North Carolina earned its fifth ACC series victory with Sunday’s 12-5 win over Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The No. 6 Diamond Heels (30-6-1, 13-5) utilized a 5-run fourth inning to set the tone against the Tigers (23-14, 5-10). All parties involved were surely relieved to have this game over in the usual nine innings, as compared to Saturday’s 14-inning marathon.

Read some quick takeaways from game three below:

*The Heels got off to an explosive start with Gallaher’s two-run shot. They capitalized on aggressive swings to start this one after having some trouble last game.

* Folger Boaz pitched five innings in what was one of his best starts of the year. Of course, having an explosive offense working behind him helped, but he did his job limiting the walks and hard contact. He walked one, hit another, and allowed seven hits. Despite that, only two runs counted against him. Boaz arguably produced the best start of the weekend.

* UNC had runners on first and second with no outs in the second, scoring none of them. In the third, they had bases loaded with two outs, scoring none of them. The Heels have been inconsistent with runners in scoring position, and it’s coming back to bite them in close contests.

* Macon Winslow had a great series at the plate and from his catcher position. He was the one to finally capitalize on a bases-loaded moment in the fourth. He notched a single to score one that inning. Later, a two-out double gave him another RBI.

* Owen Hull delivered one of the biggest hits of the series with his three-run shot in the fourth. This effectively broke the game wide open. Finally, a Tar Heel batter took advantage of runners in scoring position with an extra-base hit. Hull, the team’s leader in RBI, finished with five of them on the day.

* The Heels were five pitchers deep in the Tigers’ bullpen while their own starter had thrown just 77 pitches. UNC was excellent at extending innings, and while they missed some opportunities early, they were often getting deep into counts.

* UNC’s first eight leadoff batters reached base. Five of those eight crossed the plate. Forbes called for three steals between these runners, and two of them were successful.

* Matthijs just missed the opportunity to retire the sixth inning against the top of the order. With runners on the corners, two outs, and a 2-2 count, Matthijs hung a curveball on the outside part of the plate, and Clemson’s Clavon took it into right field for a triple. With a following single, Clemson narrowed the gap to five runs. This was a huge momentum swing that UNC had to recover from.

* Freshman Tyler Howe reached base in four different ways. He singled, doubled, walked, and was hit by a pitch. He put up a consistent day from the seven spot in the order.

* Walker McDuffie pitched into loaded bases in the bottom of the seventh with one out. He followed with a lineout to Schaffner and a huge swinging strikeout to emerge unscathed. This was a big-time answer for the sophomore.

The Tar Heels host UNCW on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for their next game.

 

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