Chapel Hill -- After a 5 hour 10 minute rain delay, the Tar Heels walked-off as winners courtesy of a Dylan Harris 10th inning solo home run. Gianluca Dalatri turned in his best start of the past two seasons, going 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 9 K and 1 BB to pace the Tar Heels and keep the game in reach before Ike Freeman and Harris hit late game home runs to give the Heels the win in the opening game of the series.

The 3-2 win gave Carolina its 23rd consecutive win at Boshamer Stadium.

After USF took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 8th inning, Carolina missed an opportunity in the bottom of the frame when the bases were left loaded. After Austin Love pitched a scoreless ninth, Ike Freeman wasted no time tying the game in the bottom of the inning. Freeman turned on the first pitch he saw and put it off the scoreboard in left to knot the score at two. That would be all for the ninth before the game went to extras. Love again held the Bulls at bay in the 10th, which was all the time the Tar Heel offense needed. In the bottom of the 10th, Harris followed Freeman's lead and left the yard on the first pitch he saw to walk it off and give Carolina the 3-2 win.

USF jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after a walk and wild pitch put a runner on second base, a single to left field from Joe Genord brought home the runner.

To start the bottom of the third inning, Ashton McGee laced the first pitch he saw to left field for a double and the first hit of the night for the Heels.

In the bottom of the third, Dylan Harris tied the game for the Heels with a sacrifice fly to center field to score McGee and make it 1-1.

After the leadoff man got aboard in the top of the seventh, a 5-4-3 double play got the Heels out of the inning before any damage could be done.

In the top of the eighth, a one-out single and a throwing error on a pickoff attempt put a man in scoring position before Tyler Dietrich drove him in with a single to left center and put the Bulls ahead 2-1.

With runners on first and second, Joey Lancellotti recorded a strikeout to limit any further damage in the eighth.

After an Ashton McGee leadoff single, an intentional walk to Michael Busch, and Hesterlee was hit by a pitch, freshman Caleb Roberts came to the plate with the bases loaded. Roberts tagged the 3-2 pitch down the line, but the first baseman snagged the ball on a hop and step on first to escape the jam and keep USF on top 2-1.

With the Tar Heels trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Ike Freeman took the first pitch of the inning and put it over the left field wall to quickly tie the game at 2-2.

In the bottom of the 10th, Dylan Harris also took the first pitch of the inning and put it over the right field wall to walk it off and give Carolina a 3-2 win.

Brandon Martorano's single in the fifth inning extended his hitting streak to seven games, a new career high. He also tied a career high having now reached safely in nine consecutive games.

Gianluca Dalatri's 7.1 IP today marks his longest outing since March 18, 2017 when he threw 8.0 against Georgia Tech. Dalatri notched nine strikeouts on the evening, the second highest mark of his career, and the most since his second career start, when he recorded 15 against Radford.

With a walk in the second inning, Caleb Roberts has now reached based in all five of his collegiate games.

Ashton McGee recorded three hits, going 3-4. That is his first three-hit game since May 18, 2018 against Virginia Tech.

The last time Ike Freeman hit a home run in the ninth inning or later also came against USF last season. Freeman hit a solo shot in the top of the 10th of game three to give the Heels the series win during the first weekend.

North Carolina's last walk-off win came on April 21 of last season against GT. That game featured a game-tying grand slam from Jackson Hesterlee before Dallas Tessar hit a walk-off sac fly. The walk-off home run was the first since Logan Warmoth did so against Louisville on May 7, 2016 (10th)

Win: Austin Love: 1-0

Loss: Nelson Alvarez: 0-1

The No. 5-ranked Tar Heels will play a double header on Sunday, Feb. 24, against USF with the first game starting at 10 a.m. and the second game following 40 minutes after the conclusion of the first one.