UNC baseball coach Scott Forbes provides update on Vance Honeycutt at ACC Tournament
CHARLOTTE — UNC baseball star Vance Honeycutt missed the Tar Heels’ opening game of the ACC Tournament on Thursday with back spasms.
“Probably could’ve gone, honestly,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said after the Tar Heels’ 12-2 win against Pitt on Thursday in Charlotte
“. … It was more my call than Vance’s. He wasn’t real happy with it, but I wanted to make sure he was ready to go (Friday) night.”
Honeycutt, a two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year and UNC’s career leader in home runs, missed the 2023 postseason with a back injury before returning as the headliner for the sixth-ranked Tar Heels (42-12) this season.
“He knew there’s a big difference in what he felt then and what he’s feeling now,” Forbes said of Honeycutt.
“He was even available to pinch hit. But I wanted him to rest up and only use him if I had to.”
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The junior centerfielder led the ACC in runs (75) and was second in home runs (22) and stolen bases (28) through 52 games this season. With Honeycutt sidelined against the Panthers, UNC came out with four home runs in the first inning, including three in a row to set the tone.
Anthony Donofrio, Casey Cook and Parks Harber started things off, and Alberto Osuna capped the inning with UNC’s fourth homer of the frame, hitting a ball 440 feet off the scoreboard at Truist Field.
Cook and Donofrio each had two homers as UNC finished with 15 hits in its 13th victory in the last 15 games.
UNC faces No. 19 Wake Forest (37-19) on Friday (7 p.m., ACC Network) for a spot in Saturday’s ACC semifinals. In March, the Heels swept the Demon Deacons in a three-game series.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Vance Honeycutt injury update ahead of UNC's game vs. Wake Forest
