SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- No. 18 North Carolina split Saturday's doubleheader with Notre Dame and used a 13-6 win in game one to complete the series victory over the Fighting Irish at Frank Eck Stadium.
Austin Bergner worked seven full innings in his game one start and picked up the win, while Will Sandy went 6.2 innings in the second game of the day, his longest outing as a Tar Heel.
GAME ONE KEY MOMENTS
Michael Busch kicked off Saturday's action in the top of the first inning with a two-run home run to right field after Dylan Enwiller led off with a single. Busch's eighth home run of the season gave the Tar Heels a quick 2-0 lead.
Brandon Martorano added onto the first-inning barrage for the second game in a row for Carolina. After Ike Freeman reached on a bloop single, the Tar Heel catcher hit a high fly that found the wind and got over the fence, pushing the UNC lead to 4-0.
In the second inning, UNC was able to extend the lead to 6-0 when Dylan Enwiller hit his third home run of the season to keep the offensive threat rolling.
Notre Dame put four runs on the board against Carolina starter Austin Bergner in the bottom of the third inning. Daniel Jung's solo home run capped a strong inning for the Fighting Irish, and it was a 6-4 UNC lead after three full innings.
Ike Freeman provided Bergner with a bit of help in the top of the fourth. He smoked a ball to left field to cushion the lead, a two-run blast to make it 8-4.
After tacking on a couple more runs in the late innings, Joey Lancellotti entered in the eighth inning and worked as a shut-down presence to end the game. He tossed two scoreless frames, wrapping up an 11-5 win for Carolina.
GAME ONE NOTABLES
Ashton McGee's fifth-inning home run was his first of the 2019 season.
Dylan Enwiller hit two home runs in the game, the first multi-HR game of his career.
This was the first time North Carolina hit more than four home runs in a game since 4/8/17 (4, Boston College).
Bergner's 7.0 innings ties his longest outing of the season (3/10 at Clemson).
Bergner's final line was: 7 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 110 pitches. Carolina has scored double-digit runs in seven of its last eight games.
GAME ONE PITCHER RECORDS
Win: Austin Bergner (4-0)
Loss: Tommy Sheehan (5-3)
GAME TWO KEY MOMENTS
After three scoreless innings from both sides, Danny Serretti kept his bat hot with an RBI single, scoring Busch and giving the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth.
Notre Dame responded just minutes later with an RBI single of their own. Eric Gilgenbach roped one to the left side, tying the game at one.
Busch hit a long solo home run to right field to break the tie in the top of the sixth, re-gaining the lead for Carolina, 2-1.
Notre Dame took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the seventh with some small-ball. Two straight bunts against Tar Heel starter Will Sandy led to tying the game at two. After the second-straight sacrifice bunt, Austin Love came on in relief and tossed a wild pitch, giving the Fighting Irish a 3-2 lead.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Carolina found a way to extend the game. With Will Schroeder on second with two outs, Caleb Roberts hit a soft infield single up the middle. Schroeder, who was pinch-running for Ike Freeman, rounded third and had just enough speed to get home before the throw, giving the Tar Heels new life.
In the bottom of the ninth, Notre Dame loaded the bases and was able to hit an RBI single to deep left off of Ben Casparius to win the game, 4-3.
GAME TWO NOTABLES
Busch's sixth-inning home run marked his ninth of the year, tied with Sabato for the team lead.
Sandy's 6.2 innings marked his longest outing of his year.
Sandy finished the game with the following final line: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 69 pitches.
GAME TWO PITCHER RECORDS
Win: Joe Boyle (2-2)
Loss: Austin Love (5-3)
UP NEXT
The Tar Heels head to Charlotte on Tuesday for a neutral-site clash with the South Carolina Gamecocks. First pitch at BB&T Ballpark is set for 7:05 p.m.