Gardner-Webb Hits Four Home Runs, Falls 5-4 At North Carolina Tuesday Night

Tuesday, May 9

Chapel Hill, NC

6:00 PM

Gardner-Webb University

27-20

North Carolina

30-17

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Gardner-Webb	0	0	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	4	6	1
North Carolina	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	2	X	5	6	0

Photo by: © Dakota Hawxwell Photo

Gardner-Webb Hits Four Home Runs, Falls 5-4 At North Carolina Tuesday Night

May 09, 2023 | Baseball

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Gardner-Webb hit four home runs Tuesday night at North Carolina, but the Runnin' Bulldogs lost a 5-4 battle with the Tar Heels.

The Runnin' Bulldogs (27-20) started a five-game road swing on Tuesday and – by the time the team returns home to face Charleston Southern on May 18 – will have played 17 of its previous 19 games away from home.

North Carolina (30-17) took its first lead of the ninth with a two-run home run by Mac Horvath in the bottom of the third, but Gardner-Webb answered with a big fourth inning.

After a ground out to start the frame, Alec Burns, Trevor Mattson and Humberto Torres went back-to-back-to-back to push Gardner-Webb in front.

The Tar Heels scratched a run across in the sixth with a sacrifice squeeze bunt by Reese Holbrook to tie the game and Gardner-Webb's bullpen kept the home team off the board until the eighth inning.

Torres proved to be the hottest bat on Tuesday, belting a leadoff home run in the seventh to put Gardner-Webb back on top.

The game delivered a strange finish, with North Carolina taking advantage of a fly ball lost in the lights in the eighth, an error at home with the bases loaded to tie the game – and a balk called in the next at bat to put the Tar Heels up 5-4.

Closer Matt Poston came on to retire Gardner-Webb in the ninth to end the game.

Phil Fox (3-3) took a hard-luck loss in relief, allowing just one earned run with two strikeouts in the eighth. Gardner-Webb used six pitchers in the game, with Joe Miceli going 2.0 scoreless innings with three strikeouts in a starting assignment. Lenny Washington and Grant Vera also tossed scoreless frames.

Gardner-Webb had six hits, with Torres (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI) providing strong production.

North Carolina's Kevin Eaise (3-3) got the win out of the bullpen, working 2.0 scoreless innings.

Horvath went 3-for-4 with two RBI to account for half of the home team's six base hits.

Gardner-Webb will remain on the road this weekend, traveling to face No. 13 Campbell in a three-game series. The opener begins at 6:00 pm Friday night in Buies Creek.