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.
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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).
College World Series
At Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
Sunday, June 21, game on ABC, all other games on ESPN
Bracket 1
No. 5-seed and No. 4-ranked North Carolina (50–12–1), No. 16-seed West Virginia (48–15), Troy (38–30) and No. 23-ranked Ole Miss (41–21)
Bracket 2
No. 3-seed and No. 3-ranked Georgia (51–12), No. 6-seed and No. 6-ranked Texas (45–13), No. 7-seed and No. 16-ranked Alabama (42–19) and Oklahoma (38–22)
Pool play
(All listed times are ET)
Friday’s games
Game 1: Troy vs. West Virginia, 2:06 p.m.
Game 2: North Carolina vs. Ole Miss, 7:06 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Game 3: Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Alabama, 3:06 p.m.
Game 4: Georgia vs. No. 6 Texas, 8:06 p.m.
Sunday’s games
Game 5: Friday losers, 2:06 p.m.
Game 6: Friday winners, 7:06 p.m.
Monday’s games
Game 7: Saturday losers, 2:06 p.m.
Game 8: Saturday winners, 7 p.m.
Tuesday’s games
Game 9: Sunday morning winner vs. Sunday night loser 2:06 p.m.
Game 10: Tuesday morning winner vs. Sunday night winner, 7:06 p.m.
Wednesday’s games
Game 11: Monday morning winner vs. Monday night loser, 2:06 p.m.
Game 12: Wednesday morning winner vs. Monday night winner, 7:06 p.m.
Thursday’s games
Deciding Bracket 1 game if Game 9 winner also wins Game 11
Deciding Bracket 2 game if Game 10 winner also wins Game 12
CWS Finals
(Best-of-3 series)
Game 1: Saturday, June 20, 8:06 p.m.
Game 2 Sunday, June 21, 1:36 p.m.
Game 3: Monday, June 22, (if needed) 8:06 p.m.
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Times/ scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record/ TV * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 7:06 p.m. | No. 18 Ole Miss | ESPN |
| 14 | Sunday | 2:06 p.m. (with loss) or 7:06 p.m. (with win) | Troy or West Virginia | ESPN |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
