By R.L. Bynum
OMAHA, Neb. — The Shea Sprague that No. 1-seed Tennessee will face is a dramatically different pitcher than the one who struggled to get his North Carolina teammates out during preseason practice.
“He had a terrible preseason; got lit up, honestly,” said UNC coach Scott Forbes, who will start Sprague for his No. 4 Tar Heels (48–14) in Sunday’s 7 p.m. ET game (ESPN2) against the Vols (56–12). “He just got hit hard. His velo was down.”
Sprague remembers those rough days on the practice field before his first season in Chapel Hill after two seasons at Elon.
“I think it was good for me to get hit around in the preseason,” Sprague said after the Tar Heels’ practice at Nebraska-Omaha’s baseball facility. “Obviously, as the year went on, just kept getting better and better and better and then I think the biggest thing is just staying confident no matter what happens.”
Development of and confidence in his changeup, which he throws more than half the time, was a big part of him putting up consistent efforts. That has allowed him to set up his slider and his fastball and has made him tough to beat.
But in the preseason, his changeup was so bad that he hit Carter French in the back four times trying to get it over the plate. Fortunately for French, most of those pitches were around 74 mph. Fortunately for Sprague, his command quickly got better as the season got going.
“The biggest thing is having confidence in that pitch. Obviously if I have confidence, that helps me build confidence in my fastball and slider,” said Sprague, who has pulled the string on many batters during the season.
Sprague (3–1, 4.00 ERA) started with two bullpen outings in February, but has been a solid part of the starting rotation since then, the first five as the No. 3 starter before becoming the No. 2 starter after Folger Boaz’s season-ending injury.
The 6–3, 195-pound left-hander has given up three runs or fewer in 10 starts, including 4⅓ shutout innings in the Chapel Hill Regional against LSU.
“What he’s done has really stabilized our entire pitching staff when he moved in [the starting rotation],” Forbes said.
Sprague has pitched in plenty of big games, but Forbes points to the mid-March Miami series as his biggest outing of the season. The Hurricanes had won the first two games 14–1 (7 innings; 10-run rule) and 2–1 and UNC needed a big effort to avoid a sweep.
Although he gave up three earned runs in 3⅓ innings, he struck out eight in an 18–6 7-inning run-rule win and showed Forbes something.
“He really set the tone for the game,” Forbes said. “If he doesn’t start like that, who knows, maybe we get swept. Since then, I feel like he’s taken a step, a step, a step.”
Forbes said part of being a gamer is the drive to work in the weight room and conditioning to get better, and says that describes Sprague.
Perhaps Sprague’s biggest challenge to date comes Sunday against one of the most potent offenses in the country in the Vols, who rallied Friday for a walk-off 12–11 victory over No. 8 Florida State on sophomore left fielder Dylan Dreiling’s RBI single.
With Sprague’s pitching mix and Tennessee’s affinity for hitting fly balls, it would seem to be a good matchup for Sprague in the spacious Charles Schwab Field Omaha. The Vols have 174 home runs, the second most all-time by a Division I team in history, including 27 in seven NCAA tournament games.
“Shea matches up good with anybody. He’s competitive. Obviously, he can throw his fastball to both sides of the plate,” said Forbes, noting the work that pitching coach Bryant Gaines and assistant coach Jason Howell have done working with him on his slider. “It’s more consistent. He’s not making as many mistakes with it, and he can show it to lefties and righties if he needs it. So, he has those three pitches and you know, he’s been really good for us all year.”
Sprague said that he’ll probably have fewer butterflies pitching Sunday than he would have if he had pitched in Friday’s opener, when freshman Jason DeCaro got the assignment.
“I think if I was in Jason’s shoes, that I probably would have been racing a little bit more,” Sprague said, adding that he’s acclimated with the field and he’s used to pitching before big crowds, having done that at the ACC tournament in Charlotte and in the NCAA games at Boshamer Stadium. “Tomorrow’s gonna be special. And I can’t wait.”
The Volunteers have five starters hitting above .300, led by junior first baseman Blake Burke (.380, 19 homers and 59 RBI). They have three players with at least 20 homers and at least 60 RBI: junior second baseman Christian Moore (.386, 33 homers, 72 RBI), junior third baseman Billy Amick (.315, 23 homers, 64 RBI) and Dreiling (.329, 20 homers, 67 RBI).
Moore is projected to be picked 16th in the draft later this month and Amick 26th.
Sprague says he watched Tennessee’s win like a fan and didn’t really scout them, and said he would instead depend on Gaines’ guidance on how to pitch the Vols.
Forbes implied that there will be a new designated hitter in the seven hole as he constructs the lineup that matches up best against Tennessee junior right-hander Drew Beam (8–2, 4.44 ERA).
