By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — A big part of fuelling more Bosh Magic on Friday night was powerful redemption for three Tar Heels.
Carolina wouldn’t have beaten West Virginia 8–6 in Game 1 of the Chapel Hill Super Regionals on Friday night without redemption from third baseman Gavin Gallaher, shortstop Colby Wilkerson, catcher Luke Stevenson and relief pitcher Matt Poston.
That put the Tar Heels (46-14) a win away from a berth in the College World Series, with Game 2 at 8 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) and Game 3, if needed, at 3 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2).
Gallaher and Wilkerson, usually solid fielders, made surprising errors; Stevenson made a defensive mistake. Poston returned from a rough outing in the Chapel Hill Regional one week earlier with a dominant pitching performance.
“We made some mistakes, and that was important,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “Gavin Gallaher catches that ball in his sleep, Colby Wilkerson fields that ball in his sleep. We gave them some extra outs. We didn’t execute some pitches. But our guys also know they can’t be looking in the rearview mirror.”
Gallaher quickly atoned for his error in the top of the third inning, which didn’t lead to a run, with an RBI single during the Tar Heels’ four-run third inning.
Wilkerson’s error to start the sixth inning was more costly because West Virginia third baseman Reed Chumley was the next batter, and he hit a two-run home run to give the Mountaineers a 6–4 lead.
Wilkerson made up for that mistake most unexpectedly, belting a solo home run to left field off West Virginia ace left-hander Derek Clark for the senior’s first career blast at Boshamer Stadium. It was only his third home run of the season and fifth of his career.
Stevenson made a freshman mistake in the sixth inning when the throw to the plate had Mountaineers baserunner Grant Hussey easily beat. But he had his glove in the air instead of on the ground, allowing Hussey to slide hand-first safely for a run in the sixth inning.
“We joked about it in the locker room, we could joke about it because we won,” Forbes said. “And I was a catcher, so I always tell these other guys that they don’t know what their real toughness is.”
Had Stevenson tagged out Hussey, Carolina wouldn’t have trailed by a run entering the bottom of the ninth. But Stevenson took care of that to lead off the inning, launching the first pitch he saw, a fastball from Clark, to center field. West Virginia center fielder Aaron Jamison jumped, but couldn’t make the catch.
“I honestly thought he caught it, especially when his glove went back over the wall. I saw the umpire wave his hand in the air; that was great,” said Stevenson, whose home run tied it before Vance Honeycutt ended the game later in the inning on a two-run homer.
It wouldn’t have been a one-run game entering the ninth inning if not for Poston’s outstanding pitching one week after giving up two runs in two innings in Carolina’s 11–8 win over Long Island in the opener of the Chapel Hill Regional.
Poston, who pitched three shutout, hitless innings with no walks and four strikeouts, inherited two baserunners in the seventh inning. He left them stranded with a strikeout and a groundout after the first batter he faced laid down a sacrifice bunt.
“I went in there and I knew they were probably going to bunt,” Poston said. “I think the next batter was 3–2 and I said ‘I’m not going to hang a splitter like I did last Friday’. So, I threw it in the dirt, and he took a big swing on it. The next kid hit it right back at me. I didn’t even know there were two outs. I was about to throw it home, but I saw everyone running back to the dugout.”
Carolina hopes to play a clean game defensively, so no rallies are required on Saturday night. But Tar Heels have shown the resiliency to rebound from their mistakes if there are hiccups on defense.
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 scores
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Times | Opponent (current rank) |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | |||
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sat. | 4, noon, 1 | vs. Indiana |
| 17 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Richmond |
| 18 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Longwood |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun. | 4 (Greenville), 2 (DBAP), 2 (CH) | vs. East Carolina |
| 24 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. N.C. A&T |
| 25 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. VCU |
| 27–28 | Fri., Sat. | 4 p.m., 2 p.m. | vs. Le Moyne |
| March | |||
| 1 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Le Moyne |
| 3 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Elon |
| 6–8 | Fri.-Sun. | 4, 2, 1 | vs. Virginia |
| 10 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Bucknell |
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sun. | 9, 5, 4 | at California |
| 18 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. UNCG |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun. | 8, 2, 1 | vs. No. 8 Louisville |
| 24 | Tuesday | 6:30 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte |
| 27–29 | Fri.-Sun. | 6:30, 3, 1 | at Notre Dame |
| 31 | Tuesday | 8 p.m. | vs. Campbell |
| April | |||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | 6, 6, 2 | vs. Boston College |
| 7 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Charlotte |
| 10–12 | Fri.-Sun. | 6, 2, 12:30 | at No. 19 Clemson |
| 14 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. UNCW |
| 17–19 | Fri-Sun. | 6, noon, 1 | vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech |
| 21 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. High Point |
| 23–25 | Fri.-Sun. | 7, 6, 3 | at Duke |
| 28 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 6 Coastal Carolina |
| 29 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Queens |
| May | |||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. (non-conference game) | vs. Duke |
| 6 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Winthrop |
| 8–10 | Fri.-Sun. | 6, noon, 1 | vs. Pittsburgh |
| 12 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | at UNCW |
| 14–16 | Thurs.-Sat. | 7, 6, 1 | at No. 17 N.C. State |
| 19–24 | Tues.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Charlotte |
| 29–31 | Fri.-Sun. | NCAA Regionals | Campus sites |
| June | |||
| 5–7 | Fri.-Sun. | NCAA Super Regionals | Campus sites |
| 12–22 | Fri.-Mon | College World Series | Omaha, Neb. |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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