By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Gavin Gallaher wouldn’t let North Carolina be denied.
The freshman third baseman hit his second home run, a game-ending grand slam shot off the scoreboard beyond the left-field wall, as the No. 6 Tar Heels rallied with a six-run ninth inning for an incredible 11–8 victory Friday in their Chapel Hill Regional opener.
Gavin got caught up in delirium while rounding the bases with his first walk-off hit since Little League.
“I think I blacked out for a while there; it’s all kind of sinking in at the same time,” Gallaher said after his 386-foot shot ended a UNC game with a grand slam for the first time in 14 years and was UNC’s first walk-off hit in NCAA play in five years. “Just the emotion of going into battle every single day with your brothers, and we’re all happy to see each other succeed.”
UNC (43–13), the region’s top seed and No. 4 overall seed, next faces a huge showdown at 5 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) with red-hot No. 22 LSU (41–20). Long Island (33–24) and Wofford (41–19) play in an elimination game at noon (ESPN+).
It will be a showdown of juniors, with LSU right-hander Luke Holman (9–3, 2.54 ERA), a likely first-round draft pick, opposing UNC left-hander Shea Sprague (3–1, 4.02 ERA).
Gallaher had chances to get big hits in the Tar Heels’ loss a week earlier to Wake Forest in the ACC tournament but couldn’t come through. He made up for it on Friday, including making some outstanding defensive plays at third base.
“So, last week, I had been in the pretty much exact same situation against Wake Forest. And it’s a situation where I didn’t get the job done that time,” Gallaher said. “So, I just kind of used that experience to really trust myself and know I was going to get it done this time around.”
UNC coach Scott Forbes said that Gallaher’s clutch hitting reminded him of the big hits of other program greats when they were freshmen, such as Colin Moran and Dustin Ackley.
“Just clutch, and we’ve had some clutch freshmen here,” Forbes said. “They do it when the game’s on the line or when runners are in scoring position. So, it just made me think of some of the greats we’ve had here.”
Gallaher went 3 for 4 with six RBI, while right fielder Anthony Donofrio went 4 for 5 as Carolina staged one of the most amazing ninth-inning comebacks in program history.
“With this team, nothing surprises me. They’re going to play 27 outs,” Forbes said.
For the second time in a week, UNC reliever Matt Poston (winner, 4–2) had an opponent down to its last strike, just like against Wake Forest. This time, he gave up a double to JC Navarro on an 0–2 pitch with two outs in the ninth inning. Center fielder Jacob Pipercic followed with a three-run home run to give Long Island a three-run lead.
After that happened, pitching coach Bryant Gaines told Forbes, “It just can’t happen; this team’s too good.”
Gaines said that it reminded him of the back-and-forth 2013 Chapel Hill Regional game against Florida Atlantic, which the Heels won 12–11 in 13 innings to win the regional.
“I’m glad he thought that,” Forbes said. “I thought our guys, that last inning, had really, really locked-in at-bats, because that’s a tough atmosphere to have those at-bats.”
Forbes said the atmosphere was similar to that 2013 game, which would have been the end of the Tar Heels’ season with a loss. Instead, UNC made it to the College World Series.
“Just the thoughts that go through your head,” Forbes said. “That ’13 team was unbelievable. And you’re trying to fight what we call those demons of like, ‘Oh man, I might be on the road recruiting tomorrow.’ It was a similar game … the unbelievable atmosphere. Our fans were unbelievable tonight. They showed up, and they were loud.”
The ninth-inning rally started when Vance Honeycutt, who was 0 for 4, got hit by a pitch to start the inning. Casey Cook followed with a single and Donofrio’s single loaded the bases. Antonio Osuna’s single scored one run and Luke Stevenson’s walk scored another before Gallaher ended it with his blast.
“We were just trying to slow the game down and take it one pitch at a time,” Gallaher said of the talk in the dugout in the middle of the ninth. “Because when you have a roster like ours, it’s so easy to trust the guy behind you.”
