North Carolina is closing in on another ACC Coastal Division title.
The No. 6 Tar Heels ripped Virginia Tech 9-1 Thursday in the opener of their ACC series at Boshamer Stadium. The Heels (35-17 overall, 20-8 ACC) need one more victory over the Hokies to clinch the Coastal for the second straight year and seventh time overall.
Dodging some raindrops, the Tar Heels got a booming homer and four RBIs from sophomore catcher Brandon Martorano, solid pitching from junior Cooper Criswell and a couple of defensive gems from shortstop Ike Freeman.
Martorano blasted a Joey Sullivan pitch deep to left field for the two-run homer in the fourth — his eighth of the season — for a 4-0 lead.