College Baseball's opening weekend didn't feature a lot of appealing matchups to watch.
However, among the blowouts and lousy games, the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina and the Bruins of UCLA treated their viewers to a superb three game set in the marquee series of the weekend. The Tar Heels came out on top, capturing the opener and the finale of the series. The Bruins salvaged the middle game of the series using a thrilling walk-off victory to win in style.
Game 1: Zac Gallen Muffles UCLA's Bats In UNC's Win
UNC chose well when they decided on Zac Gallen for their Opening Day starter. Gallen looked absolutely dominant as UCLA managed absolutely nothing against his pitching over 7.2 scoreless innings. Gallen scattered four hits throughout his outing and allowed just one runner into scoring position, which he stranded. He struck out eleven during his outing. Meanwhile, UNC didn't exactly light the scoreboard up, but they did enough against UCLA starter Grant Dyer to make use of Gallen's dominance. The Tar Heels scratched out a run in the third inning on a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly by Tyler Lynn, which gave them an early 1-0 lead.
It looked as if the game would settle into a pitcher's duel, but the Tar Heels had one big inning in them. Dyer went out to pitch the sixth inning, but he was unable to record an out. He hit a batter to begin the inning, then surrendered a single. Brandon Riley capitalized on the rare scoring chance and ripped a two-run double to expand the UNC lead to three runs. Riley came around to score on a subsequent RBI double for a solid 4-0 lead. With Gallen's pitching, it was more than enough for the Tar Heels to roll the rest of the way for the Opening Day victory.
Game 2: Eric Filia Completes UCLA Rally With Walk-Off
The Bruins rallied late to avoid the possibility of losing two straight at home. Down one run entering the seventh inning stretch, UCLA scored once in the seventh and once more in the ninth to secure the win. The victory forced a rubber match on Sunday. It wasn't a pitching duel like Friday, as neither pitcher went longer than five innings. UNC collected 12 hits and 5 runs, while UCLA's hits totaled up to just four. However, the Bruins were walked seven times during the game. The Tar Heels walked Luke Persico three times, including in the ninth inning, when Persico came around to score the winner. UNC got a three-run second inning to get on the board early, taking advantage of RBI from Logan Warmoth, Adam Pate, and Cody Roberts.
UCLA got two runs back on the fourth. The runs scored courtesy of an error and an RBI off the bat of Christoph Bono. UCLA knocked UNC's starter out in the fifth with a two-out rally that saw Kort Peterson slap a 2-run single into center field for a 4-3 lead. It was UCLA's first lead of the series. It didn't last very long though.
UNC came right back with two runs in the seventh inning, sparked by a lead-off triple from Warmoth. Pate knocked him in with a single and came around to score on a single from Roberts. UNC was back in a familiar place - with the lead by the score of 5-4. However, that was all of their scoring for the day as UCLA had time to scratch out two more runs for the victory.
The Bruins got some help from UNC to tie the game in the seventh, as they slogged out a run without a hit. They got two walks to leadoff the inning, immediately placing a runner in scoring position. They advanced the lead runner on a sacrifice bunt, putting runners on the corners with one out. However, they didn't even need to get a clutch hit, as a wild pitch bounded past the catcher, allowing the tying run to score. UCLA did get one hit in the ninth inning, after a two-out walk by Persico. He promptly stole second during Filia's at-bat, placing himself in scoring position. Filia capitalized, sending Persico scampering home with the winning run on bloop single that barely reached the outfield.
Game 3: UNC Scores Nine In Last Three Innings To Win
The game was even through six innings, knotted at five runs apiece. However, UCLA's bullpen did not stand up to the challenge as UNC's 'pen did. While UNC shut down the Bruins in the final three innings, the Tar Heels scored nine times off UCLA's bullpen to garner the series-clinching 14-5 win. Tyler Ramirez led the offensive slugfest with two extra-base hits, one a home run that jumpstarted UNC in the first inning. The Tar Heels got on the board first for the third time in as many games, courtesy of Ramirez's dinger. His deep shot to right field staked UNC to an early 3-0 advantage. The Bruins got a homer of their own, off the bat of Sean Bouchard to cut the deficit to one run in the second inning, but UCLA would quickly restore their three-run advantage. A single and a double put two runners in scoring position for the Tar Heels with nobody out. This allowed a ground out and a wild pitch to score two quick runs, giving UNC a 5-2 lead in the third inning.
The pitching for both sides settled down as the score remained the same into the bottom of the sixth inning, when UCLA finally tied the game, again with help from UNC pitching. A walk and a hit batter put two runners on with two outs. UNC recorded a strikeout, but the pitch was in the dirt. Thanks to a throwing error, UCLA scored a run on the would-have-been third out, and put two runners in scoring position. Another run scored on a wild pitch, setting the stage for a game-tying single from Persico. UCLA could have scored more but stranded the bases loaded.
That came back to haunt them as, yet again, the Tar Heels responded quickly. A two-run home run put UNC back in the lead, 7-5, but that was just the start. They followed the dinger with a walk and a double to score another run and putting another runner in scoring position. They tried to give UCLA an out by sacrificing the runner to third base, but the Bruins botched the chance. They committed a throwing error that allowed the runner to score and the batter to reach. Warmoth's single drove in the fifth and final run of the inning. The game was essentially out of reach at 10-5, but UNC went on to tack on four extra tallies in the ninth inning to really seal the deal.
Effects Of The Series
Being an early-season matchup, the series doesn't play a huge role in how things turn out, but it was an eye-opening series for both teams. Both squads need to get a better bullpen; each team demonstrated how easily a lead or tie game can fall apart without a good bullpen. UNC found out they have a solid ace, but their two starters after that were so-so at best. The Tar Heels were solid offensively all weekend, so their main focus will be on their pitching for now. For UCLA, they'll need to fix their offense, as they managed just 13 hits all weekend. They were bailed out by some wild UNC pitching, but they won't get that lucky as teams shake off the offseason rust. Their bullpen needs obvious work right now, as does their starting pitching. Not one of their pitchers displayed any kind of dominance as the Tar Heels beat up on all three UCLA hurlers.
It was a very rude awakening for the UCLA Bruins, who proved to a team full of holes this weekend. They'll need to improve before facing more elite competition.
Meanwhile, the Tar Heels are mostly satisfied with their trip to California. Their pitching needs work, but they did leave with a series win on the road against a national powerhouse. It'll be interesting to see where the Tar Heels go this season, especially as they shake off the offseason rust and improve that wild pitching we saw this weekend.