Miami Falls to No. 15 North Carolina in Series Finale
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — With their second straight top-15 series victory in hand, the Miami Hurricanes couldn’t complete the sweep Sunday.
No. 15 North Carolina, which entered the weekend on an 11-game winning streak, got back on track in the finale with an 18-6 victory over the Hurricanes at Mark Light Field.
“That was a good old-fashioned you-know-what,” head coach J.D. Arteaga said. We came out the same as we always do, ready to play and going for the series sweep. Today, the game got out of hand when the bullpen came in and got really sloppy and didn’t pitch well at all and really didn’t give us a chance to come back.”
The Tar Heels (17-4, 4-2 ACC) scored in six of the first seven innings, highlighted by a six-spot in the sixth.
North Carolina crushed seven homers to salvage the series after the Hurricanes (11-8, 4-2 ACC) held the Tar Heels to two runs and zero extra-base hits across the first 19 innings.
Left fielder Gavin Gallaher led the charge for the Heels, finishing with a career-high four hits and six RBI, including a grand slam.
North Carolina notched 17 hits in the win, as all nine position players reached safely for the visitors.
“We just have to be better,” fifth-year senior catcher Jack Scanlon said. “It’s as simple as that. We have to come out and play better.”
Sophomore right-hander Matthew Matthijs (8-1) earned the victory in relief. Meanwhile, Miami starter Herick Hernandez (2-2) was tagged with the loss after surrendering five runs over 3 1/3 innings.
In the defeat, freshman Jake Kulikowski smacked his first career home run with a two-run blast in the third.
Next, the Hurricanes will host crosstown foe FIU Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Mark Light Field.
“We approach every game the same way,” Kulikowski said. “We’re moving one game at a time and I think we just got beat today. We played a little soppy and gave them too many free bases. At the end of the day, we just didn’t come out on top. We talk about playing our game and not worrying about who we’re playing. We can’t beat ourselves.”
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