After three consecutive games dropped to the seven hole, Alberto Osuna continues to struggle. He’s 1 of his last 14 and had three of UNC’s four strikeouts in Friday’s 3–2 victory over Virginia.
Likely getting the start would be one of two seniors — Jackson Van De Brake, one of the ninth-inning heroes against the Cavaliers, or Johnny Castagnozzi, who hit the big drive in the 4–3 10-inning Chapel Hill Regional win over LSU on June 3 that bounced off the right fielder’s head.
“When you have depth like we have, if somebody is struggling and it can help your team having somebody that’s talented enough to come in to do something big for us,” Forbes said, mentioning Van De Brake and Castagnozzi. “Both those guys have done something really big for us.”
NOTES — Forbes said that his entire pitching staff is available for Sunday’s game except for Jason DeCaro. … During practice, Forbes would occasionally go back to the dugout to check his phone to see the N.C. State-Kentucky score. The Wolfpack lost 5–4 in 10 innings. … Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham shagged balls in the outfield during UNC’s practice. … UNC leads the all-time series with Tennessee 5–2 and won 5–2 in the last meeting at the 2019 Chapel Hill Regional. … Carolina reliever Dalton Pence is 2–0 with a 1.26 ERA in the NCAA tournament. … Vance Honeycutt’s walk-off single was the first in the MCWS in 42 games, since Alabama’s Chris Moller homered against Oklahoma State in 1996. … Honeycutt is the third player since the 1999 NCAA tournament expansion with multiple walk-off hits in one tournament, joining UC Irvine’s Bryan Peterson in 2007 and Mississippi State’s Elija MacNamee in 2018. … With Honeycutt’s dad, Bobby, playing for UNC in the 1989 MCWS, they became the 15th father/son combination to play in the event. … Carolina is the first team to have walk-off wins in the openers of a Regional, Super Regional and MCWS since at least 1999. The Heels are the fifth team since 1950 with 3 walk-off wins, joining Rice (2003), UC Irvine (2007), Texas (2009) and Mississippi State (2018). … Friday’s win was Carolina’s 200th NCAA tournament game, with the Tar Heels 121–79. … UNC is 19–23 all-time in the Men’s College World Series and 5–7 in openers. … Carolina’s 48 wins are the most since the 2017 team went 48–14. … Carolina is 17–2 when allowing two runs or fewer. … Casey Cook has a 17-game on-base streak that matches his season-high, and Parks Harber has reached base in 15 consecutive games. … On the ESPN2 call of Sunday’s game will be Mike Monaco, Kyle Peterson, Chris Burke and Kris Budden. Monaco and Peterson called UNC’s Super Regional against West Virginia. … This is the 10th time there have been three or more walk-offs in the Men’s College World Series, but the first time there have been three in a row and, obviously, the first time the MCWS has started with three walk-offs. … UNC is 2–2 on Father’s Day, with wins over Clemson (2–0 in 2006) and LSU (8–4 in 2008) and losses to Rice (14–4 in 2007) and N.C. State (8–1 in 2013).
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 results
| Date | Day/ month | Score | Opponent/event (final ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 16 | Friday | W, 10–3 | vs. Wagner | 1–0 |
| 17 | Saturday | W, 16–5 | vs. Wagner | 2–0 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 20–6 | vs. Wagner | 3–0 |
| 20 | Tuesday | W, 8–7 | vs. Elon | 4–0 |
| 23 | Friday | W, 2–1 | vs. No. 20 East Carolina | 5–0 |
| 24 | Saturday | L, 7–4 | vs. No. 20 East Carolina in Fayetteville | 5–1 |
| 25 | Sunday | L, 10–9 | at No. 20 East Carolina | 5–2 |
| 27 | Tuesday | W, 8–2 | vs. VCU | 6–2 |
| 28 | Wednesday | W, 12–3 | vs. Longwood | 7–2 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Friday | W, 12–2 | vs. Princeton | 8–2 |
