Tar Heels End Blue Devil Win Streak at Nine

Friday, March 6

Chapel Hill, N.C.

3:00 PM

Duke University

North Carolina

Fall World Series: Six-Run Ninth Sends Black Victory

Tar Heels End Blue Devil Win Streak at Nine

3/6/2015 7:48:00 PM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina right-hander Zach Gallen struck out a career-high 12 batters over seven innings to help the Tar Heels to an 8-1 victory over Duke in the ACC opener for both teams Friday at Boshamer Stadium. The loss was the Blue Devils' second of the season and snapped Duke's nine-game win streak.

Duke (10-2, 0-1 ACC) had its opportunities in the early going, but the Blue Devils stranded six runners over the first five innings including three in scoring position. North Carolina (9-3, 1-0 ACC) scored the game's first runs in the fourth and added at least one run in each of the next four innings.

Gallen (1-1) came up with strikeouts in key situations, fanning the final batter in five of the seven innings he pitched, including four with a runner in scoring position. For the day, he allowed one unearned run on four hits and two walks.

“I thought Gallen threw exceptionally well,” said head coach Chris Pollard. “Obviously we swung and missed too much. We had too many backwards strikeouts. That doesn't take anything away from his performance because he threw very well, but we've got to do a better job of putting the ball in play.”

UNC's Skye Bolt led all players with three hits, two RBI and two runs scored, while catcher Korey Dunbar added a single in the seventh and RBI triple in the eighth.

Evan Dougherty, Jalen Phillips, Cameron Neal, Cris Perez and Peter Zyla accounted for the Blue Devils' hits. Both Phillips and Perez doubled in the contest. Perez also reached base in three of his four plate appearances, earning a hit by a pitch in the first and drawing a walk in the sixth.

Senior Andrew Istler (1-1) suffered his first loss of the season after yielding five runs on eight hits and a walk. Istler threw 6.1 innings, struck out three batters and walked one.

Istler allowed just one baserunner over the first three frames before momentum switched in the fourth. Bolt and Wood Myers legged out infield singles to start the inning and Landon Lassiter walked to load the bases. Tyler Ramirez lined a sacrifice fly to break the 0-0 tie and Adrian Chacon added an RBI fielder's choice.

“They scored two without a hit that left the infield that inning,” Pollard said. “We had some chances early and didn't do anything with it. They had the answer in the bottom of the fourth. Credit Carolina because they did a better job offensively than we did.”

North Carolina added a third run in the following frame. Logan Warmoth led off with a single up the middle, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Skye Bolt RBI base knock.

Ramirez led off the fifth with a triple and scored on Alex Raburn's sacrifice fly. North Carolina's fifth run came in the seventh on a Lassiter RBI single before the Tar Heels struck for three runs on two hits in the eighth.

Phillips scored Duke's run in the top of the eighth. The first baseman roped a double to right field and advanced to third on a North Carolina error. Phillips ultimately came home on a wild pitch.

Duke and North Carolina meet for the second game of the series at 2 p.m., Saturday, March 7 at Boshamer Stadium. Duke RHP Michael Matuella faces off against UNC RHP J.B. Bukauskas.

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