By R.L. Bynum
It will be a rematch between top-ranked UNC and Oklahoma, with the Tar Heels a win away from hosting the Super Regionals.
The Tar Heels (44–12) blew out the Sooners 11–5 on Saturday night to force Oklahoma into an elimination game Sunday afternoon against Nebraska. The Sooners (37–21), the No. 2 regional seed, took out their frustrations on the Cornhuskers in a 17–1 victory to advance to a rematch with UNC (SEC Network) with the Tar Heels the visiting team in Boshamer Stadium.
The game was originally scheduled to begin at 6:06 p.m., but the infield tarp was deployed at 4:45 and came off at 5:25. The expected start has been shifted to 6:36 p.m.
UNC advances to the Super Regionals with a victory, and Oklahoma will force a deciding game on Monday if the Sooners win.
What did the Sooners learn from Saturday night’s loss that can help them on Sunday night?
“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you,” Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson said. “Maybe, if I had a joystick in the dugout, maybe I could make them swing and miss a little bit more. I don’t know. I don’t have a joystick. We don’t have that.”
Catcher Easton Carmichael hit two home runs, one that traveled 414 feet and went over the scoreboard in left field, as the Sooners pounded out 18 hits. Oklahoma starting pitcher Cade Crossland allowed the Sooners to use only one reliever by throwing 107 pitches over seven innings, giving up only five hits, one run and two walks while striking out nine. Michael Catalano pitched the final two innings.
“I’ve been through the losers’ brackets a lot in my career, and you’ve got to have one guy step up, or two guys step up, to get back to where you want to be. And I think that was really a great example of him today,” Johnson said of Crossland.
Carolina will start senior right-hander Aidan Haugh (5–4, 3.74 ERA), and will have most of its high-leverage relievers rested. Freshman right-hander Walker McDuffie hasn’t pitched since Friday, and freshman right-hander Ryan Lynch only threw 13 pitches Saturday night.
Oklahoma will start freshman left-hander Jaden Barfield (1–0, 3.86 ERA), who last pitched on May 20 when he started and went four innings in a 5–1 win over Kentucky in the SEC tournament. It is his third start of the season. In 18⅔ innings, he has nine walks and 18 strikeouts. His longest outing of the season was four innings.
Sam Angelo is UNC’s starting DH for the third consecutive game. That’s the first time he’s started that many consecutive games since starting nine in a row in a stretch that ended on April 1. He went 3 for 5 with two home runs in Carolina’s first two NCAA tournament games.
If Carolina wins the regional, the best-of-three Super Regionals series would start at Boshamer Stadium on Friday. The opposition will come from the Eugene Regional, where the remaining teams, all unseeded, are Utah Valley (33–28), Cal Poly (42–18) and Arizona (41–18). The No. 1 seed in that regional, Oregon, was eliminated on Saturday.
Oklahoma 17, Nebraska 1
Chapel Hill Regional
At Boshamer Stadium
Friday’s results
No. 3 seed East Carolina 7, No. 3 seed (No. 23-ranked) Tennessee 3, 14 innings
No. 1 seed (and No. 4-ranked) North Carolina 8, No. 4 seed VCU 0
Saturday’s results
VCU 5, Tennessee 4; Tennessee eliminated
North Carolina 7, East Carolina 5
Sunday’s results
East Carolina 10, VCU 0; VCU eliminated
North Carolina 9, East Carolina 3; UNC wins regional
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | W, 6–2 | No. 18 Ole Miss | 51–12–1 |
| 14, 17 | Sun., Wed. | W, 5–2; W, 12–7 | No. 9 West Virginia | 53–12–1 |
| 20–22 | Sat.-Mon. | L, 9–3; W, 6–2; L, 13–2 | CWS Finals vs. Oklahoma | 54–14–1 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
