By R.L. Bynum
No. 4 seed North Carolina begins play in the program’s 12th College World Series later this week at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, potentially five wins away from a national championship.
The Tar Heels (47–14) will face No. 12 Virginia (45–15) in their opener on Friday or Saturday at 2 p.m. or 7 p.m. on ESPN, with Friday more likely. The schedule is expected to be released no later than Monday.
UNC clinched its first CWS berth in six years with a thrilling 2–1 victory over West Virginia on Saturday night at Boshamer Stadium before a record crowd of 4,491, sweeping the Chapel Hill Super Regional in two games.
The eight College World Series teams are divided into two four-team double-elimination brackets. The winners of each bracket will meet in the best-of-three finals series, with Game 1 at 7:30 on June 22 (ESPN), Game 2 at 2 p.m. on June 23 (ABC), and Game 3, if needed, at 7 p.m. (ESPN).
Along with Virginia, UNC’s bracket includes No. 8 Florida State (47–15) and the winner of Sunday’s 6 p.m. deciding game of Knoxville Super Regional (ESPN2) between No. 1 Tennessee (54–12) and Evansville (39–25).
Carolina will play either Florida State or No. 1 Tennessee (55–12) in its second game, either Sunday or Monday. Should UNC win its first two games, it would earn a finals berth with a third victory.
If No. 10 N.C. State (37–21) beats No. 7 Georgia (43–16) in the Athens Regional, the Wolfpack couldn’t face UNC until the finals. The Wolfpack, which won two of three games against UNC in Raleigh on April 18–20, rolled to an 18–1 win Saturday, but with an 11–2 Sunday victory, Georgia forced a deciding Game 3 at 7 p.m. Monday (ESPN).
No teams have clinched berths in the bracket opposite of UNC’s because all those series didn’t start until Saturday.
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Host No. 3 Texas A&M finished off a sweep of Oregon with a 15–9 win on Sunday as did No. 2 Kentucky with a 3–2 win over Oregon State.
Florida advanced in Bracket 2, the Wolfpack’s bracket, with an 11–10 13-inning win over Clemson on Sunday, finishing off a sweep of the Clemson Super Regional.
Carolina finished March with a nine-game winning streak but started April by losing two of three games at Virginia. The Cavaliers won the opener 14–11 on April 4 and beat the Tar Heels 7–2 on April 5 before UNC beat Virginia in the series finale 12–7 on April 6.
Virginia swept Kansas State in the Charlottesville Super Regional, winning 7–4 on Friday and 10–4 on Saturday.
UNC hasn’t faced Florida State.
Chapel Hill Super Regional
No. 4-ranked and No. 5-seed North Carolina (50–12–1) vs. Southern Cal (48–18)
Best-of-3 series
Boshamer Stadium
Game 1: USC 9, UNC 5
Game 2: UNC 4, USC 0
Game 3: UNC 4, USC 3; UNC wins series 2-1
UNC opens the College World Series on Friday or Saturday against No. 18 and unseeded Ole Miss (41–21), which swept No. 5 Auburn in the Auburn Super Regional, winning 6–4 on Friday and 5–3 on Saturday. The other two teams in the double-elimination four-team field on the left side of the bracket are Troy (38–30) and No. 16-seed West Virginia (45–15).
