Facing a national powerhouse, the Stony Brook baseball team could not muster up enough scoring as it suffered another three game sweep.

The Seawolves (3-6) faced off against the No. 5/6 University of North Carolina (UNC) Tar Heels in a three-game series this past weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C. Stony Brook struggled to keep up with UNC offensively, falling 16-2 on Friday and 6-1 on Saturday. Although it put up a strong showing in the batter’s box on Sunday afternoon, the team could not make it over the hump, dropping the finale by a score of 9-5.

Starting pitcher Eddie Smink toed the rubber in game one for the Seawolves. Unlike his first two outings of the season, Smink struggled in his third time out, as he allowed four earned runs on six hits and two walks while registering just one strikeout. 

The Tar Heels got on the board early, as UNC center fielder Kane Kepley led off the home half of the opening frame with a single to left field. Kepley easily stole second two pitches later as Smink’s pitch nabbed the dirt, putting him in scoring position. Two batters later, UNC third baseman Gavin Gallaher drove in the first run of the game with a single up the middle that scored Kepley.

Smink would be tagged again in the second, allowing a pair of runs. The first came off the bat of UNC left fielder Perry Hargett, who drilled a solo home run to left field. The next was the result of a pair of doubles from Kepley and Gallaher as the trio of extra base hits gave the Tar Heels a 3-0 lead through two innings.

Head coach Matt Senk was forced to go to his bullpen early. To lead off the fourth, Smink walked Hargett on four pitches. A stolen base and a wild pitch on the next batter allowed Hargett to advance to third, where he was then driven in on a groundout by second baseman Jackson Van De Brake. Senk went to relief pitcher Matt Sgambati, ending Smink’s day early.

Sgambati did not fare much better, plunking Kepley to start his outing. Kepley wasted no time in stealing second base and advanced to third on a bad throw by catcher Nicholas Solorzano. Sgambati walked the next batter; a few batters later, Gallaher doubled home a pair after a walk. 

After UNC right fielder Tyson Bass was hit by a pitch, he took off towards second. The throw came in high, which allowed him to slide in safely. On the throw to second, Gallaher made a break for home and second baseman Johnny Pilla’s throw was not in time, allowing another run to score and extending the Tar Heels’ lead to 7-0. On the very next pitch, UNC shortstop Alex Madera sent a ball into the right-field corner and ended up at third with a run-scoring triple to stretch UNC’s lead to 8-0. Sgambati got just one out while surrendering four runs on two hits before being replaced. 

Senk then called on relief pitcher Alex Jankowski to try and get Stony Brook out of the inning, which he did in just one batter. However, the damage had already been done.

Jankowski did not have as easy of a time when he went back out for the fifth. After striking out the leadoff hitter, he walked Van De Brake, who advanced to third on a single by Kepley. Once again, Kepley quickly swiped second base. After walking UNC catcher Luke Stevenson on four pitches to load the bases, Jankowski was replaced in favor of relief pitcher Ty Panariello, who induced an inning-ending double play off the bat of Gallaher. The Seawolves were then allowed to escape with no further damage.

All the while, UNC starting pitcher Jason DeCaro spun a gem, allowing just one run and four hits while striking out three through 7 ⅔ innings of work.

Stony Brook’s lone run off DeCaro came in the top of the seventh. Pinch hitter Nick Zampieron — who replaced center fielder Cam Santerre — hit a soft ground ball to Madera, which allowed  Matthew Jackson, who pinch hit for designated hitter Nico Azpilcueta, to score and make it 8-1.

Already up big, UNC tacked on eight more runs in the bottom of the eighth, two of which came off Panariello and the other six off relief pitcher Evan Kay, en route to the 16-2 game one pummeling.

Senk gave the ball to starting pitcher Nicholas Rizzo to start Saturday’s middle game. For the second consecutive start, Rizzo struggled, allowing four runs on six hits in just three innings pitched. On the other side, the Tar Heels sent starting pitcher Jake Knapp dazzled, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out eight through five innings.

Once again, UNC struck early. As he did in game one, Kepley reached first in the Tar Heels’ opening plate appearance — this time on a walk. Stevenson followed that up with a single into left field before Kepley stole third, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Two batters later, UNC first baseman Hunter Stokely grounded out to third baseman Evan Goforth, allowing Kepley to cross home plate to give UNC a quick 1-0 lead.

The Tar Heels added on again in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Hargett sent a ball into deep center field that landed for a double. On Rizzo’s next pitch, catcher Macaddin Dye slapped a single through the left side that brought Hargett home, doubling UNC’s lead.

After walking Gallaher on four pitches to open the bottom of the third, the Tar Heels doubled their lead once again. On a 1-1 pitch from Rizzo, Stokley walloped one over the wall in left field for a two-run homer.

