CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – No. 2 seed North Carolina used a complete team effort to defeat No. 7 seed Virginia Tech, 10-4, in the first of two quarterfinal games Friday at the 2026 ACC Baseball Championship at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina.
North Carolina advances to face the winner of No. 3 seed Florida State and No. 14 seed Pitt in the semifinals on Saturday, May 23, at 5 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
The Tar Heels delivered in all phases, recording eight two-out RBIs and batting .357 (5-for-14) with runners in scoring position. On the mound, UNC pitchers struck out 11 Hokies and stranded 10 Virginia Tech runners, while the defense turned two double plays and posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
North Carolina scored 10 runs on 10 hits, led by four RBIs from leadoff hitter Jake Schaffner, who finished 2-for-3 with a triple, double, walk, hit-by-pitch and a run scored. Center fielder Owen Hull went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored, while designated hitter Macon Winslow added a two-run home run.
Virginia Tech collected hits from each of its first five hitters in the lineup, highlighted by home runs from Ethan Gibson, Henry Cooke and Ethan Ball. Gibson finished 2-for-4 with a home run, double, walk and two RBIs, while Cooke went 1-for-3 with a homer, two walks and an RBI. Ball added a solo home run in the fifth inning.
The win went to 2026 ACC Freshman of the Year Caden Glauber, who improved to 9-0 after entering in the fourth inning and holding the Hokies to one run on three hits with three walks and six strikeouts across 5.2 innings of relief.
After both teams stranded two runners in the first inning, North Carolina broke through in the second when Schaffner delivered a two-run double for the game’s first runs.
Virginia Tech answered in the top of the third with back-to-back home runs from Gibson and Cooke to take a 3-2 lead.
The Tar Heels responded in the bottom of the fourth, scoring once on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch before Hull added a two-run single later in the inning to give UNC a 5-3 advantage.
Virginia Tech cut the deficit to 5-4 on Ball’s leadoff solo homer in the fifth, but that would be the Hokies’ final run of the game.
North Carolina added insurance in the sixth on Gavin Gallaher’s two-out RBI single before extending the lead in the eighth. Schaffner drove in a run with an RBI triple, Hull followed with an RBI single, and Winslow capped the four-run inning with a two-run home run to straightaway center field, sealing the 10-4 victory.