By R.L. Bynum
No. 4-seed North Carolina and No. 12 Virginia are familiar with each other heading into their Men’s College World Series game this weekend, but a lot has changed since they played an early-April series in Charlottesville.
The Tar Heels (47–14) have changed freshman Friday starting pitchers since the Cavaliers (45–14) won two of three games that series; Virginia’s starting pitching has improved since then.
It’s Carolina’s first trip to Omaha since 2018m=, while Virginia, which won the NCAA title in 2014, is going for the third time in four seasons. The old ACC rivals play their first game either at 2 p.m. Friday (ESPN).
“From the scouting standpoint, a ton doesn’t change, but they’re a lot different,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “We’re a lot different than when we played. I’ve been out there long enough to know that the eight teams are out there for a reason. And we’re going to have to play extremely well. So, we’ll focus on us more than we’ll focus on Virginia.”
When they played in April, UNC was riding high after sweeping a series the weekend before at then-top-10 Wake Forest and had won nine consecutive games. But the Cavaliers won the opener 14–11 on April 4 and beat the Tar Heels 7–2 on April 5 before UNC knocked off Virginia in the series finale 12–7 on April 6.
Left-hander Folger Boaz started that series opener and was off to a 3–1 start, but suffered a season-ending left elbow injury five days later at Charlotte. Right-hander Jason DeCaro (6–1, 3.89 ERA) has been the Friday starter since then.
DeCaro (top photo) was masterful Saturday night, striking out five and only giving up two hits and two walks in 6⅓ innings of the 2–1 win over West Virginia that sent the Heels to the CWS.
Junior Virginia right-hander Jay Woolfolk (4–1, 5.95 ERA) only pitched one inning of relief against the Tar Heels but has since taken a prominent role in the rotation. He started and won title-clinching games in both the regional and super-regional rounds, striking out seven in both games.
Woolfolk gave up eight hits and two runs in eight innings in the June 2 win over Mississippi State and pitched 6⅓ innings with six hits and three runs in Saturday’s 10–4 victory over Kansas State.
“Woolfolk has really stepped forward as a starter,” Forbes said. “Their offense is their offense. It’s really good from top to bottom. But that’s been the biggest difference. They have pitched at a much higher level, especially starting pitching.”
Virginia’s offense enters is second in the country in batting average (.336), fourth in runs (576), fifth in doubles (147) and 11th in home runs (116).
Sophomore left-hander Evan Blanco (8–3, 3.69 ERA) struck out nine in seven innings, giving up five hits and four runs, in the Cavaliers’ 7–4 Friday victory over Kansas State and figures to be a likely candidate to start against UNC.
“We have to prepare for whoever that is. They have pitched a lot better the last six weeks for sure,” Forbes said.
Blanco started the second game of the UNC series, going 6⅓ innings, giving up six hits, two runs and one walk with seven strikeouts. Since then, he’s had four starts giving up three runs or fewer, including a pair of scoreless starts.
Anchoring Virginia’s bullpen is junior right-hander Chase Hungate (7–1, 3.71 ERA, two saves), who has 13 walks and 37 strikeouts in 51 innings.
UNC catcher Luke Stevenson remembers losing the first two games of that series before salvaging the third game.
“It’s not something I want to do again,” Stevenson said. “We want to get out there and pretty much do what we know that we’re capable of. We’ve seen them, and they’re a great ballclub, but we’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing and just get after it. UVa has a really good offense. So, we’re just going to make sure that we execute our pitches and get to business.”
Stevenson has seen the pitching staff evolve positively after getting over the blow of losing Boaz for the season.
“There’s been a bunch of guys that have stepped up, especially out of the bullpen,” Stevenson said.
Virginia will see a different Dalton Pence than it saw in April.
The redshirt sophomore right-handed reliever gave up three runs over 2⅓ innings in two appearances against the Cavaliers. But he hasn’t given up a run in his last eight innings over three outings. Pence threw 65 pitches over 2⅔ shutout innings in Saturday’s win for his eighth save, five coming after the Virginia series.
“Guys that maybe weren’t starters had to become starters and have really taken their baby steps into bigger steps, which has been really awesome to see, especially a guy like Jason,” Stevenson said.
Junior right-hander Aidan Haugh (4–2, 4.53 ERA), went from the bullpen to No. 3 on the starting rotation after the Virginia series.
Men’s College World Series
At Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
Bracket 1
No. 1 Tennessee (3–0), No. 8 Florida State (2–2), No. 4 North Carolina (1–2), No. 12 Virginia (0–2)
Bracket 2
No. 3 Texas A&M (3–0), Florida (2–2), No. 2 Kentucky (1–2), No. 10 N.C. State (0–2)
Pool play
(All listed times are EDT)
Friday’s results
Game 1: No. 4 North Carolina 3, No. 12 Virginia 2
Game 2: No. 1 Tennessee 12, No. 8 Florida State 11
Saturday’s results
Game 3: No. 2 Kentucky 5, No. 10 N.C. State 4, 10 innings
Game 4: No. 3 Texas A&M 3, Florida 2
Sunday’s results
Game 5: No. 8 Florida State 7, No. 12 Virginia 3; Virginia eliminated
Game 6: No. 1 Tennessee 6, No. 4 North Carolina 1
Monday’s results
Game 7: Florida 5, No. 10 N.C. State 4; N.C. State eliminated
Game 8: No. 3 Texas A&M 5, No. 2 Kentucky 1
Tuesday’s result
Game 9: No. 8 Florida State 9, No. 4 North Carolina 5; North Carolina eliminated
Wednesday’s results
Game 10: Florida 15, No. 2 Kentucky 4; Kentucky eliminated
Game 11: No. 1 Tennessee 7, No. 8 Florida State 2; Florida State eliminated
Game 12: No. 3 Texas A&M 6, Florida 0; Florida eliminated
MCWS Finals
(Best-of-3 series)
No. 1 Tennessee (60–13) vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (53–15)
Game 1: Texas A&M 9, Tennessee 5
Game 2 Tennessee, 4, Texas A&M 1
Game 3: Tennessee 6, Texas A&M 5; Tennessee wins national champinship
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
tarheeltribune.com 