By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — The script will be a little different, but Coach Scott Forbes will use a similar plan to the one that earned top-seeded North Carolina a regional title on Monday.
Forbes again saved Ryan Lynch for a winner-take-all game, not using the freshman right-hander in No. 21 Arizona’s 10–8 victory on a steamy Saturday at Boshamer Stadium, which evened the best-of-three Chapel Hill Super Regionals.
Game 3 for a berth in the College World Series is at 12:06 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2) after UNC (46–13) went 4 for 13 with two outs and left 13 runners on base. It will come six days after the Tar Heels beat Oklahoma 14–4 in another winner-take-all game.
Check out numerous images from the game in this photo gallery, including an appearance by Bill Belichick.
“Anytime you’ve done something before, you definitely can revert back to that,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said.
It will be Lynch (5–1, 2.98 ERA) against Arizona freshman right-hander Smith Bailey (3–3, 3.97 ERA), who pitched six four-hit shutout innings last Sunday in the Wildcats’ Eugene Regional-clinching 14–0 win over Cal Poly.
The pitching that had been so consistent all season for UNC failed the Tar Heels, giving up a season-high 16 hits Saturday and struggling to get the third out to escape trouble.
“We had good stuff top to bottom,” Forbes said. “We just weren’t putting that stuff where we want to put it. If you don’t put it where you want to against a good team, they make you pay.”
Unlike in Monday’s Chapel Hill Regional-clinching win, freshman right-hander Walker McDuffie (loser, 3–2) won’t be as rested after throwing 38 pitches on Saturday.
“He’ll be rested,” Forbes said of McDuffie. “He’ll throw better [Sunday] than he did [Saturday]. Lynch will start the game. We’ll have everybody available to pitch [Sunday].”
McDuffie lasted only ⅔ of an inning, giving up a season-high four runs (the previous high was three runs, which happened three times), two hits, three walks and striking out two.
“Really, it was just a command thing,” Forbes said of McDuffie’s issues. “He just wasn’t commanding the ball, throwing the ball where he wanted to. A leadoff walk is never good.
“But he’s our guy,” Forbes said. “We haven’t pitched him a lot. We’ve used him wisely. A lot of times, when you haven’t pitched in a while, you feel better on that back-to-back day.”
Arizona closer Tony Pluta (winner, 3–0) threw a season-high 52 pitches in 2⅓ two-hit shutout innings, striking out two and walking two.
“It was pretty tough, the crowd was really getting into it,” Pluta said. “The heat was
getting to me a little bit. But I was just able to grit out a little bit and get some pitches
in the right spot, and we got the win.”
Carolina brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the eighth inning, but Sam Angelo, who had hit a home run earlier, struck out looking with two on and two outs. In the ninth inning, Luke Stevenson, representing the tying run, flied out to left with Kane Kepley on third base to end the game.
“That’s the type of team that we have, to give up 16 hits and still be in the game and have a chance to win,” Forbes said.
Carter French and Tyson Bass each hit home runs to give UNC 13 in the last five games, but they weren’t enough.
UNC was 0 for 6 with two outs before Bass lofted a two-out, 397-foot shot over the left-field wall for a three-run homer in the seventh inning after Stevenson walked and Gavin Gallaher singled. That gave the Tar Heels an 8–6 lead, but they couldn’t hold it.
“I think that we hit some balls hard right at guys, and we had chances for sure,” said Jackson Van De Brake, who walked four times after walking three times Friday. “But I think, for the most part, we actually did execute our plan pretty well, and it’s just kind of a matter of getting that big hit. And we got a couple of them. We needed one more, maybe.”
French expects Carolina to come back strong.
“I don’t think we played our best [Saturday], but we’re going to be ready for it [Sunday],” French said. “Last week, that was a tough game, but we bounced back, and I think we’re ready for it.”
UNC squandered a base-loaded, two-out chance in the first inning when Arizona starter Raul Garayzar, who walked three batters, got Alex Madera to line out to end the inning.
Arizona took a brief lead for the second consecutive game on back-to-back one-out singles and Adonys Guzman’s sacrifice fly to center field. After Bass got hit by a pitch, Angelo lofted a 381-foot shot over the right-center field wall for his team-high fourth NCAA tournament home run to give UNC a 2–1 lead. After a French single, Garayzar’s day was done (1 inning, 2 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout).
The Wildcats tied it with Easton Breyfogle’s RBI groundout after consecutive leadoff singles in the second inning, but UNC retook the lead in the fourth inning. After Kane Kepley singled and Van De Brake walked with one out, Stevenson laced an RBI double to right field. Casey Hintz relieved Garrett Hicks (2⅓ innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 1 strikeout) and gave up an RBI groundout to Gavin Gallaher.
Arizona tied it by scoring two runs with two outs in the fourth inning. Tommy Splaine hit a two-out 3–2 pitch for a 385-foot home run to left field. UNC starter Jason DeCaro (3⅔ innings, 7 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts) gave way to Aidan Haugh after giving up a walk and a single after that. Aaron Walton beat an infield single to drive in the tying run.
Haugh gave up three singles in the fifth inning, with Splaine dumping a breaking ball into left field with two outs to drive in a run. Haugh struck out the side in the sixth inning, but a costly fielding error by Bass, UNC’s right fielder, put Mason White on second base after a two-out single. Maddox Mihalakis’s single to right-center gave Arizona a 6–4 lead.
The seventh inning ended with Arizona leading 10–8 after both teams scored four runs. The inning took 51 minutes.
Arizona brought in Pluta after Hintz gave up back-to-back singles. He hit Kepley with a pitch to load the bases, then walked Van De Brake (the sixth walk he’s issued all season).
McDuffie relieved Haugh (2⅓ innings, 6 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts) to start the seventh inning. After McDuffie gave up back-to-back one-out singles, Brendan Summerhill drove in one run with a cue shot down the left-field line, and another came home on a wild pitch. Folger Boaz came on and gave up two-run single to right to Mihalakis, giving Arizona a 10–8 lead.
“These guys are very resilient, obviously, after [Friday], they were able to flush it, and they
came back, a couple, two or three times here [Saturday],” Arizona coach Chip Hale said. “I always tell them it’s really fun to watch them, and that’s when you’re coaching and you can get this deep in the season, sometimes that’s kind of our job. Stay out of the way and let them get after it.”
NOTES — The winner of the Chapel Hill Super Regional will face No. 11-ranked and No. 13-seed Coastal Carolina (53–11) in its College World Series opener. Coastal swept the Auburn Super Regional, beating the Tigers 7–6 in 10 innings on Friday and 4–1 on Saturday. … Angelo had only two home runs — the last on April 1— and was hitting .218 entering the NCAA tournament. In six postseason games, he’s hitting .294. … The previous season-high hits total off UNC pitching was 14 twice, both in losses: 9–5 to Duke on April 4 and 8–5 to N.C. State on May 9. … Kepley stole three bases to give him 46, third all-time in program history. He was hit by a pitch for the 27th time. … DeCaro tied his season-high, giving up seven hits for his second consecutive start and has now done that six times. … Roy and Wanda Williams were in their usual seats, 14 rows behind the UNC dugout. Bill Belichick was also at the game. … Carolina is 18–9 in Super Regional games over 12 appearances. … Arizona leads the all-time series with UNC 4–3.
No. 21 Arizona 10, No. 1 UNC 8
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 |
Photos courtesy of Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 