College World Series
At Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
Pool play
All listed times are ET
June 12 results
West Virginia 7, Troy 5
North Carolina 6, Ole Miss 2
June 13 results
Oklahoma 9, Alabama 0
Georgia 7, Texas 1
June 14 results
Troy 12, Ole Miss 8; Ole Miss eliminated
North Carolina 5, West Virginia 2
June 15 results
Texas 14, Alabama 2; Alabama eliminated
Oklahoma 4, Georgia 3
Tuesday’s results
West Virginia 12, Troy 0; Troy eliminated
Georgia 2, Texas 0; Texas eliminated
Wednesday’s results
North Carolina 12, West Virginia 7; West Virginia eliminated
Oklahoma 11, Georgia 4; Georgia eliminated
CWS Finals
(Best-of-3 series)
North Carolina vs. Oklahoma
Game 1 Saturday: Oklahoma 9, North Carolina 3
Game 2 Sunday: North Carolina 6, Oklahoma 2
Game 3 Monday: Oklahoma 13, North Carolina 2; Sooners win national title
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 13–14 | Fri., Sat. | W, 9–4; W, 12–2 (7); W, 4–3 (11) | vs. Indiana | 3–0 |
| 17 | Tuesday | W, 10–0 (7) | vs. Richmond | 4–0 |
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 5–3 | vs. Longwood | 5–0 |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun | W, 10–0 (8); L, 10–3; T, 3–3 | vs. East Carolina | 6–1–1 |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 9–1 | vs. N.C. A&T | 7–1–1 |
| 25 | Wednesday | W, 13–3 (7) | vs. VCU | 8–1–1 |
| 27–28 | Fri., Sat. | W, 16–3 (7); W, 12–2 (7) | vs. Le Moyne | 10–1–1 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 21–1 (7) | vs. Le Moyne | 11–1–1 |
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 5–1 | vs. Elon | 12–1–1 |
| 6–7 | Fri., Sat | L, 13–3 (7); L, 9–2; W, 8–7 (12) | vs. Virginia | 13–3–1, 1–2 ACC |
| 10 | Tuesday | W, 13–3 (7) | vs. Bucknell | 14–3–1 |
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 8–1; W, 6–2; W, 10–2 | at California | 17–3–1, 4–2 |
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 8–2 | vs. UNCG | 18–3–1 |
| 20–22 | Fri.–Sun. | W, 11–1 (8); L, 2–0; W, 7–6 | vs. Louisville | 20–4–1, 6–3 |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 9–1 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte | 21–4–1 |
| 28, 29 | Sat., Sun | W, 6–5; W, 13–7; W, 15–10 | at Notre Dame | 24–4–1, 9–3 |
| 31 | Tuesday | W, 5–4 (14) | vs. Campbell | 25–4–1 |
| April | ||||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | L, 6–1; W, 5–2; W, 8–7 | vs. Boston College | 27–5–1, 11–4 |
| 7 | Tuesday | W, 8–4 | vs. Charlotte | 28–5–1 |
| 10–12 | Fri.–Sun. | L, 9–5; W, 6–4 (14); W, 12–5 | at Clemson | 30–6–1, 13–5 |
| 14 | Tuesday | W, 14–5 | vs. UNCW | 31–6–1 |
| 17–19 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 5–2; W, 14–4 (8); L, 5–2 | vs. No. 2 Georgia Tech | 33–7–1, 15–6 |
| 21 | Tuesday | W, 9–2 | vs. High Point | 34–7–1 |
| 23–25 | Thur.–Sat. | W, 3–1; L, 3–1; W, 22–5 (7) | at Duke | 36–8–1, 17–7 |
| 28 | Tuesday | L, 12–2 | vs. Coastal Carolina | 36–9–1 |
| May | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 13–0 (7) (non-conference game) | vs. Duke | 37–9–1 |
| 8–10 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 4–1; W, 12–2 (8); W, 7–3 | vs. Pittsburgh | 40–9–1, 20–7 |
| 12 | Tuesday | W, 13–7 | at UNCW | 41–9–1 |
| 14–16 | Thur.-Sat. | W, 9–4; W, 17–7 (8); L, 7–2 | at N.C. State | 43–10–1, 22–8 |
| ACC tournament | Charlotte | |||
| 22 | Friday | W, 10–4 | Quarterfinal vs. Virginia Tech | 44–10–1 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 13–5 | Semifinal vs. Pittsburgh | 45–10–1 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 13–6 | Championship vs. No. 2 Ga. Tech | 45–11–1 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| Chapel Hill Regional | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 8–0 | VCU | 46–11–1 |
| 30–31 | Sat.–Sun. | W, 7–5; W, 9–3 | East Carolina | 48–11–1 |
| June | ||||
| Chapel Hill Super Regionals | ||||
| 5–7 | Fri.–Sun. | L, 9–5; W, 4–0; W, 4–3 | Southern Cal | 50–12–1 |
| College World Series | Omaha, Neb. | |||
| 12 | Friday | W, 6–2 | No. 18 Ole Miss | 51–12–1 |
| 14, 17 | Sun., Wed. | W, 5–2; W, 12–7 | No. 9 West Virginia | 53–12–1 |
| 20–22 | Sat.-Mon. | L, 9–3; W, 6–2; L, 13–2 | CWS Finals vs. Oklahoma | 54–14–1 |
Photo by Smith Hardy
