By R.L. Bynum
If there was any doubt that No. 4 North Carolina deserves a national seed in the NCAA tournament, the Tar Heels eliminated it Thursday night in Tallahassee, Fla.
From Jake Knapp’s overpowering pitching to the hot hitting of Jackson Van De Brake and some amazing baserunning that included Tyson Bass scoring from second on a sacrifice fly, the Tar Heels did it all in a huge 8–3 victory over No. 2 Florida State at Dick Howser Stadium.
Knapp (winner, 11–0) pitched a complete game for his longest outing of the season. He gave up four hits, three runs while striking out seven and didn’t walk a batter.
He was determined to finish the game after being taken out in the ninth inning of Saturday’s loss to N.C. State. He didn’t want to come out of the game.
“There was no shot, especially after last weekend, getting pulled in the ninth and not making it all the way through,” Knapp said in an ACC Network postgame interview. “So, I had some unfinished business to finish from last week.”
Knapp attacked Seminoles batters with his fastball and got the best of them all night.
“That’s something that we really worked on in Tommy John rehab,” Knapp said of throwing a lot of fastballs. “So, being able to just attack and trust your stuff. And if you get hit, you’ve just got to tip your cap sometimes. So, being aggressive through the zone, and if you walk somebody, I’d rather give up a hit and then a walk.”
Van De Brake, who went 3 for 4 with four RBI and a double short of a cycle, hit a two-run triple and a two-run home run, both to left field, as UNC (38–11, 17–10 ACC) beat FSU (36–12, 16–9) for the fourth time in the last five meetings.
Carolina is tied for third place with Florida State, a half-game back of Georgia Tech and N.C. State, who are tied for first place. The Tar Heels can win the regular-season title with a sweep of the Seminoles and at least one loss by the Wolfpack and the Yellow Jackets.
Carolina pushed up the pitch count of FSU ace Jamie Arnold (loser, 6–2), a likely high first-round pick in the MLB draft, and got the best of him. The tough left-hander lasted only five innings, giving up five hits, four runs and two walks with eight strikeouts on 94 pitches. It was his shortest outing since going five innings on April 4 in a home win over Wake Forest.
“He’s unbelievable,” Knapp said of Arnold. “Just the atmosphere and what’s at stake this weekend, it’s a lot bigger than ACC Pitcher of the Year.”
Gavin Gallaher launched a 0–1 pitch off the scoreboard in left-center field to lead off the second inning for only the fourth home run off Arnold this season. It was Gallaher’s ninth homer in the last 16 games.
Van De Brake’s triple came with nobody out in the fifth after Carter French beat out an infield single and Kane Kepley was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Van De Brake scored on a sacrifice fly down the line in short right field by Gallaher, twisting by FSU catcher Hunter Carns with a hands-first slide.
Florida State batters hit drives to the right field wall twice. Third baseman Cal Fisher’s shot went for a second-inning double, and UNC right fielder Bass caught shortstop Alex Lodise’s fourth-inning fly ball.
The Seminoles finally got to Knapp when Fisher doubled to left to lead off the fifth inning, took second on a ground ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by left fielder Chase Williams, in which Kepley covered a lot of ground to his right to make the catch.
UNC quickly responded against FSU reliever Maison Martinez. Alex Madera led off with a walk, Bass singled him to third and he came home on Reece Holbrook’s sacrifice bunt. Bass scored from second on a sacrifice fly after Williams made a spectacular back-handed catch on Kepley’s liner to the left field corner. Van De Brake’s two-run homer made it a four-run sixth inning.
Lodise hit a two-run homer with one out in the sixth inning to trim UNC’s lead to five.
NOTES — Sophomore right-hander Jason DeCaro (7–3, 3.55 ERA), who hasn’t pitched since the 10–1 win May 6 over Campbell, will start in Friday’s 7 p.m. game (ACC Network). … Kepley was hit by a pitch twice to give him 24 for the season. … Freshman DH Lee Sowers played for the first time since suffering a hamate injury and started at DH but was lifted after only getting one at-bat. … UNC coach Scott Forbes is 5–3 against FSU. … The Seminoles lead the all-time series 73–40, but Carolina has won four of the last five meetings.
No. 4 UNC 8, No. 2 FSU 3
ACC standings
| League | GB | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Georgia Tech | 19–11 | — | 39–16 |
| No. 6 Florida State | 17–10 | ½ | 37–13 |
| No. 3 North Carolina | 18–11 | ½ | 39–12 |
| No. 22 N.C. State | 17–11 | 1 | 33–18 |
| No. 14 Clemson | 18–12 | 1 | 41–15 |
| Virginia | 16–11 | 1½ | 32–17 |
| Duke | 17–13 | 2 | 36–18 |
| Wake Forest | 16–14 | 3 | 36–19 |
| Miami | 15–14 | 3½ | 31–23 |
| No. 21 Louisville | 15–15 | 4 | 35–20 |
| Notre Dame | 14–16 | 5 | 32–20 |
| Virginia Tech | 12–18 | 7 | 30–24 |
| Boston College | 11–19 | 8 | 26–28 |
| Stanford | 11–19 | 8 | 27–24 |
| Pittsburgh | 10–20 | 9 | 27–26 |
| California | 9–21 | 10½ | 22–30 |
Thursday-Saturday series
No. 16 Georgia Tech at Duke: Thursday: GT 7–6; Friday: Duke 14–4 (7 innings); Saturday: GT 8–2
No. 14 Clemson at Pittsburgh: Clemson swept 6–1, 11–2 and 13–6
Virginia at Virginia Tech: Thursday: Va. 12–2; Friday: VT 5–4; Saturday: Va. 3–1
Stanford at No. 22 N.C. State: Thursday: State 7–2: Friday: Stanford 4–3, 10 innings; Saturday: Stanford 6–3
Wake Forest at Louisville: Thursday: WF 14–4; Friday: WF 5–4; Saturday: UL 14–9
No. 3 North Carolina at No. 6 Florida State: Thursday: UNC 8–3: Friday: UNC 11–1, 7 innings; Saturday: FSU 5–4
Notre Dame at Miami: Thursday: ND 3–2; Friday: Miami 15–1, 7 innings: Saturday: ND 12–2
Boston College at California: Thursday: Cal 8–6; Friday: BC 10–9; Saturday: Cal 4–3, 10 innings
UNC scores
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Times | Opponent (current rank) |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | |||
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sat. | 4, noon, 1 | vs. Indiana |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| April | |||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | 6, 6, 2 | vs. Boston College |
| 7 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Charlotte |
| 10–12 | Fri.-Sun. | 6, 2, 12:30 | at No. 19 Clemson |
| 14 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. UNCW |
| 17–19 | Fri-Sun. | 6, noon, 1 | vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech |
| 21 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. High Point |
| 23–25 | Fri.-Sun. | 7, 6, 3 | at Duke |
| 28 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 6 Coastal Carolina |
| 29 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Queens |
| May | |||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. (non-conference game) | vs. Duke |
| 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 |
| 19–24 | Tues.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Charlotte |
| 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. |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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