Donafrio and his teammates enjoyed the moment.
“I mean, that’s one hell of a game,” Donofrio said. “Madera looks over at me and goes, ‘we’re not out of the fight yet.’ We’re down three runs, big spot, and we just kept passing the torch. Obviously, Gally has ice water in his veins delivering that three run jack .”
Osuna looped a single in front of the right fielder with two outs in the first inning to give UNC a 1–0 lead. Cook bunted toward the third-base bag against a severe shift for an infield single with two outs to start the rally.
UNC starter Jason DeCaro, who gave up only two hits but walked four and hit two batters, stranded two runners in each of the first two innings but paid for two baserunners in the third inning. After DeCaro hit the leadoff batter for the second consecutive inning and walked the next batter, Navarro lofted a three-run homer to left-center field with one out.
DeCaro departed after a leadoff walk in the fifth inning, the third leadoff man he put on, in favor of Matthew Matthijs, who gave up two hits in two shutout innings. Second baseman Madera made a terrific play on a grounder, then threw out a runner at first from his knees, and Matthijs got out of the inning with a flyout.
UNC appeared to get a run in the third inning on Donofrio’s two-out double off the left-field wall. Parks Harber, who had walked, was initially ruled safe at the plate but was ruled out after a replay review to end the inning.
Gallaher left nothing to chance with two out in the fourth inning, hitting a 378-foot shot off the netting to the left of the scoreboard in left-center field to cut UNC’s deficit to one.
Long Island starter Garrett Yawn kept UNC off stride, striking out the top three batters in the order in the fifth inning after Colby Wilkerson led off with a walk.
“I give my hat’s off to Garrett Yawn for pitching as good as he can pitch against a really good club,” Long Island coach Dan Pirillo said. “UNC’s got a balanced lineup. They’re tough to pitch to. What Yawn did is very impressive. I expected that. Give us his all and he did. Gotta get all 27 and came up a little bit short.”
But the Heels broke through in the sixth inning to take a 5–3 lead as Yawn’s pitch count reached triple digits.
Four consecutive Tar Heels reached base, three on hits, with Gallaher lacing an RBI double to left field and Madera a two-run single to left field.
LIU pitch hitter Matthew McGurk hit a solo homer to left-center field off UNC reliever Dalton Pence in the eighth inning to trim UNC’s lead to one.
Pence, who gave up two hits and two runs in two innings, gave way to Matt Poston after giving up a leadoff single in the ninth inning when LIU took the lead.
Forbes said all his relievers should be available for the LSU game.
NOTES — The Tigers, the No. 2 seed in the region, rallied to beat Wofford 4–3 on Friday afternoon. … Gallaher’s blast was UNC’s first game-ending grand slam since Brian Grabel’s blast against High Point in 2010. It was UNC’s first walk-off NCAA tournament win since 2019 against UNCW. … DeCaro walked at least four batters for the fifth time this season and the third time in the last six games. … Unlike regular-season games when umpires watch replay reviews, umpires wear headphones to get word from a replay center in Pittsburgh where the replays are conducted. … Although the UNC game was sold out, a few tickets for three sections were available before the game. … Roy and Wanda Williams attended the game. Wanda has a cast on her left arm. … Carolina is 3–2 all-time against LSU, with all three victories coming in College World Series games.
No. 6 UNC 11, Long Island 8
Chapel Hill Regional
At Boshamer Stadium
Friday’s results
No. 1 North Carolina 4, Holy Cross 0
No. 2 Oklahoma 7, No. 3 Nebraska 4
Saturday’s results
Nebraska 4, Holy Cross 1; Holy Cross eliminated
North Carolina 11, Oklahoma 5
Sunday’s results
Oklahoma 17, Nebraska 1; Nebraska eliminated
Oklahoma 9, North Carolina 5
Monday’s result
North Carolina 14, Oklahoma 4
UNC (45–13) advances to Super Regional against No. 21-ranked Arizona (42–18), which won the Eugene Regional on Sunday night with a 14–0 win over Cal Poly. Game 1 of the best-of-3 series is Friday at Boshamer Stadium.
