Home #11 Virginia makes it two straight over #7 North Carolina with 7-2 win
Baseball, Go 'Hoos

#11 Virginia makes it two straight over #7 North Carolina with 7-2 win

Chris Graham
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Evan Blanco, a night after #11 Virginia gave up 11 runs in the first three innings, held #7 North Carolina to two runs in six and a third, and Ethan Anderson went deep twice, as the ‘Hoos defeated the Heels, 7-2, on Friday night at the chilly Dish.

The win for Virginia (25-6, 9-5 ACC) clinches the weekend series with UNC (25-6, 10-4 ACC).

Blanco had his fastball-changeup combo working well, striking out seven, walking one, and allowing six hits, two of them solo homers to UNC leadoff man Vance Honeycutt, the second of which made it a 3-2 game in the sixth.

UVA had gotten on the board first, in the first, with a two-out, three-run homer off the bat of Harrison Didawick (.322, 13 HR, 46 RBIs).

Anderson (.299, 4 HR, 17 RBIs) hit the first of his two solo homers in the bottom of the seventh to extend Virginia’s lead to 4-2.

A two-run double from Casey Saucke (.376, 7 HR, 34 RBI) extended the lead to 6-2.

Anderson then added the slam-proof insurance in the bottom of the eighth.

Owen Coady (1-0, 1 save, 2.65 ERA) got the save with two and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief, allowing one hit and striking out three.

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

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