After starting the season 13-0, UNC dropped their first series of the year.
The North Carolina Tar Heels’ baseball program was on a roll for the first few weeks of the regular season here in 2025. But this weekend, the Diamond Heels suffered their first overall loss and first series loss of the year.
Stanford came into Chapel Hill and took two of the three games against the Diamond Heels, sending UNC to 14-2 overall and 1-2 in ACC play. It was the first ACC series for both teams and the first for Stanford overall in the conference.
And the Cardinal made their presence felt from the start.
Game 1: Stanford 13, UNC 9
North Carolina took a 3-0 lead after one inning, getting off to a good start in the game. But Stanford responded quickly with two runs in the top of the second, one in the third and then three more in the fourth for a 6-3 lead.
While UNC quickly responded and tied the game at 6 in the bottom of the third, Stanford plated six runs in the top of the fifth to break it open. Jason DeCaro picked up his first loss of the season and is now 3-1 on the year.
Game 2: UNC 11, Stanford 1
UNC responded in a big way on Saturday afternoon, beating Stanford 11-1 in seven innings. A big four-run fourth inning gave UNC a 6-1 lead over the Cardinal and they never looked back. They scored one in the fifth and sixth innings and then ended it with three in the seventh.
Luke Stevenson went 4-for-4 with an RBI single to lead the Tar Heels on Saturday.
Game 3: Stanford 7, UNC 0
UNC’s momentum was short lived. Stanford came out and blanked the Tar Heels in game three as UNC’s bats went cold when they had opportunities.
The game was scoreless through the first four innings before Stanford two in the top of the fifth to take the lead in Chapel Hill. They added three more in the sixth inning and essentially ended it there. The Tar Heels had some chances late to plate runs but couldn’t get key hits with runners in scoring position.
UNC will now hit the road this week to play UNC-Wilmington on Tuesday and then head to Louisville to face the Cardinals for a weekend ACC series.