Vance Honeycutt Powers UNC Past ECU, Headlines College Baseball Roundup
Image credit: Vance Honeycutt (Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics)
ECU and North Carolina have a fierce, tight rivalry. All three games last year between the Pirates and Tar Heels were decided by one run and coming into this weekend’s showdown, the teams had evenly split the eight games they had played over the last three seasons.
Friday night was another example of how taut the rivalry is. They came into the weekend ranked back-to-back in the Top 25, ECU at No. 15 and UNC one spot behind it. And for nearly eight innings at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, nothing could separate the two teams.
Nothing, that is, until Vance Honeycutt, UNC’s Preseason All-American center fielder, stepped to the plate to lead off the eighth inning. After falling behind in the count 1-2, he got a pitch out over the plate that he could drive and didn’t miss. He sent it deep to left center field for what proved to be the game-winning home run. UNC (5-0) held on for a 2-1 victory to stay undefeated.
In a game of small margins, UNC leaned on its superstar. Honeycutt (.250/.400/.850) homered for the fourth time on the young season and showed off his arm strength in center field. The reigning ACC defensive player of the year threw out a runner at the plate to end the fifth inning and keep the game tied at 1.
Honeycutt is not a flawless player. He struck out twice Friday and has been a bit of a three true outcomes player so far this spring. But his raw tools make him one of the most dynamic players in the country and Friday was the latest example of how quickly and in how many different ways he can change a game.
UNC also had a big game on the mound. Freshman lefthander Folger Boaz held a powerful ECU lineup to one run on five hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. The Tar Heels bullpen picked up where he left off, as lefthander Dalton Pence (1.1 IP), righthander Matthew Matthijs (2 IP) and righthander Matt Poston (1 IP) combined for 4.1 scoreless innings to finish the game. The Pirates (3-2) came into the game averaging 9.0 runs per game but were held to just seven hits and three walks.
While the Pirates’ lineup struggled to string hits together, their pitching staff held down the Tar Heels. Ace Trey Yesavage struck out 11 batters in six innings and limited UNC to one run on four hits and a walk.
ECU will get a chance to bounce back Saturday as the series moves to Segra Stadium, the home of low Class A Fayetteville, and on Sunday at home in Greenville. If those games are anything like Friday’s opener, this weekend’s series winner will have truly earned their bragging rights.
Ace Watch
Friday night is for the aces. Here we highlight some of the best pitching performances of the day, in addition to Yesavage and Arkansas lefthander Hagen Smith, who we featured here.
Nate Dohm, RHP, Mississippi State: Dohm struck out 10 batters in 6.2 scoreless innings to help Mississippi State to a 5-1 victory against Georgia Southern. He held the Eagles to four hits and a walk. Dohm improved to 1-0, 0.84 with 14 strikeouts and three walks in 10.2 innings.
Ryan Johnson, RHP, Dallas Baptist: Johnson struck out 13 batters in seven scoreless innings to help No. 25 DBU defeat Central Michigan, 8-0. He held the Chippewas to two hits and no walks and retired the final 14 batters he faced. Johnson improved to 1-0, 3.65 with 20 strikeouts in 12.1 innings on the season.
Lebarron Johnson Jr., RHP, Texas: Johnson threw eight scoreless innings to lead No. 14 Texas to a 2-0 victory against Cal Poly. He struck out eight batters and held the Mustangs to two hits and two walks. Johnson created an incredible 14 groundball outs to just one fly ball out. He improved to 1-0, 1.38 with 14 strikeouts and four walks in 13 innings.
Riley Huge, LHP, Winthrop: Huge struck out 13 batters in seven scoreless innings to lead Winthrop to a 3-0 win against Toledo. He retired the first 13 batters he faced before yielding a hit. He ultimately faced just two batters above the minimum, holding the Rockets to one hit and one hit batter.
Jacob Pennington, RHP, Murray State: On the road at Louisiana-Monroe, Pennington struck out nine batters in seven scoreless innings to lead Murray State to a 2-0 victory. He scattered four hits, walked none and didn’t allow a runner to advance past second base.
Jonathan Santucci, LHP, Duke: In a 2-0 win against Northwestern, Santucci struck out 10 batters in six scoreless innings. He scattered five hits and three walks, throwing 92 pitches. Santucci improved to 2-0, 0.00 with 17 strikeouts in 11 innings to open the season.
Around The Horn
- No. 6 TCU edged past No. 25 UCLA, 4-3. After needing comebacks last weekend against Florida Gulf Coast, this time the Horned Frogs jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the first three innings. Kurtis Byrne and Brody Green both homered for TCU and closer Ben Abeldt slammed the door on a potential Bruins’ comeback, throwing two perfect innings for his third save of the season.
- No. 20 Auburn defeated No. 18 Iowa, 7-5, in the Jax Classic, hosted by Double-A Jacksonville. Preseason All-American Brody Brecht, Iowa’s ace, struck out 11 in six innings and held the Tigers to two runs (one earned). But Auburn (5-0) got to work against the Hawkeyes’ bullpen and put the game away with five runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
- Kennesaw State routed No. 9 Clemson, 18-1. It was the Tigers’ largest margin of defeat since 2014, when they lost 18-1 to Oregon in regionals, and their largest at home since 1936, when they lost 18-0 to Michigan State. The Owls (3-3) got a strong start from Braden Osbolt (6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K) and catcher Nick Hassan (4-for-6, 2 2B, HR) led the offense. Prior to Friday’s stunner, Clemson had rolled through its early slate, going 4-0 and outscoring its opponents 41-18, including a sweep of Xavier. It’s probably best not to read too much into the loss, but the Tigers need to come back to win the series.
- Stony Brook defeated No. 2 LSU, 5-2, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season. Eddie Smink (5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 K) and Erik Paulsen (4 IP, 0 R) combined to shut down the LSU lineup and lead the Sea Wolves (2-4) to another memorable win in Baton Rouge.
- Stanford’s dismal start to the season continued with a 15-4 home loss to Penn State. The Cardinal are now 1-4, marking their worst start to a season since 2020. They were 5-11 that spring when the season was cancelled. The Nittany Lions, meanwhile, are 4-1 and under first-year coach Mike Gambino are off to their best start since 2019, when they won their first six games.
