By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — One hanging slider from one of the best relievers in the country erased a Carolina lead and turned the momentum.
Anticipating the slider, UNC reliever Walker McDuffie’s best pitch, Southern Cal’s Dean Carpenter lofted it just over the left-field wall for a sixth-inning grand slam to help erase a three-run deficit.
The Trojans were in control from there, taking a 9-5 victory Friday in the opener of the Chapel Hill Super Regional before 3,847 fans at Boshamer Stadium.
“I was sitting on the slider, he’s a slider guy, so I got a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it,” Carpenter said of the swing that flipped the game for only his fourth home run of the season.
Carolina (48–12–1) must win Game 2 at 2:06 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) to keep its season alive and force a deciding third game on Sunday.
The Tar Heels couldn’t rally against USC reliever Andrew Johnson, who retired the first eight batters he faced before Jake Schaffner led off the ninth inning with a single. But Gavin Gallaher followed with a double play. Johnson gave up a two-out single to Owen Hull but finished off Carolina with 3⅔ two-hit shutout innings with no walks and two strikeouts to pick up his first save of the season.
Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free
Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.
McDuffie was not the only top-line pitcher who struggled. USC ace left-hander Mason Edwards also had a rough day, while UNC starter Ryan Lynch, who gave up six hits and four runs in 5⅔ innings with no walks and seven strikeouts, delivered the kind of outing Carolina needed.
“I think I just did a better job getting ahead and putting guys away with two strikes, not walking anybody,” Lynch said.
The first three Trojans singled in their five-run sixth inning, with Kevin Takeuchi’s single down the left-field line driving in a run. McDuffie came on after Lynch struck out Jack Basseer looking with his 89th pitch. McDuffie then issued a walk before Carpenter lofted an 82-mph slider for the pivotal blast that turned a 5–2 UNC advantage into a 6–5 USC lead.
Bringing in McDuffie (loser, 7-3) made sense because he has done the job all season, but this was not his day. Five of the six batters he faced reached base, and he recorded only one out.
Forbes never second-guessed the move afterward.
“He was up there getting into the 90s,” Forbes said of Lynch’s pitch count. “Walker’s been so good out of the bullpen in those situations all season, and he’s also been really good against left-handed hitters, really been good against lefties and righties. The decision, what went into it, was a no-brainer, in my opinion. He had done his job, and our bullpen was going to do their job.”
Forbes also made clear that one bad inning would not change his trust in McDuffie.
“Walker McDuffie has been outstanding for us,” Forbes said. “I’ll put that dude right back out there [Saturday].”
Edwards will be a high draft pick in this year’s MLB draft and will likely be in the big leagues in a couple of seasons. But Carolina gave him fits. Edwards pitched a season-low three innings, giving up four hits, four runs, three earned, with four walks and five strikeouts.
UNC got the first two runners on base in each of the first three innings, and the first three in the first inning, and piled up quality at-bats that eluded the Tar Heels in the latter innings to build a 4–1 lead.
The Heels squandered that bases-loaded, no-out jam in the first inning when Edwards struck out three swinging, but they kept forcing him to work. USC coach Andy Stankiewicz said Carolina’s plan was evident from the start.
“They had a good game plan against him,” Stankiewicz said. “They weren’t chasing down. They were on his stuff pretty good. Typically, teams would chase that breaking ball down. They didn’t. They were hunting the ball up pretty good, and they were taking some good swings at some fastballs up in the zone.”
Carolina scored on Schaffner’s RBI single and Gallaher’s sacrifice fly in the second inning. In the third inning, Erik Paulsen ripped an RBI double to left-center and scored on Edwards’ throwing error on Colin Hynek’s short tapper.
Paulsen said Carolina’s approach against Edwards reflected the work done before the first pitch and should carry into Saturday’s game.
“I just got to give all the credit to the coaches,” Paulsen said. “They do their hard work, they dive into it, and we just need to trust them and buy into the approach, and that’s exactly what we did today. Same thing for tomorrow, whatever approach [hitting] coach [Jesse Wierzbicki] Coach [Scott] Jackson has for us, we’re going to buy in.”
Lynch showed a year ago against Oklahoma that he can perform on a big stage at a high level, and he proved it again. He retired the Trojans in order three times and, for the first time this season, did not walk a batter.
His slider was a particularly effective weapon.
“It was definitely better, wasn’t quite as wild with it, and it was pretty consistent,” Lynch said. “I just tried my best to use it to put guys away quicker than last time.”
Lynch retired the first six Trojans before Andrew Lamb, who had a team-high 1.462 OPS in the College Station Regional, lofted a 408-foot shot to right-center for a leadoff home run in the third inning.
Carolina reliever Jackson Rose pitched 2⅔ one-hit shutout innings with no walks and four strikeouts, but the Trojans tacked on three seventh-inning runs off only two hits against three pitchers.
