CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The Charlotte 49ers baseball team had its nine-game winning streak snapped with a 4-3 loss in extra innings at North Carolina on Tuesday evening (May 3).
 
First pitch was pushed back 20 minutes due to a storm passing through the area and the 10-inning game lasted four hours and 20 minutes for the sixth four-hour game Charlotte (28-17, 11-10 C-USA) has played in this season.
 
Home runs led the way offensively for both teams, with each team hitting a pair. All three of Charlotte's runs came via the longball thanks to a two-run homer from Will Butcher - his 10th of the season - and a solo shot from Cam Fisher. Josh Madole was on base for the Butcher bomb and had a pair of hits in the game, including a double, to join both Butcher and Fisher in multi-hit games.
 
Four different Charlotte pitchers took the mound in the game, beginning with Matt Brooks. Brooks went the first 4.1 innings and was charged with three of the four runs. Spencer Giesting finished out the fifth inning before giving way to Colby Bruce in a milestone appearance. Bruce pitched the sixth inning and made his 103rd career appearance, tying him with the late Erik Walker for the most pitching appearances any Charlotte pitcher has had. Collin Kramer finished out the game and was charged with the loss after giving up the run in the 10th after striking out four batters in 3.1 innings of work.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
North Carolina (25-17, 8-13 ACC) started the scoring with a solo home run to left field in the first inning. Charlotte answered immediately in the next half-inning when Butcher sent a shot to almost the exact same place. Madole doubled to start the inning and then moved up to third on a fly ball to right but it didn't matter where Madole was standing when Butcher one-upped the Tar Heel homer with a two-run shot to give the Niners the lead. It didn't last long, as the same UNC batter hit his second solo home run of the game in the third to knot it at 2-2.
 
The Tar Heels retook the lead in fifth but once again CLT answered in its next turn at the plate with a home run. This time it was Fisher, who sent his team-leading 14th home run of the season over the wall in right to level the game at three apiece. That was all the scoring in regulation as pitching dominated the seventh through ninth innings to send the game to extras. Charlotte got a leadoff single from Madole in the 10th and moved him up to second but he was stranded there. The Tar Heels worked a one-out walk in the bottom half and brought him home on the next pitch with a double to the gap in left for the victory.
 
UP NEXT
Charlotte is back at Hayes Stadium this weekend against Rice. The series begins on Friday (May 6) at 6 p.m., followed by day games on Saturday and Sunday.