UNC scores
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 14–15 | Fri.-Sat. | W, 5–1; W, 8–3; W, 4–2 | vs. Texas Tech | 3–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 12–9 | vs. Kansas State | 4–0 |
| 22–24 | Sat.-Mon. | W, 2–0; W, 11–6; W, 6–4 | vs. East Carolina (DBAP, CH, G’ville) | 7–0 |
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 7–4 | vs. VCU | 8–0 |
| 26 | Wednesday | W, 13–4 | vs. N.C. A&T | 9–0 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 16–2 | vs. Stony Brook | 10–0 |
| March | ||||
| 1–2 | Sat.-Sun. | W, 6–1; W, 9–5 | vs. Stony Brook | 12–0 |
| 4 | Tuesday | W, 6–4 (11) | vs. No. 11 Coastal Carolina | 13–0 |
| 7–9 | Fri.-Sun. | L, 13–9; W, 11–1 (7); L, 7–0 | vs. Stanford | 14–2, 1–2 ACC |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 7–3 (10) | at UNCW | 15–2 |
| 14, 16 | Fri., Sun. | L, 8–7; W, 6–4; L, 5–0 | at Louisville | 16–4, 2–4 |
| 19 | Wednesday | L, 5–1 | vs. UConn | 16–5 |
| 21–23 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 5–1; L, 3–2; W, 10–0 (7) | at Boston College | 18–6, 4–5 |
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 13–8 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte | 19–7 |
| 28–30 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 2–0; W, 4–2; L, 4–2 | vs. Miami | 21–7, 6–6 |
| April | ||||
| 1 | Tuesday | W, 11–1 (7) | vs. Gardner-Webb | 22–7 |
| 3–5 | Thur.-Sat. | W, 4–3; L, 9–5; W, 8–7 (14) | vs. Duke | 24–8, 8–7 |
| 8 | Tuesday | W, 12–10 | at Elon | 25–8 |
| 11–13 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 11–1 (7); W, 17–1 (7); W, 3–2 | vs. Wake Forest | 28–8, 11–7 |
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 14–4 (8) | vs. Charlotte | 29–8 |
| 18–20 | Fri-Sun. | W, 9–6; L, 10–6: W, 7–5 | at Virginia Tech | 31–9, 13–8 |
| 25–27 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 15–5; L, 4–2; W, 6–0 | at Pittsburgh | 33–10, 15–9 |
| 29 | Tuesday | W, 13–4 | vs. George Mason | 34–10 |
| 30 | Wednesday | W, 14–3 | vs. Queens | 35–10 |
| May | ||||
| 6 | Tuesday | W, 10–1 | vs. Campbell | 36–10 |
| 8–9 | Thurs.-Fri. | W, 8–1; L, 8–5 | vs. N.C. State | 37–11, 16–10 |
| 15–17 | Thurs.-Sat. | W, 8–3; W, 11–1 (7); L, 5–4 | at No. 7 Florida State | 39–12, 18–11 |
| ACC tournament | Durham | |||
| 23 | Friday | Quarterfinal: W, 7–3 | Boston College | 40–12 |
| 24 | Saturday | Semifinal: W, 7–5 | No. 7 Florida State | 41–12 |
| 25 | Sunday | Final: W, 14–4 | No. 14 Clemson | 42–12 |
| Chapel Hill Regional | ||||
| 30 | Friday | W, 4–0 | Holy Cross | 43–12 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 11–5 | Oklahoma | 44–12 |
| June | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | L, 9–5 | Oklahoma | 44–13 |
| 2 | Monday | W, 14–4 | Oklahoma | 45–13 |
| Chapel Hill Super Regional | Best-of-3 series | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 18–2 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–13 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 10–8 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–14 |
| 8 | Sunday | L, 4–3 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–15 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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