By R.L. Bynum

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — A microcosm of why Carolina has struggled at times this season played out in the Tar Heels’ NCAA tournament opener, with the lack of length from starting pitchers and hits with runners in scoring position.

Combining those with dominant pitching from Iowa right-hander Marcus Morgan (5–1) and struggles at the top of the Tar Heels’ order dumped them into the losers’ bracket of the Terre Haute Regional in spite of making some ninth-inning noise.

No. 2-seed Iowa (43–14) jumped ahead early and held on for a 5–4 victory Friday night at Bob Warn Field.

“I thought early on, we had some chances,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “Morgan’s got a really good arm. It was kind of effectively wild, I thought.”

The Tar Heels nearly pulled off some ninth-inning magic when trailing by four, but left two runners in scoring position, including the tying run at third, when Tomas Frick and Hunter Stokely each struck out to end the game.

“You go back and look at it, and as bad as we were offensively, if we don’t give up those two runs in the eighth inning, we take the lead, so we’ve got to finish that part on the bump and make plays defensively,” Forbes said.

Short outings have quickly taxed UNC’s bullpen to make many series challenging, and another one will make emerging from the losers’ bracket a challenge.

The Tar Heels (35–23), who went 1 of 12 with runners in scoring position, play in an elimination game at noon Saturday (ACC Network) against No. 4-seed Wright State (39–22), which lost Friday afternoon to No. 1 regional seed and No. 23-ranked Indiana State 6–5.

Junior right-hander Max Carlson (4–2, 5.97) starts for UNC, which will need four consecutive victories to win the regional.

“I tip my hat to Iowa and their pitching staff,” Forbes said. “They made some big pitches, and we could not get that really, really big hit until late. We just left too many on early.”

Junior DH Alberto Osuna, batting eighth, drove in three runs with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and a two-run home run in the ninth inning. Junior left fielder Patrick Alvarez had two hits in the six hole.

Morgan gave up only two hits and a run with five strikeouts and mostly pitched around his five walks, throwing 55 of 95 pitches for strikes in five innings.

Fifth-year right-hander Kevin Eaise (3⅔ one-hit shutout innings with three strikeouts) pitched well out of the bullpen for UNC after junior right-handed starter Jake Knapp (loser, 5–4) lasted only 2⅓ innings. But Carolina couldn’t find the offense to erase an early 3–0 lead.

“I thought Knapp had good stuff,” Forbes said. “The three walks hurt him a bit, and they got some big hits. We’re hoping Carlson can come out and give us some length.”

Frick’s double just fair down the left-field line in the fourth inning was the only hit from the top four hitters in UNC’s order until Jackson Van De Brake’s ninth-inning RBI double. Junior center fielder Mac Horvath went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts. Since extending his on-base streak to 44 games against Georgia Tech, freshman lead-off man Casey Cook is 0-for-11 in the last three games.

“I feel like everybody’s trying their hardest,” Alvarez said. “I felt like tonight, we worked maybe a little bit too hard. People were getting a little amped up in the box, and the guys at the bottom of the lineup did a good job getting on base. Those are guys up there at the top of the lineup, so they’ll get it done next time.”

Horvath, batting second, and Van De Brake, hitting third, are hitless in the last three games.

UNC could have used the offense from sophomore Vance Honeycutt, who hasn’t played in the last eight games with a lower-back issue.

“We all know the top of our lineup is the strong suit, but it’s a whole team effort,” Osuna said. “Whenever they can’t get it done, I know we’ll get it done. Whenever we can’t get it done, I know they will. Hopefully, we can put it all together [Saturday].”

Osuna’s home run cut the deficit to two in the ninth inning.

“I felt, the whole time, we’re gonna come back,” Osuna. “We couldn’t get the extra run in. I have full faith in my teammates that we’re gonna get it done the next time.”

Colby Wilkerson singled as the next three batters reached base before Horvath drew a one-out walk and Van De Brake’s double cut the lead to one.

“I know Mac had a tough night. I mean, what a great at-bat he had there in the ninth, and that’s hard to do because the game will get in your head,” Forbes said. “We had our chance there with Frick and Stoke, and neither one of them got it done.”

Iowa jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the first inning on Sam Hojnar’s two-run double down the left-field line after Knapp allowed a single and a walk with one out.

UNC had chances in the first two innings, but went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes continued to take advantage of their chances. Iowa got three consecutive one-out hits in the second inning, with Ben Wilmes’ infield single making it 3–0.

Knapp struck out five in 2⅓ innings, but exited after giving up a single and a walk with one out. Eaise, penciled in as a possible game three starter, came in and got out of the jam on a runner caught stealing and pop-out.

Carolina loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but could only score one. Osuna hit a drive to the front of the left-center field warning track for a sacrifice fly after Frick’s double led off the inning.

Iowa added two insurance runs in the eighth, highlighted by Brayden Frazier’s RBI single off junior right-hander Ben Peterson.

NOTES — Knapp joined Matt Harvey (2008), Kent Emanuel (2011) and Cooper Criswell (2018) as the only pitchers since 1999 to start an NCAA regional opener in their first season at Carolina. … Carolina has advanced to a Super Regional in seven of its last 14 NCAA tournament appearances. … This was the third all-time meeting between UNC and Iowa. The No. 1-seed Tar Heels won 5–3 in the 1990 NCAA Northeast Regional in Waterbury, Conn., and the Hawkeyes won 5–4 in Minneapolis, Minn., on Feb. 29, 2020, at the Cambria Classic in the Minnesota Vikings’ stadium. … The driver for UNC’s team bus also drove No. 1-seed Purdue home after it lost to No. 16-seed Fairleigh-Dickinson in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. … There is a cemetery beyond left field, but home-run balls rarely land there because there’s a road between the wall and the cemetery. … According to Indiana State sports information, the temperature on the surface of the turf field for the afternoon game was 155°. It was 88° at the start of UNC’s game. … The only previous meeting between UNC and Wright State was when the Tar Heels swept a three-game series Feb. 24–26, 2012, in Chapel Hill with wins of 17–3, 14–0 and 3-0. … The Raiders won the Horizon League tournament.