CHAPEL HILL — Seconds after sophomore second baseman Ramon Corona flipped the ball to junior shortstop Jonathan Diaz for an apparent out in the bottom of the sixth inning Sunday at Boshamer Stadium, coach Elliott Avent surged onto the field to argue the call from third-base umpire Frank Sylvester. And as Avent and Sylvester sounded off, the North Carolina fans started getting comfortable with the idea that their Tar Heels were going to sweep the three-game series against N.C. State.
Two innings later, the game and the series belonged to the Heels after a 4-0 victory against the Wolfpack in Chapel Hill.
“He just made a bad call, but there we a lot of bad calls this weekend,” Avent said. “But his explanation was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. It sounded like an explanation I’d give my wife when I’m 12 hours late being home. But that call didn’t cost us the game.”
The shutout was the Pack’s first since April 8, 2005, when it lost to Virginia at Doak Field.
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Eryk McConnell (6-4) picked up his fourth loss of the season.
“It was just a tough loss. We just didn’t play as well as we should have or would have liked to,” McConnell said. “Hopefully we can bounce back and get back on track.”
He allowed six hits, struck out five batters and walked two in 5.2 innings. Twice he caught Carolina’s freshman catcher Tim Federowicz trying to steal.
“Coach Roberts had his inside move called, and I guess he was just getting antsy trying to get a big lead,” McConnell said. “We just caught him being too aggressive out there.”
Carolina’s Daniel Bard (5-2) pitched all nine innings for the Heels while allowing only four hits.
“Bard pitches really good when he’s got the lead — he doesn’t pitch really well when he’s behind,” Avent said. “They got the lead, and we couldn’t get a lead. Bard was outstanding. Miller was outstanding. So, now we have to go back to work.”
Redshirt junior first baseman Aaron Bates went 0-12 in the series but said his team will rebound.
“Yeah, we’ve been struggling,” Bates said.
“We need to get back to the drawing board. They pitched outstanding the whole series, and their relievers were great too. It’s important for us to just stay patient. We have Monday off, and then we’ll come back to get ready for Miami. I don’t think our confidence will be off.”
For Avent, the loss signals more work for a team he believes has a chance to win a national title this year.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Avent said. “We have high expectations this year. We think we’re actually going to play for a national championship. But if we’re going to play for a national championship, we’re going to have to play better than what we did this weekend.”