BY UNC ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of North Carolina baseball team will continue its five-game home stand when they welcome a pair of opponents from the Big South conference to Boshamer Stadium during the midweek slate. The Diamond Heels will host Radford on Tuesday and Longwood on Wednesday with the first pitch for both games scheduled for 4 p.m.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Kyle Percival will get the start for North Carolina against Radford and junior right-handed pitcher Jake Knapp will be on the mound versus Longwood. It'll be the first appearance in a Tar Heel uniform for each player.
UNC won the final two games of its season-opening series with Seton Hall over the weekend, while Radford took two of three from Xavier to start its season.
Longwood, who was swept by Mount St. Mary's to start its season, plays at Virginia on Tuesday before traveling to Chapel Hill on Wednesday.
SERIES VS. RADFORD: The Tar Heels are 4-1 all-time against the Highlanders, who are making their sixth visit to Boshamer Stadium. UNC and Radford met for the first time in 1996 and then again in 1997, splitting those two games with the Tar Heels winning the former. The two teams didn't meet again until 2017 when North Carolina swept the three-game series.
SERIES VS. LONGWOOD: Wednesday's game will be the third meeting between the Diamond Heels and Lancers. Last season UNC posted a 16-1 win over Longwood, pounding out 14 hits and drawing 10 walks. Honeycutt led off the game with a home run and Frick smashed a grand slam in the sixth inning as 11 different players collected a hit. The only other meeting in the series occurred in 2009 resulting in a 5-4 Tar Heel victory.
BATTLING BACK: After a surprising 10-8 opening day loss, the Tar Heels held Seton Hall to four runs in the next two games and allowed just two earned runs in 18 innings. UNC outscored the Pirates 15-4 in the final two games. The Tar Heels drew 18 walks in the last two games and struck out only 10 times in 84 plate appearances. Mac Horvath (1.792), Frick (1.207), and Honeycutt (1.108) each posted over a 1.000 OPS. The trio went a combined 12-for-30 (.400) at the plate with 10 runs, eight RBIs, three doubles and two triples. Horvath finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle in the series opener.
LOCKDOWN PEN: In the final two games of the Seton Hall series, UNC's relievers pitched 10.2 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts against three walks, while scattering six hits. Freshman Cameron Padgett earned the victory in his Tar Heel debut Saturday as did redshirt freshman Dalton Pence on Sunday. Padgett tossed 4.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and Pence struck out four in 2.1 innings pitched Sunday. Junior college transfer picked up the save in the series finale, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
TAR HEEL DEBUTS: In addition to Padgett, Pence and Peterson, six other Tar Heels also made their UNC debuts over the weekend. Freshman Austin Hawke started the first two games at second base and junior college transfer Jackson Van Brake made appeared in the lineup for the first time as pinch hitter Saturday. He started Sunday's game at second base and hit a home run. Justin Szestowicki, Matthew Matthijs, Matt Poston and Kevin Eaise made their UNC debuts on the mound as well.
OPENING WEEKEND CROWD: More than 8,200 fans passed through the turnstiles at Boshamer Stadium over the weekend. The three-day attendance of 8,263 was the largest for the season-opening series this millennium and Saturday's crowd of 3,049 was the largest crowd for a February game in over two decades.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of North Carolina baseball team will continue its five-game home stand when they welcome a pair of opponents from the Big South conference to Boshamer Stadium during the midweek slate. The Diamond Heels will host Radford on Tuesday and Longwood on Wednesday with the first pitch for both games scheduled for 4 p.m.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Kyle Percival will get the start for North Carolina against Radford and junior right-handed pitcher Jake Knapp will be on the mound versus Longwood. It'll be the first appearance in a Tar Heel uniform for each player.
UNC won the final two games of its season-opening series with Seton Hall over the weekend, while Radford took two of three from Xavier to start its season.
Longwood, who was swept by Mount St. Mary's to start its season, plays at Virginia on Tuesday before traveling to Chapel Hill on Wednesday.
SERIES VS. RADFORD: The Tar Heels are 4-1 all-time against the Highlanders, who are making their sixth visit to Boshamer Stadium. UNC and Radford met for the first time in 1996 and then again in 1997, splitting those two games with the Tar Heels winning the former. The two teams didn't meet again until 2017 when North Carolina swept the three-game series.
SERIES VS. LONGWOOD: Wednesday's game will be the third meeting between the Diamond Heels and Lancers. Last season UNC posted a 16-1 win over Longwood, pounding out 14 hits and drawing 10 walks. Honeycutt led off the game with a home run and Frick smashed a grand slam in the sixth inning as 11 different players collected a hit. The only other meeting in the series occurred in 2009 resulting in a 5-4 Tar Heel victory.
| Pitching Matchups | Tuesay | 4 p.m. (ACCNX) | Wednesday | 4 p.m. (ACCNX) |
|---|---|---|
| Radford / Longwood | RHP Foster Seitz | RHP Cole Taylor |
| North Carolina | LHP Kyle Percival | RHP Jake Knapp |
| Links | WATCH | STATS | WATCH | STATS |
BATTLING BACK: After a surprising 10-8 opening day loss, the Tar Heels held Seton Hall to four runs in the next two games and allowed just two earned runs in 18 innings. UNC outscored the Pirates 15-4 in the final two games. The Tar Heels drew 18 walks in the last two games and struck out only 10 times in 84 plate appearances. Mac Horvath (1.792), Frick (1.207), and Honeycutt (1.108) each posted over a 1.000 OPS. The trio went a combined 12-for-30 (.400) at the plate with 10 runs, eight RBIs, three doubles and two triples. Horvath finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle in the series opener.
LOCKDOWN PEN: In the final two games of the Seton Hall series, UNC's relievers pitched 10.2 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts against three walks, while scattering six hits. Freshman Cameron Padgett earned the victory in his Tar Heel debut Saturday as did redshirt freshman Dalton Pence on Sunday. Padgett tossed 4.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and Pence struck out four in 2.1 innings pitched Sunday. Junior college transfer picked up the save in the series finale, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
TAR HEEL DEBUTS: In addition to Padgett, Pence and Peterson, six other Tar Heels also made their UNC debuts over the weekend. Freshman Austin Hawke started the first two games at second base and junior college transfer Jackson Van Brake made appeared in the lineup for the first time as pinch hitter Saturday. He started Sunday's game at second base and hit a home run. Justin Szestowicki, Matthew Matthijs, Matt Poston and Kevin Eaise made their UNC debuts on the mound as well.
OPENING WEEKEND CROWD: More than 8,200 fans passed through the turnstiles at Boshamer Stadium over the weekend. The three-day attendance of 8,263 was the largest for the season-opening series this millennium and Saturday's crowd of 3,049 was the largest crowd for a February game in over two decades.
