Virginia opened its first ACC series of the season in grand fashion, with the ‘Hoos run-ruling #7 North Carolina, 13-3, on Friday.
Lefty Henry Zatkowski (2-0, 6.38 ERA) got the win, giving up three runs on five hits in 5.1 innings, striking out three and walking one.
It was the second straight solid start for Zatkowski, who put in six innings of one-hit baseball, striking out eight, in a 5-3 win over VCU in the opener of a three-game series at Disharoon Park a week ago.
The UVA offense bludgeoned UNC’s #1 starter, Jason DeCaro (3-1, 1.71 ERA), scoring five runs, two earned, on six hits, three walks and a hit batter in his three innings of work.
The ’Hoos (12-2, 1-0 ACC) got on the board in the top of the first, on a Harrison Didawick sac fly that scored Eric Becker, who reached after being hit by an 0-2 pitch to lead off the inning.
Virginia broke things open in the third, loading the bases with nobody out, then getting a run across on a ground ball to third off the bat of Nick Jouras that was misplayed by Tar Heels third baseman Cooper Nicholson.
Antonio Perrotta knocked in a second run with a dribbler down the first base line, and then with two outs, Becker knocked in two more with a single to shallow center.
The lead got to 8-0 with a three-spot in the fourth, highlighted by an RBI single from Noah Murray, and a two-run homer off the bat of Zach Jackson, his third home run of the season.
Didawick addede a two-run homer to right-center, his first homer of the season, in the sixth, and Murray tacked on a two-run double in the seventh that got the lead to double-digits.
Lucas Hartman (1.15 ERA) closed things out with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, which triggered the run rule.
Next up: Due to rain in the forecast, the scheduled Sunday series finale has been moved to Saturday, with Game 1 set for a 1 p.m. first pitch, and Game 2 to start approximately one hour after the conclusion of Game 1.
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Chris Graham
