North Carolina baseball hits season-high home runs in win over UNCW

No. 2 North Carolina closed its final midweek game of the 2026 season with a 13-7 road win over UNC Wilmington on Tuesday night at Brooks Field.

The Tar Heels (41-9-1) and Seahawks combined for eight home runs, with both team hitting four home runs each. That home run total is the highest of the season for Carolina. UNC finished with 13 runs on 13 hits and six walks, and all nine starters had at least one hit while eight scored. The Tar Heels improved to 19-0 this season when scoring in double figures.

North Carolina used five pitchers, who combined for 12 strikeouts in a game that lasted 3 hours, 52 minutes.

Veteran right-hander Matthew Matthijs (3-0) earned the victory and did most of the heavy lifting, working 3 1/3 innings, striking out four, allowing one run on two hits and three walks.

Left-hander Tom Chmielewski entered in the eighth and threw two scoreless innings, striking out three and giving up one hit to earn his first save of the season.

The Tar Heels seized control early. In the top of the first inning, Gavin Gallaher launched a 405-foot, three-run home run to center field — his 10th of the season — scoring Jake Schaffner and Owen Hull. UNCW answered in the bottom half when Mason Hughes hit a 377-foot solo shot to left, his third of the year.

UNC quickly extended its lead in the second. Hull drilled a 466-foot three-run homer to left-center, his fifth of the season, bringing home Colin Hynek and Schaffner. In the bottom of the inning, Matous Bubenik singled to right to score Will Tyrrell from second, trimming the deficit.

The long ball continued in the third. Erik Paulsen hit a 400-foot solo homer to left for his eighth of the year, and UNCW’s Trevor Lucas countered with a 416-foot solo shot to right-center in the bottom half, his 10th.

Carolina added on in the fourth when Hull’s groundout to second scored Carter French with an unearned run and moved Schaffner to third. Gallaher followed with a ground-rule double to center to bring in Schaffner. The Seahawks cut into the margin again in the bottom of the fourth on a 359-foot, two-run homer to deep right from Cole Nelson, his fifth, scoring Jake Bechtel.

The Tar Heels pushed the lead further in the fifth on a wild pitch that allowed Cooper Nicholson to score from third, with Tyler Howe advancing to second. Lucas delivered his second homer of the night for UNCW in the sixth, a 421-foot solo shot to center for his 11th of the season.