North Carolina started their tournament games off against 2-seed Iowa.
In the first game of the tournament for the Tar Heels, Pitcher Jake Knapp was given the start. The Heels will hit in the top half of each inning.
1st Inning
- Top- Following a leadoff hit by Casey Cook, and Jackson Van De Brake working the count for a walk, North Carolina could not get anything going. The Heels left two men on base.
- Bottom- After getting two outs, Iowa scored 2 runs on a hit to left field.
2-0, Hawkeyes
2nd Inning
- Top- Following a Patrick Alvarez single, no one else reached first. No runs scored.
- Bottom- Knapp struck out the first batter before giving up a single, double and another single. This scored another run for Iowa. With runners still on second and third, the Heels intentionally walked a man to load the bases. Luckily, a hit to the Van De Brake ended the inning.
3-0, Hawkeyes
3rd Inning
- Top- Nothing going as the first three batters go down in order.
- Bottom- After a single and a walk, North Carolina went to the bullpen. Kevin Eaise took over for Knapp. The Heels caught the runner in a pickle. Iowa then popped up on the first base path for out number three.
3-0, Hawkeyes
4th Inning
- Top- Tomas Frick hit a double to open the inning. Hunter Stokely followed this, being walked. A wild pitch advanced the pair to second and third. Johnny Castagnozzi then walked to load the bases. Alberto Osuna hit a sac fly to score Frick from third. Another wild pitch from Iowa Pitcher Marcus Morgan hit Colby Wilkerson to load the bases again. Casey Cook smacked a grounder toward second where he was thrown out. The Heels stranded two runners in scoring position.
- Bottom- Iowa gets a man on after an error by the Heels. Eaise then forced a groundout, strikeout and another groundout.
3-1, Hawkeyes
5th Inning
- Top- Mac Horvath was struck out for the third time today. Van De Brake then walked again. Tomas Frick battled at the plate before striking out. As Frick struck out, Van De Brake tried to steal and was thrown out.
- Bottom- Iowas first hitter grounded out to the shortstop. Easie struck out the next batter before Iowa hit a line drive to Colby Wilkerson to end the inning.
3-1, Hawkeyes
6th Inning
- Top- Iowa went to the bullpen and put Jack Whitlock on the mound. He struck Stokely out to start, but then gave up a hit to Patrick Alvarez. Castagnozzi was walked, putting a man on first and second. Alberto Osuna popped up for out number two. Wilkerson followed that up, grounding out to first to end the inning. The Heels left another runner in scoring position.
- Bottom- On the first pitch of Iowas at-bat, they hit a single. The runner stole second. Easie then scooped up a ground ball for a heads-up play where he threw the runner out going to third. Another ground ball followed, with Castagnozzi throwing the runner out to end the inning.
3-1, Hawkeyes
7th Inning
- Top- Casey Cook leads off, grounds out to third. Mac Horvath then struck out for the fourth time. A Van De Brake pop up ended the inning.
- Bottom- Easie walked the first hitter, and was replaced by Kyle Percival. His second pitch grounded into a double play. Quickly, Percival was replaced by Ben Peterson. An error got Petersons first batter on base. Afterward, a nice snag from Stokely ended the seventh inning.
3-1, Hawkeyes
8th Inning
- Top- Tomas Frick did not beat the throw to start the eighth. Stokely was able to get the Tar Heels fourth hit of the game, a single to right field. Patrick Alvarez then hit a liner to second, and with Stokely off the bag, Iowa made a big play throwing the ball to first for the double play.
- Bottom- After the umpire missed a second strike call, Peterson walked the first batter of the inning. A bloop into right field advanced a runner to third with the batter at first. A powerful hit to right scored another to make it 4-1, Iowa. The Hawkeyes scored another on a squeeze play. The Tar Heels went back to the pen after Peterson walked another batter. The new pitcher was Matthew Matthijs. A hit-by-pitch walked the first hitter he saw. Matthijs forced a groundout to end the inning.
5-1, Hawkeyes
9th Inning
- Top- A pitching change for Iowa brought their closer in. He first faced Castagnozzi, who he walked. Alberto Osuna followed this with a homer to center field, cutting the Hawkeyes lead to 5-3. With North Carolina finally showing life, Colby Wilkerson hit a ball to left field. After a grounder to the second baseman, Iowa got the out at second, leaving Casey Cook on first. Mac Horvath reached base for the first time on a walk after, forcing another Iowa pitching change. Van De Brake had a huge moment, with a hit to right field. This scored one and left runners on second and third. Frick watched strike three for the second out. Then, Hunter Stokely struck out, ending the Heels rally.
Final
Iowa-5 North Carolina-4
Recap
Iowa was able to neutralize North Carolinas hitting until the ninth inning. The bats got going far to late, which is usually the Tar Heels strongest area. After giving up three early runs, UNC knew they were in trouble. Playing from behind is always tough, especially in the tournament.
The games won’t get any easier from here, with the Heels playing Wright State tomorrow. The one-seed Indiana State Sycamores were almost upset by Wright State earlier in the day.
Next Game: June 3rd at Noon vs Wright State.
Loser goes home.
