By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — No. 4 North Carolina will open its second College World Series in three seasons and 13th overall against No. 18 Ole Miss.
The No. 5-seed Tar Heels (50–12–1), who advanced with a 4–3 win Sunday over USC to win the Chapel Hill Super Regional, and the Rebels (41–21) have never met in baseball. But they face off in their opener, likely on Friday but possibly on Saturday. The schedule isn’t expected to be finalized until ESPN decides on its preferred order of play by Monday night.
Ole Miss is making its seventh CWS appearance after reaching Omaha in 1956, 1964, 1969, 1972, 2014 and 2022, with the Rebels winning the national championship in the latter.
The other two teams in the double-elimination pod on the left side of the bracket in Omaha will be No. 16-seed West Virginia (45–15), the only other seeded team in the pod, and Troy (38–30). Both advanced to the CWS for the first time.
The Tar Heels have never faced Troy but are 3–1 against the Mountaineers, including a 2–1 and 8–6 sweep in the 2024 Chapel Hill Super Regional. West Virginia won 5–1 on March 19, 2014, and Carolina won 4–3 on March 4, 2000.
Ole Miss, which finished ninth in the SEC (15–15), is 5–0 in the NCAA tournament after losing 10–8 to Missouri in the first round of the SEC tournament. At the Lincoln Regional, the Rebels beat No. 22 Arizona State 7–6 in 14 innings, No. 20 Nebraska 6–3 and advanced with a 5–4 10-inning victory over the Sun Devils.
Ole Miss knocked off No. 5-ranked and No. 4 overall seed Auburn in the Auburn Regional, winning 6–4 on Friday and 5–3 on Saturday.
The Rebels’ only All-SEC First Team pick was sophomore left-handed closer Walker Hooks (3–1, 2.43 ERA, nine saves). Making the second team were senior first baseman Will Furniss (.311, 8 homers, 56 RBI), senior third baseman Judd Utermark (.312, 22 homers, 53 RBI, 11 steals) and sophomore right-handed starting pitcher Cade Townsend (5–3, 3.94 ERA).
After losing its opener at the Gainesville Regional, Troy has won six consecutive games, sweeping Little Rock in the Troy Super Regional with wins of 12–2 on Friday and 7–2 on Saturday. To win the Gainesville Regional, the Trojans had to beat No. 10-ranked and No. 8 overall seed Florida twice, and did so easily, 16–11 and 10–2.
West Virginia benefited from quite a bit of bracket luck after battling through the losers bracket to win the Morgantown Regional. The Mountaineers would have had to play a Super in Los Angeles against the No. 1 overall seed, UCLA. But when the Bruins got upset, the opponent in the Morgantown Super Regional instead was Cal Poly, which the Mountaineers easily dispatched with wins of 12–2 on Friday and 17–1 on Saturday.
In the Morgantown Regional, after West Virginia eliminated Wake Forest 10–5, it beat Kentucky 11–9 and 6–5 to advance.
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Chapel Hill Super Regional
No. 4-ranked and No. 5-seed North Carolina (50–12–1) vs. Southern Cal (48–18)
Best-of-3 series
Boshamer Stadium
Game 1: USC 9, UNC 5
Game 2: UNC 4, USC 0
Game 3: UNC 4, USC 3; UNC wins series 2-1
UNC opens the College World Series on Friday or Saturday against No. 18 and unseeded Ole Miss (41–21), which swept No. 5 Auburn in the Auburn Super Regional, winning 6–4 on Friday and 5–3 on Saturday. The other two teams in the double-elimination four-team field on the left side of the bracket are Troy (38–30) and No. 16-seed West Virginia (45–15).
| 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 |
| 30–31 | 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 or 13 | Fri. or Sat. | 2 or 7 (Fri.) 3 or 8 (Sat.) | No. 18 Ole Miss | ESPN |
| 14 or 15 | Sun. or Mon. | 2 p.m. or 7 p.m. | Troy or West Virginia | ESPN |
Photo by Smith Hardy
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