After wins over North Carolina A&T and VCU, North Carolina capped a dominant week with a three-game sweep of Le Moyne in its final nonconference weekend of the 2026 regular season.

The sweep marked the first time the Diamond Heels have taken a series with three straight run-rule victories — 16-3 on Friday, 12-2 on Saturday and a historic 21-1 rout on Sunday. UNC is now 11-1-1, with seven of those 11 wins coming via the run rule.

First baseman Erik Paulsen went 6-for-10 with six RBIs and his fifth homer of the year, while outfielder Cooper Nicholson chipped in with two home runs of his own.

Here are some takeaways.

Offensive Explosion

Carolina piled up 49 runs on 35 hits over the series, ripping 15 extra-base hits and seven home runs. Nicholson went deep twice, while Gavin Gallaher, Colin Hynek, Jadyn Nunez and Jake Schaffner each added a long ball. UNC has now scored 10 or more runs in four straight games and has logged at least 10 hits in five contests this season.

Great Patience and Situational Hitting at the Plate

The Tar Heels drew 27 walks on the weekend, showing strong plate discipline across all three games. UNC kept chase rates low and strikeouts in check — five on Friday, two on Saturday, and three on Sunday.

UNC went 35-for-85 (.412) at the plate and consistently cashed in when chances came. The Diamond Heels were 24-for-47 with runners on and 17-for-32 with runners in scoring position. Carolina went 9-for-27 (.333) in two-out at-bats and finished 6-for-12 (.500) in the series finale Sunday.

Tar Heel Starters Bend but Don’t Break 

North Carolina’s regular weekend trio — Jason DeCaro, Ryan Lynch and Folger Boaz — drew the starts in succession, but they weren’t fully in command on the mound.

Le Moyne (0-9) managed just six runs across the three-game set, yet finished with 20 hits — 19 of them against Tar Heel starters.

DeCaro came into Friday’s outing with a scoreless line through his first two starts. He surrendered two earned runs to the Dolphins. Lynch and Boaz each allowed five hits and one earned run.

Still, Le Moyne rarely turned that contact into meaningful offense. The Dolphins drew only three walks against the trio, limiting their traffic on the bases. Fewer baserunners meant less damage on each well-struck ball.

Backed by an explosive offense all weekend, all three starters earned wins. They’ll now look to cut down on hard contact as conference play approaches.

Freshmen Get First Taste

With all three games turning into blowouts, four freshmen got the chance to log the first in-game action of their young careers.

Outfielder Jadyn Nunez made the most of it, launching a grand slam in his first career at-bat in Sunday’s game. He later added another RBI after taking a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch.

Right-handers Jake Cackovic and Riley Leatherman both debuted on Friday. Cackovic sat down two Le Moyne hitters on strikes in one inning of work, while Leatherman slammed the door with a strikeout to end it.

Infielder AJ Terry reached base twice in three plate appearances, drawing two walks and coming around to score a run.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Baseball: What we learned after Diamond Heels sweep Le Moyne