Before the sixth-inning breakthrough, USC had spent much of the afternoon hanging on. Stankiewicz thought that mattered.
“They jumped out, and we were able to hang in there and minimize a little bit,” Stankiewicz said. “That’s been what we’ve talked to our guys about. This team can hit; that’s their home ballpark, they’re comfortable there, and they’ve got tremendous plate discipline. We just knew if we could keep ourselves in it, we thought we’d have a shot.”
Reliever Chase Herrell (6-4) got the win, giving up three hits and one run in two innings. Herrell said his job was to stabilize the game until USC’s offense seized control.
“It was just come in, get ahead, bridge the gap and wait for our offense to do what it’s been doing this whole postseason,” he said.
What it had been doing on Friday was waiting for one swing. Carpenter’s grand slam gave USC not only the lead but the emotional lift that had been missing while Carolina controlled the game.
Herrell could feel it immediately from the dugout.
“Once the ball got hit, everybody just started losing it,” he said. “From that point on, it was just like, we’re winning this game.”
Forbes said the grand slam changed the momentum, but he did not think it changed Carolina’s composure.
“I definitely felt the momentum change, but I didn’t feel our guys changed,” Forbes said. “I thought we hit some balls really hard. I thought we had some good at-bats. I felt like our position players moved on pretty quick, and we just didn’t find any grass or any holes. Anytime that happens, you’ve got to get up off the mat, because you just got smoked on the mat with a grand slam with two outs.”
The Tar Heels struck a similar tone in the clubhouse afterward. There was no finger-pointing at McDuffie, whose season has been too important for that, and no temptation to let one inning define the weekend.
“There’s not one single person to blame for anything,” Lynch said. “Some of the guys that maybe didn’t have the best games today have been absolutely saving our butts all season. They’re unbelievable competitors, so we’re not placing the blame on anybody.”
Paulsen echoed that message.
“We win, we lose as a team,” he said. “There’s no pointing fingers, especially in the locker room, and that’s why we’re such a tight group.”
That is the mindset Forbes wanted as Carolina turned quickly toward Saturday and a must-win game with its season on the line.
“We’re trying to win the three-game series, and this ain’t the first time we’ve lost the first game,” Forbes said. “I told the guys, move on, flush it. We’re going to wake up [Saturday]; we’re going to make it our masterpiece. We’re not going to talk about what happened, where it shoulda, coulda.
“At the end of the day, their guy had a big swing of the bat, hit a grand slam. So credit to them. We’ve got a good one going tomorrow, and Jason DeCaro, so I’m excited to get a good night’s rest and wake up tomorrow and get back at it.”
Notes
— In Game 2, USC sophomore right-hander Grant Govel (10–2, 2.93) likely opposes DeCaro (10-2, 2.54), UNC’s junior right-hander, but Stankiewicz wouldn’t commit to that after Govel threw numerous 64 pitches on Monday and 89 pitches eight days ago. The Trojans will be designated as the home team.
— It was the seventh time in 35 appearances that McDuffie has given up at least two runs, but two of those have happened in his last two outings.
— Shaffner has driven in a run in a season-high four consecutive games.
— Paulsen is 8-for-16 with four doubles and seven RBIs in four NCAA tournament games.
— The plate umpire, Angel Campos, has a history of controversies during his career in MLB and college baseball, documented here.
— USC extended its lead in the all-time series to 9–3, including 4–2 in Chapel Hill.
USC 9, No. 4 UNC 5
Chapel Hill Super Regional
No. 4-ranked and No. 5-seed North Carolina (48–11–1) vs. Southern Cal (47–16)
Best-of-3 series
Boshamer Stadium
Game 1: USC 9, UNC 5; USC leads series 1–0
Game 2: USC’s Grant Govel (10-2, 2.93 ERA) vs. Jason DeCaro (10-2, 2.54), Saturday, 2:06 p.m., ESPN
Game 3: Sunday (if needed), TBD
The Chapel Hill Super Regional winner plays its opener in the College World Series against the winner of the Auburn Super Regional between No. 18 Ole Miss (39–21) and No. 5 Auburn (42–20). Game 1 is at 8 p.m. Friday (ESPN2), Game 2 at 5 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) and Game 3 is Sunday, if needed.
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Times/ scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record/ TV * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Saturday | W, 7–5 | East Carolina | 47–11–1 |
| 31 | Sunday | W, 9–3 | East Carolina | 48–11–1 |
| June | ||||
| Chapel Hill Super Regionals | ||||
| 5 | Friday | L, 9–5 | Southern Cal | 49–11–1 |
| 6 | Saturday | 2:06 p.m. | Southern Cal | ESPN |
| 7 | Sunday | TBD (if needed) | Southern Cal | TBD |
| 12–22 | Fri.-Mon | College World Series | Omaha, Neb. | TBA |
Photos by Smith Hardy