| 2 | Saturday | W, 11–2 | vs. Princeton | 9–2 |
| 3 | Sunday | W, 13–6 | vs. Princeton | 10–2 |
| 5 | Tuesday | W, 7–3 | at Campbell | 11–2 |
| 8 | Friday | W, 2–1 | vs. Pittsburgh | 12–2, 1–0 ACC |
| 9 | Saturday | W, 7–3 | vs. Pittsburgh | 13–2, 2–0 ACC |
| 10 | Sunday | W, 6–5, 10 innings | vs. Pittsburgh | 14–2, 3–0 ACC |
| 12 | Tuesday | W, 13–7 | vs. Rutgers | 15–2 |
| 13 | Wednesday | W, 9–8 | vs. Rutgers | 16–2 |
| 15 | Friday | L, 14–1 | at Miami | 16–3, 3–1 ACC |
| 16 | Saturday | L, 2–1 | at Miami | 16–4, 3–2 ACC |
| 17 | Sunday | W, 18–6, 7 innings (10-run rule) | at Miami | 17–4, 4–2 ACC |
| 19 | Tuesday | W, 11–0, 7 innings (10-run rule) | vs. UNCW | 18–4 |
| 22 | Friday | W, 5–4 | vs. Georgia Tech | 19–4, 5–2 ACC |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 11–5 | vs. Georgia Tech | 20–4, 6–2 ACC |
| 24 | Sunday | W, 9–2 | vs. Georgia Tech | 21–4, 7–2 ACC |
| 26 | Tuesday | W, 10–8 | vs. N.C. A&T | 22–4 |
| 29 | Friday | W, 6–5 | at Wake Forest | 23–4, 8–2 ACC |
| 30 | Saturday | W, 10–6 | at Wake Forest | 24–4, 9–2 ACC |
| 31 | Sunday | W, 14–10 | at Wake Forest | 25–4, 10–2 ACC |
| April | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | L, 14–11 | at No. 7 Virginia | 25–5, 10–3 ACC |
| 5 | Friday | L, 7–2 | at No. 7 Virginia | 25–6, 10–4 ACC |
| 6 | Saturday | W, 12–7 | at No. 7 Virginia | 26–6, 11–4 ACC |
| 9 | Tuesday | L, 2–1 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte | 26–7 |
| 12 | Friday | W, 13–0, 6½ innings (10-run rule) | vs. Notre Dame | 27–7, 12–4 ACC |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 7–2 | vs. Notre Dame | 28–7, 13–4 ACC |
| 14 | Sunday | W, 10–3 | vs. Notre Dame | 29–7, 14–4 ACC |
| 16 | Tuesday | L, 5–4 | vs. Coastal Carolina | 29–8 |
| 18 | Thursday | L, 9–8 | at No. 6 N.C. State | 29–9, 14–5 ACC |
| 19 | Friday | L, 5–4 | at No. 6 N.C. State | 29–10, 14–6 ACC |
| 20 | Saturday | W, 14–3 | at No. 6 N.C. State | 30–10, 15–6 ACC |
| 23 | Tuesday | W, 5–2 | vs. Gardner-Webb | 31–10 |
| 26 | Friday | W, 8–1 | vs. Virginia Tech | 32–10, 16–6 ACC |
| 27 | Saturday | W, 6–3 | vs. Virginia Tech | 33–10, 17–6 ACC |
| 28 | Sunday | L, 4–3 | vs. Virginia Tech | 33–11, 17–7 ACC |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 13–1, 6½ innings (10-run rule) | vs. Charlotte | 34–11 |
| May | ||||
| 1 | Wednesday | W, 19–2, 6½ innings (10-run rule) | vs. William & Mary | 35–11 |
| 7 | Tuesday | W, 16–10 | vs. Campbell | 36–11 |
| 10 | Friday | W, 13–4 8 innings (10-run rule) | vs. Louisville | 37–11, 18–7 ACC |
| 11 | Saturday | W, 6–4 | vs. Louisville | 38–11, 19–7 ACC |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 16–7 | vs. Louisville | 39–11, 20–7 ACC |
| 16 | Thursday | L, 5–3 | at No. 24 Duke | 39–12, 20–8 ACC |
| 17 | Friday | W, 6–4 | at No. 24 Duke | 40–12, 21–8 ACC |
| 18 | Saturday | W, 14–6 | at No. 24 Duke | 41–12, 22–8 ACC |
| ACC tournament | in Charlotte | |||
| 23 | Thursday | W, 12–2 | Pittsburgh | 42–12 |
| 24 | Friday | L, 9–5, 12 innings | Wake Forest | 42–13 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| Chapel Hill Regional | ||||
| 31 | Friday | W, 11–8 | Long Island | 43–13 |
| June | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | W, 6–2 | LSU | 44–13 |
| 2 | Sunday | L, 8–4 | LSU | 44–14 |
| 3 | Monday | W, 4–3, 10 innings | LSU | 45–14 |
| Chapel Hill Super Regional | ||||
| 7 | Friday | W, 8–6 | No. 13 West Virginia | 46–14 |
| 8 | Saturday | W, 2–1 | No. 13 West Virginia | 47–14 |
| College World Series Omaha, Neb. | ||||
| 14 | Friday | W, 3–2 | vs. No. 7 Virginia | 48–14 |
| 16 | Sunday | L, 6–1 | No. 1 Tennessee | 48–15 |
| 18 | Tuesday | L, 9–5 | No. 4 Florida State | 48–16 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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