Elbow injury shuts down UNC pitcher Folger Boaz for season

When Folger Boaz started his UNC baseball career in February, he showed a lot of promise as the possible staff ace.

Boaz won his first two starts , compiling a 2.16 earned run average and striking out 15 batters. North Carolina began the year 16-2, with a major part of that being Boaz’ pitching prowess.

The Diamond Heels are continuing their momentum from an early-season start, sitting 35-11 overall and atop the ACC Coastal Division at 17-7, but they’ll have to continue doing so without Boaz.

On Monday, April 29, UNC head coach Scott Forbes announced that Boaz will miss the rest of 2024 with a left elbow injury.

Boaz cooled off considerably since his hot start, slipping to a 5.77 ERA and allowing a team-high 25 runs. He did carry a 3-1 record, though, which shows North Carolina’s bats can pick up their pitchers after rough outings.

The Diamond Heels won’t hurt too much from the loss of Boaz, though, as it has a pair of starters with sub-4.00 ERAs in Shea Sprague and Jason DeCaro . UNC is still searching for a third weekend starter, but has plenty of other options to choose from,

If you remember last baseball season, North Carolina star center fielder Vance Honeycutt missed the home stretch. The Diamond Heels advanced to the NCAA Tournament, but only beat Wright State in the Terre Haute Regional, before watching their season end with a second loss to Iowa in as many days.

Who will be the next pitcher up for UNC?

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