By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Once West Virginia ace Derek Clark was done, so were the Mountaineers, another victim of Bosh Magic.
Junior center fielder Vance Honeycutt finished them off with a game-ending two-run home run to left field with two outs in the ninth inning as No. 4-seed North Carolina rallied for an 8–6 victory in the opener of the Chapel Hill Super Regional on Friday night before 4,139 fans at Boshamer Stadium.
Catcher Luke Stevenson led off the ninth inning with a game-tying home run after reliever Matt Poston (winner, 5–2) threw three shutout, hitless innings with four strikeouts.
“They’ve found different ways to win, and that’s the mark of a good team,” said UNC coach Scott Forbes, whose team has earned four of its last seven wins in its last at-bat.
For the third time in a week, the Tar Heels (46–14) rallied in the ninth inning, leaving them one win away from their first College World Series appearance in six seasons. UNC freshman right-hander Jason DeCaro (3–1, 3.76 ERA) will start against WVU junior left-hander Tyler Switalski (5–2, 5.34 ERA) in Game 2 at 8 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2).
“With our offense, we feel like if we can continue to move down the order, good things will happen. I was able to get a good pitch and put a good swing on it,” said Honeycutt, who reacted as if he immediately knew it was a home run on the 3–1 pitch off WVU reliever Aidan Major (loser, 5–5).
(Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics by Ainsley Fauth)
With Honeycutt’s 62nd career home run, the first walk-off homer of his career, he tied his career-high with 25 in a season.
“We don’t really skip a beat; it’s weird,” Honeycutt said. “Sometimes you think you might get tight or you just maybe should get tight. But Casey [Cook] and I were talking right before the first hitter — Stevenson — was coming up in the ninth and he said ‘this happens every game now, so it’s honestly all right.’ And then Stevenson, first pitch off the wall and I feel like everyone in the dugout thought that we’re gonna win the game.”
Honeycutt said that assistant coach Jesse Wierzbicki gave him a good report on Major.
“We knew he had a fastball and slider, and that’s what we knew he was going to attack us with, righties at least,” Honeycutt said. “I try to get a pitch middle-in and something you can handle. It was a cool moment. The plan wasn’t to go up there and hit a home run. That’s not probably the right approach, though. This place is special. We’re having some Bosh Magic, so it was really cool.”
Stevenson’s 406-foot blast to deep center field came off the 133rd pitch from Clark, who was incredible with 144 pitches, 100 for strikes.
“I was just trying to get something going,” Stevenson said. “Coach Wierzbicki told me to smoke something back up the middle. My goal was to get us started. We’re never out of it.”
Stevenson said he learned a little from his previous three at-bats against Clark, who gave up seven hits, a season-high-tying seven runs, walked three and struck out eight.
“Every single at-bat, I kept seeing them a little bit better, and I got that first-pitch fastball,” Stevenson said.
Clark finally came out of the game after Alex Madera’s one-out single in the ninth inning, and Honeycutt’s game-winning blast came two batters later.
After giving up two runs in two innings of UNC’s 11–8 win over Long Island one week earlier, Poston rebounded with a masterful performance in his second-longest outing of the season (he went 3⅓ innings in an April 6 win at Virginia).
“A lot of guys picked me up this year,” Poston said. “And I was like couldn’t have a worse outing than last Friday. If they hit, they hit and if they don’t, they don’t. We also have guys making good plays like Colby [Wilkerson], the one that over his head is underrated a little bit because that usually is a hard play to make. Our defense just makes it so much easier for the pitchers to go out there and be free.”
Forbes wasn’t worried about Poston’s outing against LIU.
“We had a really good feeling about Matt,” Forbes said of Poston. “He’s been good all year. A good matchup against West Virginia. He’s been one of our horses. He’s just been a guy that can pitch for us every day. He always wants to pitch.”
UNC starter Shea Sprague didn’t walk a batter and struck out six but gave up seven hits and four runs (three earned) in five-plus innings.
West Virginia designated hitter Kyle West came into the game with one hit in his previous 32 at-bats with 17 strikeouts, but got three hits, including two homers and four RBI in his first three at-bats.
West hit a 2–1 Sprague slider 359 feet for a home run to right field to lead off the third inning. Sprague gave up two base runners with two outs in the inning on a JJ Wetherholt single and an error by third baseman Gavin Gallaher but elicited an inning-ending groundout.
After two walks and a Honeycutt single past the shortstop in the third inning, Parks Harber — who didn’t drive in a run during the Chapel Hill Regional — hit a drive to center field for a three-run single. He took second on an error and scored on Gallaher’s single to put UNC up by three.
WVU (36–23) got a run back when West singled to center, even though the throw beat second baseman Brodie Kresser to the plate. But Kresser slid in hand-first under catcher Stevenson’s tag.
“I kind of messed up the tag and had to pick my team up right there,” Stevenson said. “So, I wanted to get the run back. That’s a tag that I needed to make, and I’m aware of it. I’m going to make it again.”
