Big weekend for the Diamond Heels as they went to Tallahassee and did something they had not done in 16 years, win a series at Florida St.
UNC got off to a rough start on Friday losing 5-3 in a game that went back and forth. Every time UNC got the lead, FSU answered. Michael Morin gave up three runs in the bottom of the eight surrendering a 3-2 lead and ultimately the game. Tar Heel ace Patrick Johnson had a decent outing with only two earned runs in six innings pitch.
On Saturday, the Heels bounced back on Saturday with an 8-5 win. UNC trailed 5-3 in the fifth and scored four runs after FSU retired Ben Bunting and Tommy Coyle. UNC tacked on one more in the sixth for the final margin. The Tar Heel bullpen did outstanding work after Kent Emanuel was chased giving up five runs in the first three innings. Shane Taylor pitched four innings of shutout baseball and Michael Morin closed the the game out in the ninth.
The finale on Sunday saw the Heels jump out to a 7-2 lead not before things got really dicey in the first inning. UNC starter Chris Munnelly walked the first three batters of the game and threw a wild pitch. Mike Fox pulled him in favor of Greg Holt who allowed one run before recording two bases loaded strikeouts and a ground out to end the inning. From there is was a full bullpen effort. Holt pitched 4.2 innings, followed by Cody Stiles, Cody Penny and RC Orlan. FSU had closed to 7-6 after six innings when Fox went to Michael Morin again. Morin pitched three scoreless innings and struck out five of the 11 batters he faced.
UNC moves to 29-5 overall and 12-3 in the ACC. Winning at Tallahassee was huge considering how difficult it is for opposing teams to play there. FSU is consistently a solid baseball team. The Heels are now tied with Georgia Tech for 2nd in the Coastal Division one game behind Virginia. Next up for UNC is a midweek game versus ECU followed by a series at NC State.