By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Holy Cross became the latest team to have its offense lapse into a slumber because it was Knapp time.
Buoyed by excellent defense, ACC Pitcher of the Year Jake Knapp mowed down the Crusaders as top-ranked North Carolina rolled to a 4–0 win Friday in the opener of the Chapel Hill Regional at Boshamer Stadium.
UNC (43–12) will face the winner of the Friday evening game between No. 2 regional seed Oklahoma (35–20) and No. 3 Nebraska (32–27) at 6 p.m. Saturday in a winners’ bracket game. No. 4 Holy Cross (31–26) will play a noon Saturday elimination game against the loser.
Third baseman Gavin Gallaher (top photo), a hitting star in last season’s Chapel Hill Regional opener, was 2 for 2 with two walks, an RBI and his first career triple.
Knapp (winner, 13–0), who took advantage of three double plays, gave up four hits and three walk while striking out seven in throwing a career-high 119 pitches in 8⅓ innings, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning and throwing a career-high 119 pitches
Knapp struck out the side after issuing a 3–2 leadoff walk to C.J. Enrie in a 23-pitch first inning. He worked around Jimmy King’s leadoff single in the second, thanks to a nice fielding play by second baseman Jackson Van De Brake to double up King to end the inning. Left fielder Carter French had his back to the left-field wall when he caught a Connor Peek drive in the fifth inning.
Holy Cross used two walks and a single to load the bases in the sixth inning. Knapp elicited a fly out to center field — with respect for center fielder Kane Kepley’s arm preventing a run from scoring — and struck out Gianni Royer on a 97-mph fastball to escape the jam.
UNC narrowly missed home runs in the first two innings when balls hit by Luke Stevenson in the first inning and Tyson Bass in the second inning sailed foul. Kepley (below) was left stranded at third base in the third inning after walking and stealing two bases.
Royer, Holy Cross’ center fielder, just missed a Gallaher drive that went off the wall in left-center with one out in the fourth inning for Gallaher’s triple and UNC’s first hit. Hunter Stokely followed with a looping RBI single to left field. Two-out RBI hits to left field — a Bass double and a Sam Angelo single — gave the Tar Heels a 3–0 lead.
Gallaher singled home Van De Brake in the fifth inning after he led off with a double to right-center field.
Freshman right-hander Walker McDuffie relieved Knapp after Chris Bailargon’s one-out single up the middle in the ninth inning. McDuffie elicited a groundout and got a strikeout to finish off the win.
NOTES — Knapp’s previous career-high pitch total was 116 this season against Wake Forest. … This is the NCAA-high 13th time UNC has been a regional host since 2006. … It’s the first NCAA appearance for Holy Cross since 2017. … It was the first meeting between UNC and Holy Cross in 107 years. Holy Cross won 18–1 in the only previous meeting in 1918 in a game in Chapel Hill. … It was UNC’s first game at the Bosh in 21 days (the 6–5 May 9 loss to N.C. State). … Angelo went 1 for 2 with an RBI starting at DH, getting his first at-bats since that May 9 State game and his first game with multiple at-bats since April 30 against Queens. He walked in a plate appearance on May 16 at Florida State. … With Kepley’s two steals, he became the fourth Tar Heel with 40 in a season, joining Brian Roberts (47 in 1997 and 63 in 1998), Russ Adams (45 in 2002) and Chad Holbrook (40 in 1993).
No. 1 UNC 4, Holy Cross 0
Chapel Hill Regional
At Boshamer Stadium
Friday’s games
No. 1 North Carolina 4, Holy Cross 0
No. 2 Nebraska (32–27) vs. No. 3 Oklahoma (35–20), 5 p.m., ESPN+
Saturday’s games
No. 4 Holy Cross (31–27) vs. Nebraska-Oklahoma loser, noon, TV TBD
No. 1 North Carolina (43–12) vs. Nebraska-Oklahoma winner, 6 p.m., TV TBD
Sunday’s games
Loser of Saturday’s second game vs. winner of Saturday’s first game, noon, TV TBD (loser eliminated)
Winner of Saturday’s second game vs. winner of Sunday’s first game, 6 p.m., TV TBD
Monday’s game
Deciding game, if needed, time TBD
Winner advances to Super Regional against winner of the Eugene Regional that includes No. 12 overall seed Oregon (42–14), Utah Valley (32–27), Cal Poly (41–17) and Arizona (39–18). UNC would host should it advance.
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Time/ score | Opponent (current rank) | TV/ 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 Bulls Athletic Park | |||
| 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 | 6 p.m. | Nebraska or Oklahoma | TBA |
| June | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | Noon or 6 p.m. | TBD | TBA |
| 6–8 | Fri.–Sun. | Super Regionals | Chapel Hill (if UNC advances) | |
| 18–30 | Wed.–Mon. | College World Series | Omaha, Neb. |
Photos by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 