournament game. At no point throughout the matchup did UNC not lead.

Early in the contest, the star of the game was Austin Love. The pitcher for UNC allowed one hit through the first two innings.

Loves truck out 5 of the first six batters he faced. Unfortunately, Love’s hot streak was short. As a stand-alone stat, this is not overly impressive, but in these two innings, the Heels took an 8-0 lead. 

In the third inning, Love threw surrendered four hits and three runs as State fought hard for a comeback. He would finish the night giving up eight hits and nine strikeouts in five innings pitched.

On the offensive side, Mac Horvath for UNC had himself a day. In two at-bats, the freshman from IMG Academy had two hits,6 RBI’s, and a homer.

Of course, these were not the only two performers on UNC, but they made the most noise. The Wolfpack did not roll over after falling 8-0 in two innings. After their three-run performance in the third, they scored another in the fourth. Followed by three innings of scoreless play.

The Pack made one more push for the win at the bottom of the eighth with two runs but came up short. With this win, UNC (27-25, ACC 18-18) will advance to the ACC semi-finals with hopes of playing in the ACC championship game.