By R.L. Bynum
OMAHA, Neb. — The national title dreams of North Carolina vanished early Monday as the frustrations piled up after a memorable postseason run.
After an early baserunning mistake cost the Tar Heels a run, the pitching plan went awry, creating the biggest deficit of the season against the hottest team in the country.
Oklahoma (43–23) piled up the runs and coasted to a 13–2 victory Monday at Charles Schwab Field Omaha and the Sooners’ third NCAA title, leaving UNC a win away from its elusive first title for the second time in 20 years.
Coach Scott Forbes tipped his cap afterward, saying, “Obviously, that’s a tough loss, but, first of all, I want to congratulate Oklahoma. Heck of a ball team. They deserved it. They played well tonight. They earned it.”
In 2006, the Tar Heels (54–14–1) had the title within their grasp before losing 3–2 to Oregon State in Game 3 of the CWS Finals. This one was out of reach early as Sooners pitching retired six straight in one stretch and seven in a row in another.
When starter Jackson Rose (5–1) couldn’t get out of the third inning, and UNC’s best bullpen arms, Walker McDuffie and Caden Glauber, had no command, it turned into the Tar Heels’ biggest deficit this season since trailing by 10 runs twice. After needing only eight pitchers to win three games to make the finals, UNC used eight on Monday.
Forbes said he would make the same call again on his starter, saying, “I just felt like Jackson Rose deserved it. You look at it, he walked three, he punched out five. I’d do it again. I thought he was one of our hottest pitchers. I thought he competed his tail off.”
UNC had plenty of issues with umpire Billy Van Raaphorst’s strike zone, leading him to warn its dugout in the seventh inning. But it had bigger problems on the night.
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.
Carolina ran itself out of a second-inning run when Rom Kellis V singled with two outs and runners at first and second. Carter French got tagged out at third base before Erik Paulsen crossed the plate. Forbes said the play hurt, but he wasn’t about to pin the loss there.
“Gosh dang, it’s hard for me to get mad at Carter French,” Forbes said. “I was mad in the moment. We all make mistakes. I make them every single day. We talk about next-play mentality. You just have to move on. It was a mistake, but he owns the mistake. We all own it. But that wasn’t the reason we lost the game. Obviously, it hurt our momentum a little bit.”
Rose had his off-speed pitches working, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter in 2⅔ innings. But he gave up three runs and a season-high six hits.
Rose stranded two runners in the first-inning jam by striking out Trey Gambill on an 82-mph slider. In the second inning, three of the first four batters singled, with Kyle Branch driving in one run and another scoring on a wild pitch. The third run off Rose came in the third inning when McDuffie relieved him with two outs, and gave up a double to his first batter, Brendan Brock.
Jake Schaffner singled with one out in the third inning, and Gavin Gallaher drove in UNC’s first run with a single up the middle. That ended the day for Oklahoma starter Nick Wesolowski (2⅓ innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts). Reliever LJ Mercurio (winner, 7–7) got out of the inning.
Oklahoma hadn’t drawn four walks in any CWS game before four consecutive batters walked in the three-run fourth inning, three from McDuffie and one from Glauber to force in a run. Red-hot Jaxson Willits, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, followed with a two-run single.
Forbes declined to second-guess how quickly Glauber was pushed through the inning, but he made clear what undid UNC.
“I felt like they didn’t give him enough time. I’m not going to come up here and talk about that part of it at this point,” Forbes said. “All these guys, the one thing they did was they gave everything they had. Obviously, Oklahoma made us pay. We walked too many, but none of these guys were trying to walk anybody. Globe, we knew, was going to be a short stint, maybe 15 pitches. Everybody went out there, they gave it all they had, we just ran out of gas.”
Glauber lasted two batters before Matthew Matthijs came in and struck out two to avert further damage. But Matthijs gave up a leadoff homer to Dayton Tockey in the fifth inning. Kyle Branch added a two-run single off Folger Boaz, UNC’s fifth pitcher, in the sixth inning.
Matthijs said Oklahoma’s lineup made every miss costly.
“I think they just take advantage of your mistakes,” Matthijs said. “You make a mistake in the zone, they’re going to hit it pretty well.”
Owen Hull’s two-out seventh-inning single plated UNC’s second run.
Notes
— Carolina’s biggest previous deficit was 10 runs in two games at home against NCAA tournament teams: 13–3 in a March 6 loss to Virginia and in a 12–2 April 28 loss to Coastal Carolina.
— Paulsen, Gallaher, Hull and Glauber made the CWS All-Tournament team.
— Gallaher extended his school record for RBI in a College World Series to 10.
— Kyle Percival, UNC’s eighth pitcher, made only his fourth appearance and first since March 6.
— Kellis got his second consecutive start at DH, but hit No. 8. Tyler Howe (0-for-6 in the first two finals games) dropped from sixth to ninth, and Carter French moved up from eighth to seventh.
— It was the 84th time Carolina has played a winner-take-all game or match to decide an NCAA championship. Baseball is one of 10 sports to compete in a national title game or match. UNC is 52–32 in such matchups.
— UNC was 3–1 in elimination games during this tournament, winning Game 2 and earlier beating USC twice in the Chapel Hill Super Regional.
— Carolina’s 54 wins are the second-most in program history behind the 56–10 CWS team in 2013.
— The Sooners lead the all-time series 5–3.
— UNC is 6–7 against SEC teams in the CWS, including 2–2 this year.
— The game attracted 23,248, pushing the CWS total to 369,919.
Oklahoma 13, No. 4 UNC 2
College World Series
At Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
Pool play
All listed times are ET
June 12 results
West Virginia 7, Troy 5
North Carolina 6, Ole Miss 2
June 13 results
Oklahoma 9, Alabama 0
Georgia 7, Texas 1
June 14 results
Troy 12, Ole Miss 8; Ole Miss eliminated
North Carolina 5, West Virginia 2
June 15 results
Texas 14, Alabama 2; Alabama eliminated
Oklahoma 4, Georgia 3
Tuesday’s results
West Virginia 12, Troy 0; Troy eliminated
Georgia 2, Texas 0; Texas eliminated
Wednesday’s results
North Carolina 12, West Virginia 7; West Virginia eliminated
Oklahoma 11, Georgia 4; Georgia eliminated
CWS Finals
(Best-of-3 series)
North Carolina vs. Oklahoma
Game 1 Saturday: Oklahoma 9, North Carolina 3
Game 2 Sunday: North Carolina 6, Oklahoma 2
Game 3 Monday: Oklahoma 13, North Carolina 2; Sooners win national title
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | W, 6–2 | No. 18 Ole Miss | 51–12–1 |
| 14, 17 | Sun., Wed. | W, 5–2; W, 12–7 | No. 9 West Virginia | 53–12–1 |
| 20–22 | Sat.-Mon. | L, 9–3; W, 6–2; L, 13–2 | CWS Finals vs. Oklahoma | 54–14–1 |
Photo via @NCAABaseball