Stony Brook plated its lone run against Knapp in the top of the fourth inning. Jackson led off the inning with a double into the left-center field gap and stole third two batters later, putting him 90 feet away with just one out. Two batters later, Knapp sent one to the backstop, allowing Jackson to score and cutting UNC’s lead to 4-1.

However, the three-run gap was short lived, as the Tar Heels continued to mash the Seawolves’ pitching. Senk sent relief pitcher George Adams to the bump to replace Rizzo in the fourth. On the third batter he faced, Adams gave up a two-run home run off the bat of Stevenson, which made it 6-1.

Adams settled in from there, finishing out the next four innings without giving up another run.

Although Adams limited further damage, Stony Brook could not fight back. UNC relief pitcher Ryan Lynch entered the game in the sixth inning and held the Seawolves scoreless through three innings, striking out six in the process. After hitting shortstop Matt Miceli with a pitch to start the ninth, Lynch was replaced by relief pitcher Matthew Matthijs. 

Matthijs made quick work of Pilla and first baseman Erik Paulsen, as both struck out swinging. Sandwiched between those strikeouts, Miceli stole second. Goforth then knocked a single, putting runners at the corners and giving Stony Brook hope for a two-out rally. However, that thought was short-lived, as Matthijs struck out right fielder Chanz Doughty to end the game.

In Sunday’s matinee, starting pitcher Hunter Colagrande took the bump, looking to salvage the series for the Seawolves. However, his efforts came up short, as he allowed five runs on six hits in 4 ⅓ innings pitched. He was outmatched by UNC starting pitcher Aidan Haugh, who gave up just two runs in 6 ⅓ innings, allowing four hits and striking out eight. 

In familiar fashion, the Tar Heels got on the board early from a first-inning, run-scoring single from Stokely. From there, Colagrande managed to put together three consecutive scoreless frames until UNC added on in the bottom of the fifth. With no outs and runners on second and third, Stokley flied a ball into center field that was caught deep enough to allow both runners to tag. With Stevenson coming home, the Tar Heels went up 2-0.

In the next at bat, they tacked on again as Bass sent a single up the middle that scored Gallaher. A four-pitch walk to Madera signaled the end of Colagrande’s day, as Senk called for relief pitcher Micah Worley to enter with runners on first and second with one out.

On Worley’s first pitch, Madera and Bass executed a double steal, putting them both in scoring position. Two pitches later, Worley threw one that went past catcher Luke Szepek, which allowed Bass to score. The final earned run attached to Colagrande came on the next batter, as Hargett hit a sac fly into center field to score Madera.

An inning later, UNC extended its lead to 7-0 with a pair of run-scoring singles from Stokley and Bass. 

It was not until the top of the seventh inning that the Seawolves showed signs of life on offense. To lead off the inning, Pilla laced a double down the right-field line and Goforth worked a walk. Then, Azpilcueta knocked Haugh out of the game by hitting a two-run double into right field. The two-bagger got Stony Brook on the board and drove Haugh out of the game. 

Now leading 7-2, UNC went to relief pitcher Camron Seagraves, who finished the inning without giving up any runs. He came back out in the eighth and quickly allowed a single to Miceli and walked Doughty, prompting the Tar Heels to go to their bullpen once again. They called on Matthijs for a second consecutive game. Though he got two quick outs, he was not able to put up a zero. With two runners on and two outs, Goforth clobbered a three-run home run to center to make it a 7-5 ballgame.

UNC did not let the good times last for the Seawolves, as it put out any hope of a comeback when Bass crushed a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth off relief pitcher Ryan Dieguez. The blast grew the Tar Heels’ lead to 9-5.

Stony Brook could not continue its scoring in the ninth, as UNC relief pitcher Walker McDuffie came in and got the final three outs, securing the victory and the series sweep.

Goforth was a bright spot in the Seawolves offense, going 4-for-11 on the weekend. All three of his runs batted in (RBI) came from his home run in game three. Azpilcueta was the only other Seawolf with multiple RBIs on the weekend, both coming on his third hit of the series on Sunday.

After being Stony Brook’s best hitter through its first two weekends, Pilla went just 1-for-11 with a double and a run scored while striking out seven times. Paulsen struggled as well, going just 2-for-10.

Jackson had a productive weekend, tallying a hit in every game and going 4-for-10 with three runs scored and three doubles.

A handful of hitters had great weekends for UNC but none better than Stokley, who went 5-for-9 with six RBIs, two extra base hits, three walks and a home run. Kepley was a menace on the basepaths, stealing four bases in addition to going 4-for-10 at the plate with five runs scored.

Looking to break its six-game losing skid, the Seawolves will play a lone midweek game on the road against the Fordham Rams on Tuesday before their home opener at Joe Nathan Field next weekend. The Rams are 2-9 on the season and are coming off a sweep at the hands of Florida Atlantic University. First pitch in the Bronx, N.Y. is set for 3 p.m.