Freshman lefty Rose starts deciding Game 3 against Oklahoma

OMAHA, Neb. — Scott Forbes is giving the ball to freshman left-hander Jackson Rose in Monday night’s battle with Oklahoma for the national championship. The Tar Heels will head into Monday’s 7:09 p.m. (ESPN) winner-take-all Game 3 of the College World Series Finals with what Forbes called an “all hands on deck” approach on the mound after Rose, one shaped by trust in a pitching staff that has carried a heavy load through Omaha and a roster that has responded all season when the stakes have risen.

A son’s strength, a dad’s legacy: Emotional Paulsen lifts UNC on Father’s Day

OMAHA, Neb. — It was a special and emotional Father’s Day victory for Carolina first baseman Erik Paulsen. When Scott Forbes, the coach who convinced him to leave his home area in New York, away from his family, and play at UNC, talked about it afterward, he had to pause because he got so emotional.

Pitching, power put Heels win away from national championship

OMAHA, Neb. — For the first time in 20 years, North Carolina is a win away from the program’s first national championship. Dominant pitching and timely hitting powered the No. 4 Tar Heels to a 6–2 victory Sunday at Charles Schwab Field Omaha over Oklahoma in Game 2 of the College World Series Finals to force a deciding game for the national championship.

DeCaro no stranger to big stage, makes final college start with huge stakes

OMAHA, Neb. — It couldn’t be a more fitting stage for Jason DeCaro to make his final college start. The junior ace of No. 4 North Carolina’s staff will get the ball in Game 1 of the College World Series Finals against Oklahoma with the Tar Heels two wins away from the program’s first national championship.

Heels remind nation they are much more than pitching and defense

OMAHA, Neb. — Pitching and defense got No. 4 North Carolina to the brink of the College World Series Finals, but it was the Tar Heels’ explosive offense that sent them there for the first time since 2007. The hitting was contagious in UNC’s 12–7 victory Wednesday over West Virginia, and it was needed to withstand six late Mountaineers runs. Carolina bettered its combined output of 11 runs in the first two games and showed that this team can swing the bats as well as any team in the country.

Heels two wins away from title after offensive explosion

OMAHA, Neb. — North Carolina is two wins away from its first national championship after pouring on the offense early, thanks to white-hot Owen Hull returning to the “O-zone.” The No. 4 Tar Heels pounded West Virginia pitching and took advantage of its defensive lapses, rolling to a 12–7 victory Wednesday at Charles Schwab Field Omaha to clinch its first CWS Finals berth in 19 years.

West Virginia rolls to earn rematch with Heels, who go to CWS Finals with win

OMAHA, Neb. — Just as the Chapel Hill Regional essentially turned into a best-of-three series between No. 4 North Carolina and East Carolina, Bracket 1 at the College World Series is playing out in a similar way. The Tar Heels (52–12–1) just hope for similar results. No. 9 West Virginia (47–16), which lost 5–2 to UNC on Sunday night, earned a rematch with the Tar Heels by rolling to a 12–0 victory over Troy in an elimination game at Charles Schwab Field Omaha on Tuesday.

Gallaher’s clutch triple puts UNC win away from CWS finals

OMAHA, Neb. — Gavin Gallaher’s bat is working like a late-inning magic wand for North Carolina at the College World Series. For the second consecutive game, he came up clutch with the game-winning hit as the No. 4 Tar Heels moved to 2–0 in Omaha for the first time in 20 years.

UNC reloads after losing stars from CWS team, with high expectations

CHAPEL HILL — It’s a sign that Coach Scott Forbes has returned North Carolina to one of the nation’s best programs when losing six draft picks hasn’t changed lofty expectations. The Tar Heels, No. 6 in the D1 Baseball preseason poll, reloaded.

With most of everyday lineup gone, Forbes must restock roster

OMAHA, Neb. — The lineup will look drastically different when North Carolina opens the 2025 baseball season in February. Coach Scott Forbes must replenish his roster with transfers and freshmen for the Tar Heels to return to Omaha because most of his 2024 lineup will be gone. Even before UNC’s first Men’s College World Series opener, Forbes said that he had already secured a couple of transfer commitments and was working to get more.

Omaha delivers heartbreak for UNC but leaves Forbes proud

OMAHA, Neb. — Baseball is designed to break your heart, and Omaha delivers a unique version of emotional pain to all but one team. When many of the elements that get you there fail to come together at the Men’s College World Series, teams leave frustrated but proud that they got to the big stage.

Three wins from finals, but Forbes, UNC focused on Florida State

OMAHA, Neb. — The mission for No. 4-seed North Carolina is daunting: Win three games in as many days — including two against No. 1 Tennessee — to make the Men’s College World Series Finals or go home. Coach Scott Forbes’s mission is to get his Tar Heels (48–15) to focus on beating No. 8-seed Florida State (48–16) at 2 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN) and proceed from there with the knowledge that the program has met a similar challenge before

Offensive struggles catch up with UNC against Vols

OMAHA, Neb. — For most of the season, Carolina’s prolific scoring made it tough for anybody to beat the Tar Heels. They haven’t been able to replicate that recently in the NCAA tournament against top-level pitching, and it finally caught up with them against No. 1 Tennessee’s explosive hitting.

Sprague has gone from rough preseason to making it rough on opposing batters

OMAHA, Neb. — The Shea Sprague that No. 1-seed Tennessee will face is a dramatically different pitcher than the one who struggled to get his North Carolina teammates out during preseason practice.

Cardiac Heels rally again on huge hits by Van De Brake and Honeycutt

OMAHA, Neb. — After spending most of the season watching from the dugout, the college baseball world watched Jackson Van De Brake come through with a huge hit on the sport’s biggest stage. And Vance Honeycutt added yet another.