CHAPEL HILL — Vance Honeycutt homered to left in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift No. 15 North Carolina to a 2-1 win over No. 11 East Carolina on Friday at Boshamer Stadium.
UNC (5-0) took a 1-0 lead in the second when Luke Stevenson scored on a double to left by Alex Madera.
ECU (3-2) tied the score in the fifth after a 1-out single by Ryley Johnson. Carter Cunningham followed with a single up the middle to move Johnson to third.
After Johnson was called out at the plate on a squeeze attempt, Jacob Jenkins-Cowart doubled to score Cunningham.
Trey Yesavage started for the Pirates and went six innings. He allowed four hits while walking one and striking out 11.
“He made himself some money tonight,” said ECU coach Cliff Godwin of Yesavage on the Pirate radio network.
ECU held a 7-6 lead in hits and played errorless defense while the hosts committed one miscue.
The Pirates stranded seven runners while UNC left six aboard.
Johnson, Cunningham and Jenkins-Cowart had two hits each.
“We lined out like six or seven times, Godwin said. “Our guys competed. We just didn’t play quite good enough.”
Game two of the traveling series is Saturday at 2 p.m. at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville.
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