Friday, May 27
Charlotte. N.C.
7 p.m.
North Carolina
36-19
10
vs
0
Virginia Tech
41-12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
North Carolina
4
2
0
1
0
0
2
0
1
10
16
0
Virginia Tech
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
1
Heels Advance To ACC Semifinals By Blanking The Hokies
May 27, 2022 | Baseball
CHARLOTTE (theacc.com) – Eighth-seeded North Carolina shoved its way into the semifinals of the ACC Baseball Championship with a 10-0 rout of top-seeded Virginia Tech on Friday night.
Tar Heel pitcher Brandon Schaeffer (7-2) quieted the Hokies' fearsome bats with his first career complete game, and freshman Vance Honeycutt homered twice to lead a 16-hit attack as UNC won for the 13th time in its last 15 games.
The Tar Heels (36-19) earned a spot in Saturday's 1 p.m. semifinal versus No. 4 seed Notre Dame – the top seed remaining in this year's tournament field. The second semifinal at 5 p.m. will pit No. 10 NC State against No. 11 Pitt, marking the first time in Championship history that two teams seeded 10th or lower have met head-to-head.
Saturday's winners will meet at noon on Sunday at Truist Field for the ACC title televised on ESPN2.
Schaeffer entered the game with a 4.15 ERA, but the UNC junior left-hander frustrated a Virginia Tech offense that has hit 108 home runs this season and scored 18 runs in its tournament opener versus Clemson on Thursday evening.
The Hokies mustered only six hits on Friday night, one shy of their season-low, while Schaeffer struck out six batters without issuing a walk. The junior college transfer from Auburn, Pennsylvania, threw 102 pitches.
Virginia Tech (41-12) suffered its first shutout loss since being blanked 8-0 by Notre Dame in last year's ACC Championship and lost for only the sixth time in the last 37 games.
The Tar Heels knocked Virginia Tech back early, scoring four runs on six hits in the top of the first to chase Virginia Tech starter Drue Hackenberg (10-2) from the game. Honeycutt's two-run homer highlighted the flurry.
UNC continued to play long ball in the top of the second, going up 6-0 as Angel Zarate and Honeycutt connected for solo shots off Hokies reliever Graham Firoved. Honeycutt's second home run was his 19th of the season, breaking the school freshman record of 18 set by Aaron Sabato in 2019.
The Tar Heels made it 7-0 in the top of the fourth on yet another solo home run by Danny Serretti. UNC had already collected 11 hits by the end of the fourth frame.
UNC picked up two more runs in the top of the seventh inning as Honeycutt scored on a throwing error and Tomas Frick added an RBI double off the top of the center field wall. Hunter Stokely's run-scoring double in the top of the ninth capped the scoring.
NOTABLES
• North Carolina advanced to the ACC Baseball Championship semifinals for the third time in the five years under the current format (2017, 2019, 2022).
• Seven of the nine starters in the lineup collected multiple hits, led by Honeycutt's 3-for-3 performance.
• Schaeffer's complete-game shutout is the first by a Tar Heel pitcher in the postseason since Kent Emanuel tossed an eight-inning shutout against Miami in the 2013 ACC Championship. It's the first nine-inning complete game postseason shutout since Emanuel blanked Texas on June 20, 2011, in the College World Series.
• Carolina's16 hits were it most in an ACC Tournament game since racking up 19 against Clemson in 2013.
• Honeycutt hit two home runs to set the Carolina freshman season record with 19. The previous record of 18 was held by Aaron Sabato (2019).
• Honeycutt recorded the second two homer game of his career. He also hit two home runs on opening day against Seton Hall (2/18/22).
• Zarate homered for the second time in the last three games and for the third time in the last six games. He has six home runs this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• UNC scored four runs in the first inning as Zarate scored on a sacrifice fly, Honeycutt belted a two-run home run and Frick slapped an RBI single into center field (UNC 4, VT 0).
• Zarate and Honeycutt each hit a solo home run in the second inning (UNC 6, VT 0).
• Serretti hit a solo home run in the fourth (UNC 7, VT 0).
• Honeycutt scored from second on an error and Frick drove in Madej for the second time tonight with a double off the center field wall (UNC 9, VT 0).
• Stokely doubled to center to plate the game's final run in the ninth (UNC 10, VT 0).
Tar Heel pitcher Brandon Schaeffer (7-2) quieted the Hokies' fearsome bats with his first career complete game, and freshman Vance Honeycutt homered twice to lead a 16-hit attack as UNC won for the 13th time in its last 15 games.
