Chapel Hill, NC — With the bullpen running out of arms and two more wins needed for Tennessee to make it to the Super Regionals, the Vols desperately needed a strong performance from Zach Linginfelter. They didn’t get it.
North Carolina knocked him out of the game in the first inning on its way to a 5-2 win, ending the Vols season.
Linginfelter got off to a strong start getting a fly out to open the game, but things quickly unraveled for the junior as a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases for Ashton McGee.
McGee worked a full count before lining one up the middle for a single giving the Tar Heels a 2-0 lead.
Dylan Harris followed it up with an RBI single of his own before Linginfelter struck out Martonaro for out-number two, but a pair of wild pitches allowed McGee to score.
Linginfelter’s day was done after that as the junior finished giving up four hits, two walks, and four runs
“The biggest thing Zach has done since we’ve been around Tennessee is, he’s learned to deal with a little adversity,” head coach Tony Vitello said. “Like any player, sometimes you don’t deal with it, and maybe that was a little moment there…He’s got a bright future. I’ve said it a million times, but unfortunately we aren’t going to be able to see the best of Zach Linginfelter.”
LHP Will Heflin came in and steadied the Vols. The junior threw three scoreless innings out of the bullpen giving up only one hit and one walk.
“I’m always a guy to mix pitches, so I think I was able to keep them off balance,” Heflin said. “We played really clean defense on ground balls; I think I was the only one to make an error. The defense was great all year.”
Tennessee slowly chipped away at the Tar Heels lead, tallying a run on a wild pitch in the second inning and another on an Al Soularie single in the fourth.
“That’s a pretty easy situation to cave,” Vitello said. “You’re looking at two games you got to win, you’re on no sleep, on and on and on, and they handled it like they handled going down to Gainesville or like I mentioned bouncing back after Arkansas or blowing a seven-run lead. That’s been the most impressive part of that group.”
Andrew Schultz would relieve Heflin in the fourth inning and was good in the fifth before running into trouble in the sixth.
A pair of walks gave North Carolina runners on first and second with two-outs before Schultz would get a tough break. Aaron Sabato hit a weak ground ball right down the third base line, but Tennessee’s third basemen Andre Lipcius was playing deep and couldn’t make the play.
Schultz walked Danny Serretti with the bases loaded and his day was done, as the Tar Heels extended its lead to 5-2.
Richard Jackson would get out of the jam for Tennessee before pitching the final three frames, a career high. Jackson, a redshirt senior from Atlanta, Georgia, also tied his career high with four strikeouts while only allowing one baserunner.
“Unbelievable,” Heflin said. “That guy poured his heart and soul into this program and as happy as I am to see where it is right now, he deserves a lot of credit for stuff he did on the mound this year and stuff he’s done off the field for five years. That’s just a great person and a good pitcher. It really doesn’t surprise me at all that he was successful today and for the whole season.”
Tennessee put together a two-out rally in the eighth getting a pair of baserunners before Evan Russell hit a shot right at the North Carolina first basemen Michael Busch, who made an impressive play to get the out.
Tennessee found another two-out rally in the ninth drawing a pair of walks to bring the tying run to the plate, but Joey Lancellotti got Justin Ammons chasing to end the game
Tennessee ended Tony Vitello’s second season with a 40-21 record, the first time the Vols have reached 40 wins since 2005.
