No. 12 Virginia falls in another close game at North Carolina

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

North Carolina (6-0, 2-0 ACC) clinched the weekend series with a 2-1 victory over No. 12 Virginia (3-3, 0-2 ACC) on Saturday (Feb. 27) at Boshamer Stadium. Dating back to the 2019 season, the Cavaliers have lost five-straight games to the Tar Heels, all by one run.

For the second-straight start, righthander Griff McGarry (Portola Valley, Calif.) struck out nine batters but two runs (one unearned) came across in his five innings of work as he suffered his first loss since April 13, 2019. Six of his nine strikeouts came in the second and third innings. The senior’s day came to a close when he picked off a runner at first to end the fifth inning.

Blake Bales (Schoolcraft, Mich.) and Matt Wyatt (Towson, Md.) combined to record the final nine outs of the game for the Cavalier bullpen. Bales stranded two runners in the sixth with one of his two strikeouts and gave way to Wyatt with two outs in the seventh. Wyatt threw three pitches to finish off the seventh and worked around a walk for a scoreless eighth.

Max Cotier (New Milford, Conn.) and Logan Michaels (DeForest, Wis.) each put together two-hit efforts in the Cavalier loss. Cotier drove in Virginia’s lone run with a two-out RBI single in the fifth inning that allowed Michaels to score from second. Cotier finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. Michaels reached base for the sixth-straight game and produced his second two-hit effort of the 2021 season. The senior captain was 2-for-4 with a run scored and has reached base in 17-straight games dating back to last season.

The Cavaliers put the tying run in scoring position in both the sixth and the seventh innings. Tar Heel reliever Nik Pry inherited runners on first and second with one out in the sixth and struck out the next two batters. The Cavaliers put themselves into position again to tie it in the seventh after a one-out Michaels single to center and a Chris Newell (Newtown Square, Pa.) walk but Pry once again came out unscathed. Pry earned the save by pitching the final 3.2 innings and striking out seven batters.

North Carolina plated the first of its two runs of the contest on a two-out RBI single by Johnny Castagnozzi in the second inning. With runners on first and third in the fourth, Tomas Frick broke for second base and on the putout attempt near the bag, Justice Thompson stole home to score what would prove to be the game-winning run.

Virginia will look to salvage the series on Sunday (Feb. 28) with righthander Mike Vasil (1-0) on the mound. He will be opposed by fellow righty Max Alba (1-0). First pitch in Chapel Hill is slated for 1 p.m. on ACCNX.