The Tar Heels (36-19) earned a spot in Saturday's 1 p.m. semifinal versus No. 4 seed Notre Dame – the top seed remaining in this year's tournament field. The second semifinal at 5 p.m. will pit No. 10 NC State against No. 11 Pitt, marking the first time in Championship history that two teams seeded 10th or lower have met head-to-head.
Saturday's winners will meet at noon on Sunday at Truist Field for the ACC title televised on ESPN2.
Schaeffer entered the game with a 4.15 ERA, but the UNC junior left-hander frustrated a Virginia Tech offense that has hit 108 home runs this season and scored 18 runs in its tournament opener versus Clemson on Thursday evening.
The Hokies mustered only six hits on Friday night, one shy of their season-low, while Schaeffer struck out six batters without issuing a walk. The junior college transfer from Auburn, Pennsylvania, threw 102 pitches.
Virginia Tech (41-12) suffered its first shutout loss since being blanked 8-0 by Notre Dame in last year's ACC Championship and lost for only the sixth time in the last 37 games.
The Tar Heels knocked Virginia Tech back early, scoring four runs on six hits in the top of the first to chase Virginia Tech starter Drue Hackenberg (10-2) from the game. Honeycutt's two-run homer highlighted the flurry.
UNC continued to play long ball in the top of the second, going up 6-0 as Angel Zarate and Honeycutt connected for solo shots off Hokies reliever Graham Firoved. Honeycutt's second home run was his 19th of the season, breaking the school freshman record of 18 set by Aaron Sabato in 2019.
The Tar Heels made it 7-0 in the top of the fourth on yet another solo home run by Danny Serretti. UNC had already collected 11 hits by the end of the fourth frame.
UNC picked up two more runs in the top of the seventh inning as Honeycutt scored on a throwing error and Tomas Frick added an RBI double off the top of the center field wall. Hunter Stokely's run-scoring double in the top of the ninth capped the scoring.
NOTABLES
• North Carolina advanced to the ACC Baseball Championship semifinals for the third time in the five years under the current format (2017, 2019, 2022).
• Seven of the nine starters in the lineup collected multiple hits, led by Honeycutt's 3-for-3 performance.
• Schaeffer's complete-game shutout is the first by a Tar Heel pitcher in the postseason since Kent Emanuel tossed an eight-inning shutout against Miami in the 2013 ACC Championship. It's the first nine-inning complete game postseason shutout since Emanuel blanked Texas on June 20, 2011, in the College World Series.
• Carolina's16 hits were it most in an ACC Tournament game since racking up 19 against Clemson in 2013.
• Honeycutt hit two home runs to set the Carolina freshman season record with 19. The previous record of 18 was held by Aaron Sabato (2019).
• Honeycutt recorded the second two homer game of his career. He also hit two home runs on opening day against Seton Hall (2/18/22).
• Zarate homered for the second time in the last three games and for the third time in the last six games. He has six home runs this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• UNC scored four runs in the first inning as Zarate scored on a sacrifice fly, Honeycutt belted a two-run home run and Frick slapped an RBI single into center field (UNC 4, VT 0).
• Zarate and Honeycutt each hit a solo home run in the second inning (UNC 6, VT 0).
• Serretti hit a solo home run in the fourth (UNC 7, VT 0).
• Honeycutt scored from second on an error and Frick drove in Madej for the second time tonight with a double off the center field wall (UNC 9, VT 0).
• Stokely doubled to center to plate the game's final run in the ninth (UNC 10, VT 0).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Schaeffer, Brandon (7-2)
L: Drue Hackenberg (10-2)
Batting:
2B: Zarate, Angel 1 ; Frick, Tomas 1 ; Stokely, Hunter 1
HR: Zarate, Angel 1 ; Serretti, Danny 1 ; Honeycutt, Vance 2
RBI: Zarate, Angel 1 ; Serretti, Danny 2 ; Honeycutt, Vance 3 ; Frick, Tomas 2 ; Stokely, Hunter 1
SF: Serretti, Danny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Zarate, Angel 2 ; Horvath, Mac 1 ; Serretti, Danny 1 ; Honeycutt, Vance 3 ; Osuna, Alberto 1 ; Madej, Mikey 2
SB: Horvath, Mac 1
CS: Horvath, Mac 1 ; Honeycutt, Vance 1
Base Running:
HBP: Cade Hunter 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
6
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
SS
/ Baseball
1b/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballCarolina Insider - Football vs. Richmond Recap with Bryn Renner (Full Segment) - September 15, 2025
Monday, September 15
Carolina Insider - Interview with Jonathan Powell (Full Segment) - September 15, 2025
Monday, September 15
UNC Field Hockey: Tar Heels Edge #9 Liberty, 3-1
Monday, September 15
UNC Football: Tar Heels Overpower Richmond, 41-6
Sunday, September 14