Diamond Heels bats fall silent in loss to No. 1 seed Tennessee in CWS –

OMAHA, Neb. — When Vance honey cup launched a solo shooting in left center field, another Diamond Heels resurgence seemed inevitable.

Down 4-0 against No. 1 seed Tennessee at the start of the sixth, the junited center fielder The home run seemed to be the moment that would ignite the quiet Tar Heel lineup. After Honeycutt rounded the bases, redshirt sophomore outfielder Casey Cook and senior first baseman Parks Harber followed by their own singles.

But unlike the rest of UNC’s postseason, which was dominated by late-game heroics, the Tar Heels fell flat.

A potential rally turned into a quick outing as graduate right fielder Anthony Donofrio was picked off at second base and third baseman Gavin Gallaher removed a few pitches later.

“I think it was an important place for us in the game,” Harber said. “But sometimes in baseball you don’t get it right.”

And in their last few appearances, North Carolina has struggled to get any traction offensively. The Tar Heels only scored ifx is going through his last three games – the lowest of any three-game streak this season – and Honeycutt was the sole driving force in four of those races. Against the nation’s most powerful team in Tennessee, UNC failed to produce, leading to a 6-1 defeat and a place in the elimination bracket.

According to head coach Scott Forbesthe stick is contagious. To power those big innings, players need to have those big bats.

“I feel like the only thing that lets the air out is when you bring these guys in (and) someone hits the ball in space,” Forbes said. “Someone hits the ball over the wall. Someone gets hit by a throw.

And that’s UNC’s calling card.