Former UNC baseball player and father die in car crash Friday night

At the end of the press conference, after his team had just beaten Oregon State 8-6, North Carolina baseball coach Mike Fox had one last thing to say.

With tears in his eyes, he told the media gathered that a former player of his, Zach Attianese, had died in a car wreck the night before. He told his players about Attianese's death hours before they were to play Oregon State. He said his team played with heavy hearts.

"That was our pregame deal this morning," Fox said, his voice cracking. "Having to tell our team. So I want to personally just let the Attianese family know how much the Carolina baseball program is thinking of them."

Attianese, who played for UNC in 2017, was only 20 years old. His father, Jude Attianese, also died in the wreck.

To some on UNC's baseball team, Attianese was a good friend. To UNC sophomore catcher Brandon Martorano, he was one of his best friends, Fox said. The two New Jersey natives played baseball against one another when they were young kids.

"When I committed here, I told Coach Fox I would only come if (Zach) would be my roommate," Martorano said Sunday. "There wasn't a day that that kid didn't make me laugh. He was the most genuine person you could ever possibly meet. He would always have your back."

Martorano wore a hat with Zach Attianese and Jude Attianese's initials on them. He described Jude as a uncle.

"Jude was an unbelievable man," he said. "They were both a reflection of how you should grow up and how you should be a man."

The hat Martorano wore also had the initials of his grandfather, who he lost before the Regional round.

Attianese played for UNC as a freshman left-handed pitcher in 2017. He didn't play much that season. But in nine relief appearances, he pitched 2.2 innings, walked four, gave up only one hit and no runs.

Fox still recalls Attianese's recruiting visit. He came the night of the Duke-Carolina basketball game in Chapel Hill in 2014, and it snowed. The family had driven from New Jersey to go to the game. The game ended up being canceled, and their car got stuck in the snow in Chapel Hill.

"We had to push his car out of the snow," Fox said. "All those memories come flooding back of when you had him on campus, and the family, and the relationship. It's just unbelievably sad."

Attianese transferred from UNC after the season to State College of Florida, a junior college, in hopes of more playing time. At State College of Florida, he was 10-3, with a 2.66 ERA in 15 starts. He had committed to Florida State after this season.

"We did not want him to transfer, but he wanted a little bit more of an opportunity to pitch," Fox said of Attianese's time at UNC. "He was very close to all these guys on the team. Great teammate. Great friend to all of them. Fun to be around. It's just tragic."

Attianese and his father were involved in a six-car crash on Friday just before 11 p.m., according to the Detroit Free Press.

They were heading to a relative's funeral, according to mycentraljersey.com.

"We didn't really want our team to know, but we didn't really have a choice because of social media," Fox said.

UNC went on to beat Oregon State 8-6 on Saturday. UNC will next play on Monday at 6 p.m. against Mississippi State, which beat Washington 1-0.

This story was originally published June 17, 2018 at 9:32 AM with the headline "Former UNC baseball player and father die in car crash Friday night."