Mountaineers third baseman Reed Chumley tied it with a two-run homer on a 386-foot drive to left field after shortstop Wilkerson’s error. Right-hander Matthew Matthijs relieved Sprague after a single to Grant Hussey. After getting a pop out, West hit a 425-foot shot to right field that went into the Karen Shelton Stadium stands for the only hit off Matthijs.
After UNC reliever Ben Peterson hit the only two batters he faced to lead off in the seventh, Poston came on and retired West Virginia in order, getting out of the inning with a groundout to leave runners at second and third.
“Matt coming in there in that situation with Wetherholt on second base — a really good base stealer — we had to bring the infield in and getting that that big strikeout and getting the next out out,” Forbes said. “I felt like that gave us … hey, OK, I could see the guys running in with the looks on their face like,’ hey, that’s big,’ and it was big because their guy [Clark] was good, and their guy is tough. We knew it wouldn’t be easy to score.”
Wilkerson trimmed UNC’s deficit to one with his fifth career home run, a blast over the left-field wall with one out in the seventh inning. It was his third of the season and first at The Bosh in his 323rd career home at-bat.
West Virginia coach Randy Mazey said he didn’t consider taking out Clark earlier.
“I don’t have any interest in fist-fighting Derek Clark on the mound, so, no thought of taking him
out. Our only thought right now is, is he gonna pitch [Saturday],” Mazey kiddingly said. “The guy’s been really solid, what we’ve been seeing this whole season. He’s a throwback. He’s a throwback. back to the Nolan Ryan days when guys were throwing 200 pitches.”
NOTES — The Tar Heels are 36–3 (92.3%) at home this season. A win on Saturday would give this team the highest home winning percentage in stadium history. … Gallaher, the Chapel Hill Regional MVP, moved from the seven spot in the order to the five spot. Designated hitter Alberto Osuna — who was lifted in the sixth inning for pinch hitter Johnny Castagnozzi — went from fifth to seventh. UNC’s order still alternated between right-handed and left-handed hitters until switch-hitting Wilkerson in the nine-hole. Gallaher was 5 of 17 with two homers and seven RBI in the regional, while Osuna was 5 of 17 with no homers and two RBI. … UNC was 2 of 3 with runners in scoring position, while West Virginia was 0 for 4. … Carolina was 4 of 11 with runners on base, while WVU was 3 of 17. … The four runs in the third tied for the most off Clark in an inning all season. He also gave up four in the third inning of a 10–4 loss at Cincinnati on May 4 when he gave up seven runs in the game. … There were many West Virginia fans, but not nearly in numbers as big as LSU brought last weekend. … West’s second homer was the first to reach the Shelton Stadium stands since a blast from UNC’s Hunter Stokely in 2022 against Georgia Tech. … UNC tied the 46–19 team in 2019 for the most wins since the 59–12 team in 2013 went to the College World Series. … Carolina won a Super Regional opener for the first time since sweeping Stetson in two games at the 2018 Chapel Hill Super Regional and is 7–0 in Supers when winning the opener. … That’s also UNC’s last Super Regional victory. Since then, the Heels lost in three games to Auburn in 2019 and in two games to Arkansas in 2022. … UNC is 9–2 all-time against West Virginia, with every game at Boshamer Stadium. … The Tar Heels improved to 16–8 all-time in Super Regional play and 13–6 at Boshamer Stadium. … Anthony Donofrio has a career-long 13-game hit streak and his catch at the wall in right field was No. 9 on ESPN’s Top 10 Plays.
UNC 8, West Virginia 6
Chapel Hill Super Regional
Top-ranked and No. 5-seed North Carolina (46–14) vs. No. 21-ranked Arizona (43–19)
Best-of-3 series
Boshamer Stadium
Game 1 Friday: North Carolina 18, Arizona 2
Game 2 Saturday: Arizona 10, North Carolina 8; series tied at 1
Game 3 Sunday: Arizona 4, North Carolina 3; Arizona wins series 2–1
Arizona meets No. 11-ranked and No. 13-seed Coastal Carolina (53–11), which finished off a sweep of the Auburn Super Regional, beating No. 9-ranked and No. 4-seed Auburn 7–6 in 10 innings on Friday and 4–1 on Saturday.
UNC career home run leaders
| Player | Seasons | Games | Homers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vance Honeycutt | 2022–24 | 176 | 65 |
| Devy Bell | 1984–87 | 205 | 57 |
| Chris Cox | 1990–93 | 192 | 49 |
| Mac Horvath | 2021–23 | 160 | 47 |
| Alberto Osuna | 2022–24 | 176 | 45 |
| Chad Flack | 2005–08 | 267 | 42 |
| Sean Farrell | 2000–03 | 240 | 40 |
| Jarrett Shearin | 1996–99 | 241 | 40 |
| Cookie Massey | 1993–94 | 108 | 40 |
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 |
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics by Ainsley Fauth
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