By R.L. Bynum
OMAHA, Neb. — North Carolina’s already deep bullpen will get even deeper for the Men’s College World Series.
With days off between games worked into the schedule, junior right-hander Aidan Haugh (4–2, 4.54 ERA), the No. 3 starter since early April, will be back in the bullpen.
The No. 4-seed Tar Heels (47–14) open play at 2 p.m. ET Friday against No. 12 Virginia (45–15), and won’t play its second game until Sunday. If UNC wins at least one of those games, it wouldn’t play again until Tuesday.
“We play those big weekend series in our league, you don’t get a day [off],” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “So, every one of our relievers, they’re all horses, they all can handle a big workload. They’ve all been managed well all season. So, we will move Aidan back into that bullpen to start for sure. He’ll be available, ready to rock ‘n’ roll against Virginia.”
Haugh was a valuable bullpen arm for the first two months of the season, but entered the starting rotation after freshman left-handed ace Folger Boaz went down with an arm injury.
Haugh has pitched only once in the NCAA tournament, giving up five hits and four runs with two walks and two strikeouts in Carolina’s 8–4 loss to LSU on June 2.
After 13 relief appearances to start the season, Haugh started in six consecutive appearances, winning three, before pitching ⅔-of-an-inning in relief against Wake Forest in the ACC tournament.
Freshman right-hander Jason DeCaro (6–1, 3.89 ERA) will pitch Friday, with junior left-hander Shea Sprague (3–1, 4.00) most likely starting Sunday’s game.
“The plan is to go after Virginia and go after that game,” Forbes said.
Haugh gives UNC another relief option in addition to the leaders of the relief corps in right-hander Matthew Matthijs (12–4, 3.65), right-hander Matt Poston (5–2, 5.25) and workhorse closer left-hander Dalton Pence (4–1, 2.04 ERA).
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
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Times/ scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record/ TV * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 13 | Friday | W, 9–4 | vs. Indiana | 1–0 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 12–2 (7); W, 4–3 (11) | vs. Indiana | 3–0 |
| 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 | Friday ESPN+ |
| 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 | Friday ACCN |
| 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 | ACCN |
| April | ||||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | 6, 6, 2 | vs. Boston College | |
| 7 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Charlotte | ACCN |
| 10–12 | Fri.-Sun. | 6, 2, 12:30 | at No. 19 Clemson | Sunday ACCN |
| 14 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. UNCW | |
| 17–19 | Fri-Sun. | 6, noon, 1 | vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech | Sat., Sun. ACCN |
| 21 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. High Point | |
| 23–25 | Thu.-Sat. | 7, 6, 3 | at Duke | Thurs. ACCN |
| 28 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 6 Coastal Carolina | ACCN |
| 29 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Queens | |
| May | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. (non-conference game) | vs. Duke | ACCN |
| 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 | Thurs. ACCN |
| 19–24 | Tues.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Charlotte | ACCN (final ESPN2) |
| 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. |
- Games not on TV stream on ACC Network Extra unless otherwise note.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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