:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63899519/usa_today_10897050.0.jpg)
For the first time since 2017, UNC will play for the ACC Baseball Tournament championship. Thanks to a 13-5 win over Boston College on Saturday, the Tar Heels will take on Georgia Tech for the conference title on Sunday, looking for their first tournament championship since 2013.
Carolina was in the upper hand right from the off on Saturday, scoring two runs in the first inning. They piled on the runs over the next couple frames, opening up a 7-1 lead after the fifth. BC got within two runs in the top of the sixth, but UNC answered back with three runs immediately after, and they never looked back from there.
First baseman Michael Busch led the way for the Diamond Heels, going 4-5 with a home run. He scored two of Carolina’s early runs, and his homer came in the eighth, and truly put the game away for good. Third baseman Ike Freeman picked up three hits, driving home two runs. Shortstop Danny Serretti also had a big game, hitting a two-RBI triple after the Eagles had cut the Heels’ lead to two runs.
After their starting pitcher lasted just over one inning on Friday, UNC had to piece things together from the mound yesterday. Will Sandy got the start and gave the Heels three innings with just one run allowed. However, he exited after putting two runners in scoring position to start the fourth. Following him were Caden O’Brien, Josh Dotson, Hansen Butler, and Andrew Grogan, who had varying degrees of success. However, they got enough out of the offense today that it didn’t matter, and the pitching was more than enough to get things done.
In the final, the Heels will face off against Georgia Tech, who beat NC State on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets took two of three in Chapel Hill against UNC this season, and come in ranked 6th in the country. Tech are led by Kyle McCann and Tristian English, the latter of which had a big walk-off double in their win over Duke to advance to the semifinals.
The Tar Heels are almost assuredly in the NCAA Torunament anyway, but a win today would give UNC an automatic bid on the road to Omaha. This afternoon’s game can be seen on ESPN2 or on your computer/smart TV on Watch ESPN. First pitch will be around 12 PM ET.