CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Sophomore Joey Volchko was masterful on Sunday, combining with relievers Aidan Keenan and Toran O’Harran to post a 7-0 shutout victory at No. 4 North Carolina (14-2, 1-2 ACC) to secure a road series win in Stanford’s (12-3, 2-1 ACC) inaugural ACC series.
Volchko worked the first 5 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out six to earn the victory and move to 2-0 on the season. Sophomore Aidan Keenan inherited runners at the corners and one out in the sixth, getting a strikeout and fielding a comebacker to end the threat and keep the Tar Heels off the board.
Keenan returned to the mound to work the seventh and eighth innings, eventually striking out five while allowing one hit and one walk over his 2 2/3 innings.
With the Cardinal leading 7-0 headed to the bottom of the ninth, O’Harran entered and struck out the side to seal the victory.
Senior Charlie Saum led the way offensively on Sunday, finishing 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBIs. Saum’s solo homer leading off the fifth, his third round-tripper of the season, broke up Aidan Haugh’s perfect-game bid for North Carolina and proved to be the game-winning swing.
Haugh worked the first five innings for the Tar Heels, allowing two runs (one earned) on just one hit and one walk while striking out five. The right-hander was saddled with the tough-luck loss, dropping to 2-1 on the season.
The Cardinal would add one more run in the fifth on a perfectly executed safety squeeze bunt from Ethan Hott before tacking on three two-out runs in the sixth to claim a 5-0 lead. Jimmy Nati delivered the first two-out RBI – blooping a single into right field to chase home Brandon Larson who had doubled with one out earlier in the inning. Brady Reynolds added on with an RBI-single into right field before the Cardinal executed a first-and-third play on the bases to steal its fifth run of the game.
Looking for insurance late, Stanford got another two-out RBI from Saum in the eighth before Hott launched his second home run in as many games in the ninth to make it 7-0.
Stanford will continue ACC play next week, returning home to host Duke in a three-game series beginning Friday at 6:05 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
- Stanford is the first team to shut out North Carolina at Boshamer Stadium since Dallas Baptist on February 23, 2020 … is the first ACC squad to blank UNC at home since NC State on May 18, 2019
- The shutout victory was the second of the season (2-0 vs. Washington, 2/21/25) and the first road shutout for the Cardinal since blanking Santa Clara 19-0 on May 17, 2022
- The Cardinal won a series over a top-five opponent for the first time since taking two-of-three at No. 3 Oregon State from April 1-3, 2022
- Ethan Hott (1-for-2, R, HR, 2 RBIs) homered in his second consecutive game … had not homered over his first 52 career games
- Rintaro Sasaki (0-for-4) had a 14-game reached base streak snapped