By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — It’s just not in the cards for aces trying to challenge top-ranked North Carolina.
In late May, the Tar Heels beat two pitchers projected to be top-10 picks in the June draft — Florida State’s Jamie Arnold (projected No. 4 pick) and Oklahoma’s Kyson Witherspoon (No. 8). Friday, Arizona ace Owen Kramkowski was their latest victim.
With catcher Luke Stevenson shaking off a hitting slump and Gavin Gallaher staying hot, UNC rolled to an 18–2 victory over No. 21 Arizona in the opener of the Chapel Hill Super Regional at Boshamer Stadium, ending the Wildcats’ eight-game win streak.
“We did a really good job of having competitive at-bats throughout the lineup,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said after becoming the fifth UNC coach with 200th career wins. “Our guys have been doing that now for a long time. Guys have bad at-bats, the next guy usually doesn’t, and they just completely bought in to that approach.”
UNC (46–13) can advance to its second consecutive College World Series with a win in Game 2 at 12:06 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) after a run total that was a season-high and set a program Super Regionals record.
“[Saturday] will be a really difficult game,” Forbes said. “The guys know that. I told them to take that shower and leave this game behind them, so we’ll be back at it [Saturday].”
Stevenson went 2 for 5 with a homer and four RBI, and Gallaher went 4 for 5 with two hits and four RBI (see list below of his amazing postseason numbers) as 13 hits and 14 runs came from the top five in the UNC batting order. Five-hole hitter Hunter Stokely was 3 for 5 with a homer and five RBI.
Jake Knapp (winner, 14–0) had what passes for a bad game for him as he gave up a season-high nine hits but tied the program record for victories in a season (Greg Norris also won 14 in 1978 when UNC went to the College World Series). Arizona loaded the bases twice on Knapp but could get only one run out of it.
Knapp (7+ innings, 2 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts) retired eight straight before giving up a leadoff single in the eighth inning, which ended his day. He held the top three Arizona hitters to 1 for 12.
“Those guys are really good at the top, and they set the tone for that offense,” Knapp said. “But [pitching coach Bryant] Gaines had a really good plan, especially for those guys at the top. I didn’t do my job executing through the rest of the line, but it’s a really good team, a really offensive team, and Jason [DeCaro] will have to make his pitches [Saturday], so they’ll make adjustments. And I was just happy to at least get a couple guys out.”
Arizona’s approach of being ready for the fastball and just making contact helped the Wildcats rack up that hit total, even though big run totals didn’t accompany that.
“I think Jake will tell you he wasn’t like Jake Knapp A-plus sharpness,” Forbes said, “but he’s always A-plus competitiveness. That’s why he’s our Friday guy. But they were staying short to the ball. They were having good at-bats.”
Knapp said that UNC jumping to an 8–0 lead after two innings made it easier on him.
“I didn’t have my best stuff, but I was just trying to attack and keep the ball in the park,” Knapp said. “It ended up working out pretty well, but they had a good approach, and were on the barrel a lot today. Just trusting the defense, especially on a day like today, where I’m not able to punch a lot of guys out.”
Arizona (42–19) shifted a lot on defense, frequently having three infielders either to the left or right of the second-base bag, and UNC took advantage a few times.
“We just try to get our pitch and drive that ball. We don’t work hard at all on beating the shift,” Forbes said, adding that it does become an emphasis with two strikes and that paid off Stokely’s opposite-field RBI single in the fourth inning.
The Wildcats took a first-inning lead when Aaron Walton doubled to left with one out and scored on former Boston College star Adonys Guzman’s two-out single through the right side of the infield.
“Obviously, not the best first game, but it’s one game and a three-game series, which is the
beauty of baseball,” Arizona coach Chip Hale said. “We’re not in uncharted waters. We’ve lost some Friday games, come back and won the series.”
Carolina jumped on Kramkowski (loser, 9–6), the first of six Wildcats pitchers, as six of the first seven batters reached base, highlighted by Stokely hitting an 82-mph breaking ball 395 feet hith into the netting in front of the trees behind right field for a three-run home run and a 5–1 lead.
“It feels unreal to be back here playing a Super Regional in Chapel Hill, playing with
Knapp and all of the old guys, just coming back one last year to play feels amazing here at
UNC,” Stokely said.
Stevenson, who was 1 of 15 in the Chapel Hill Regional, drove in runs in his first two at-bats with an RBI single in the first inning and a 394-foot three-run home run to right field with one out in the second inning that ended Kramkowski’s day (1⅔, 6 hits, season-high 8 earned runs, 2 walks and 1 strikeout).
Gallaher beat the shift with an RBI through the right side of the infield in the first inning.
Arizona loaded the bases in the second and fourth innings. Knapp induced an inning-ending double play from leadoff man Brendan Summerhill in the second inning — shortstop Alex Madera to second baseman Jackson Van De Brake to first baseman Stokely in the second inning. The Wildcats could only get a sacrifice fly out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the fourth inning.
