By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — When No. 4 North Carolina’s ninth-inning rally was done Sunday, there was plenty of celebrating. But there was no dogpile.
Dogpiles are common in college baseball after significant wins, but the Tar Heels may have shown their mindset in not celebrating that way after Sunday’s 4-3 victory over USC. While reaching the College World Series is a significant accomplishment, UNC is the only program in the country that’s done so in two of the last three years.
If there is a dogpile this season, it won’t come until Omaha, if UNC can break through for the program’s first national championship.
That hunger was still evident on Wednesday before the Tar Heels got a sendoff from fans outside Boshamer Stadium and boarded a bus for the airport and left for Nebraska. Coach Scott Forbes said the team allowed itself to enjoy the moment Sunday, then quickly shifted back into the routine that got UNC there.
“I told them, normally it’s a shower, move on. Period. There’s nothing really to celebrate,” Forbes said from the Hall of Honor just before the team departed. “But there was something to celebrate. We were going to the College World Series.
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.
More CWS coverage
— CWS format with days off changes pitching calculus
— ESPN analysts say that Tar Heels may be tailor-made for spacious CWS stadium
— UNC carries history to Omaha, with another chance to change it
“It’s really hard to get there. I said, ‘Enjoy the rest of this day, enjoy your families who were here for this Super Regional, go eat with them.’ But I challenged them. We talk about the importance of sleep and nutrition and hydration. I told them, ‘If you want something, you have to give up some things.’ ”
By Monday, Forbes said, that focus had returned.
“We got back in that mindset pretty quick, and I saw it [Monday],” Forbes said. “I didn’t know what they were going to do, if they were going to dogpile because of the way it happened, but they just celebrated a little bit. This team is hungry for more. So, hopefully we can make that happen.”
That approach has been consistent for a team that has played well away from home all season, and Forbes said UNC’s message for Omaha is the same one it has carried on the road for months.
“We’ve talked about this whole season, we’ve been really good on the road, and we’ve talked about how to be good on the road,” Forbes said. “We’ve approached it like it’s a business trip. This is a unique business trip, because a lot of times on business trips, you may not exactly love where you’re going to be, but we’re going to love where we are, in Omaha, Nebraska, at the CWS. But we also know what we’re going out there for.”
The reward for advancing is not just the achievement itself, Forbes said, but the chance to stay longer.
“The better you play, the more you win, the longer you get to enjoy where you’re going to be,” Forbes said. “So, we’re going out there to try to win a national championship, and that’s first and foremost.”
The Tar Heels open College World Series play against No. 23 Ole Miss at 7:06 p.m. Friday (ESPN).
That helps explain why Sunday’s celebration looked restrained compared to what it could have been given the emotion of the comeback. UNC had just rallied from the brink of elimination, won the Chapel Hill Super Regional, and became the first Tar Heels team to lose the opener of a Super Regional at home but still advance.
Yet even in the immediate aftermath, the reaction suggested the players were not satisfied. Forbes said the standard inside the program has been clear since the fall.
“As a coach, almost everything you use is from other great coaches, and this year we just started with a Skip Bertman saying, ‘Anything you vividly imagine, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon must absolutely come to pass,’ ” Forbes said, remembering the words of the legendary former LSU coach.
“It doesn’t mean it’s always going to, but you have to believe it’s going to, number one, and then you’ve got to go to work to try to make it happen. That’s the difference. That’s all we’ve talked about, is winning the national championship, and nothing else,” Forbes said.
Forbes said none of what this team has done surprises him, even if he has not taken much time to reflect on the historical milestones. He said he sensed the Super Regional would be difficult and believed all along that his team had the toughness to answer if pushed.
“It doesn’t surprise me with this team,” Forbes said. “I kind of figured something hard was going to happen against Southern Cal. Whether or not we won the first one and they won the second, I had a gut that it was going to go three games.
“Sure enough, you’re in total control in Game 1, and then they hit a grand slam, and then it’s like, ‘Oh my goodness, they’re one game from going to Omaha instead of us.’ But we’ve been in that position in series this year with other teams, and at Clemson it showed me a lot with this team,” said Forbes, who added that he really hasn’t had time to look back on the season.
He said veteran leadership has helped establish that response. Players who have been to Omaha before helped set the tone for younger teammates, both in how they handled adversity and in how they managed success.
“If you’re immature in the wrong way, those guys are going to crush you before I crush you, in a good way, and make you understand, ‘Hey, it’s not all about you, it’s about our program. Here’s how we do things around here,’ ” Forbes said.
That accountability and the expectations that come with it are one reason there was no dogpile Sunday.
The Tar Heels celebrated because they had earned the right to celebrate. They just did not celebrate like a team that believed its work was finished.
College World Series
At Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
Sunday, June 21, game on ABC, all other games on ESPN
Bracket 1
No. 5-seed and No. 4-ranked North Carolina (50–12–1), No. 16-seed and No. 9-ranked West Virginia (48–15), Troy (38–30) and No. 23-ranked Ole Miss (41–21)
Bracket 2
No. 3-seed and No. 3-ranked Georgia (51–12), No. 6-seed and No. 6-ranked Texas (45–13), No. 7-seed and No. 16-ranked Alabama (42–19) and Oklahoma (38–22)
Pool play
(All listed times are ET)
Friday’s games
Game 1: Troy vs. West Virginia, 2:06 p.m.
Game 2: North Carolina vs. Ole Miss, 7:06 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Game 3: Oklahoma vs. Alabama, 3:06 p.m.
Game 4: Georgia vs. Texas, 8:06 p.m.
Sunday’s games
Game 5: Friday losers, 2:06 p.m.
Game 6: Friday winners, 7:06 p.m.
Monday’s games
Game 7: Saturday losers, 2:06 p.m.
Game 8: Saturday winners, 7 p.m.
Tuesday’s games
Game 9: Sunday morning winner vs. Sunday night loser 2:06 p.m.
Game 10: Tuesday morning winner vs. Sunday night winner, 7:06 p.m.
Wednesday’s games
Game 11: Monday morning winner vs. Monday night loser, 2:06 p.m.
Game 12: Wednesday morning winner vs. Monday night winner, 7:06 p.m.
Thursday’s games
Deciding Bracket 1 game if Game 9 winner also wins Game 11
Deciding Bracket 2 game if Game 10 winner also wins Game 12
CWS Finals
(Best-of-3 series)
Game 1: Saturday, June 20, 8:06 p.m.
Game 2 Sunday, June 21, 1:36 p.m.
Game 3: Monday, June 22, (if needed) 8:06 p.m.
| 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 | Friday | 7:06 p.m. | No. 18 Ole Miss | ESPN |
| 14 | Sunday | 2:06 p.m. (with loss) or 7:06 p.m. (with win) | Troy or No. 9 West Virginia | ESPN |
Photo by Smith Hardy