“Coach Gaines came out and said to try to attack him away,” Knapp said of the conversation before the Summerhill at-bat. “I didn’t think we were originally going to turn two when I saw the ball put in play because he can run. Unbelievable turn up the middle from Madera and Vandy. That was big for me. That helped me kind of settle in.”
UNC added two runs each in the fourth (on RBI singles from Gallaher and Stokely) and sixth innings (on Madera’s two-run single to left field). The Tar Heels tacked on five runs in the eighth inning on a Stokely RBI single, Sam Angelo’s three-run homer to right field and Kane Kepley’s solo home run to right-center field.
Carolina saved its best bullpen arms as senior left-hander Tom Chmielewski pitched two one-hit scoreless innings to finish the game, tying his longest outing of the season. He induced a double play to wipe out the baserunner Knapp left him, and escaped the inning after giving up a hit.
“You talk about every situation, we had a plan, and I wouldn’t have guessed that that would have been the case in the first game of the Super Regional, but I’ll sure take it,” Forbes said, adding that having freshman right-handers Walker McDuffie and Ryan Lynch fresh for the rest of the series is huge.
Arizona also used a few little-used pitchers to save its best bullpen arms for Saturday.
“Unfortunately, some of the guys that had to pitch at the end have not pitched a lot of innings
lately, and so it’s tough for them,” Hale said. “But, I’m glad we did, because we’re able to use them, and they’re not at their best right now, frankly. So it’s the back end of our bullpen, but I credit guys like Eric Orloff — he’s been here for four years. He’s been here since I got here, and he gave it everything he has, and he sucked it up. So, we could have other guys available for today so I thank those guys for that.
NOTES — Carolina sophomore Jason DeCaro (9–3, 3.50 ERA) will oppose Arizona senior Raul Garayzar (2–0, 2.54 ERA) in a Saturday matchup of right-handers. … The previous high run total for UNC in a Super Regional was in a 14–4 win against Coastal Carolina in 2008. … It’s the most for UNC runs in an NCAA tournament game since a 16–1 win over Liberty in the 2019 Chapel Hill Regional. …The previous high number of earned runs Kramkowski had given up was seven against Clemson on Feb. 15, when he lasted only ⅔ of an inning in a 16–5 loss. … Arizona center fielder Aaron Walton saved two runs with diving catches in the second inning. … Roy and Wanda Williams were in their usual seats, 14 rows behind the UNC dugout. … Kepley was hit by a pitch for the 26th time and stole his 43rd base. … Carolina is 18–8 in Super Regional games over 12 appearances. … UNC’s win tied the all-time series with Arizona at 3–3. … The game drew 4,045 fans.
No. 1 UNC 18, No. 21 Arizona 2
Gallaher’s postseason numbers
May 30: Holy Cross — 2 for 2, run, RBI, triple
May 31: Oklahoma — 4 for 5, run, RBI, double
June 1: Oklahoma — 3 for 5, run, 4 RBI, double, home run
June 2: Oklahoma — 4 for 6, 4 runs, 4 RBI, 2 home runs
Friday vs. Arizona: 4 for 5, 2 runs, double, 3 RBI
— 1st inning: RBI single to right field, run
— 2nd inning: Lineout on a terrific catch by Arizona center fielder Aaron Walton
— 4th inning: RBI single to left field
— 6th inning: Single to center field
— 8th inning: Leadoff double down the left-field line, run
Postseason totals:
17 of 23 (.739), 9 runs, 12 RBI, 2 doubles, triple, 3 HRs
Chapel Hill Super Regional
Top-ranked and No. 5-seed North Carolina (46–14) vs. No. 21-ranked Arizona (43–19)
Best-of-3 series
Boshamer Stadium
Game 1 Friday: North Carolina 18, Arizona 2
Game 2 Saturday: Arizona 10, North Carolina 8; series tied at 1
Game 3 Sunday: Arizona 4, North Carolina 3; Arizona wins series 2–1
Arizona meets No. 11-ranked and No. 13-seed Coastal Carolina (53–11), which finished off a sweep of the Auburn Super Regional, beating No. 9-ranked and No. 4-seed Auburn 7–6 in 10 innings on Friday and 4–1 on Saturday.
UNC scores
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Scores | Opponent (current rank) | 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 | |||
| 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 | W, 11–5 | Oklahoma | 44–12 |
| June | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | L, 9–5 | Oklahoma | 44–13 |
| 2 | Monday | W, 14–4 | Oklahoma | 45–13 |
| Chapel Hill Super Regional | Best-of-3 series | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 18–2 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–13 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 10–8 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–14 |
| 8 | Sunday | L, 4–3 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–15 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
tarheeltribune.com 