Ten days ago, North Carolina trailed USC 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 3 of its Super Regional against USC. Facing the end of their season, the Tar Heels rallied for three runs in the final two innings to book their spot in the Men’s College World Series, with a double off the bat of Owen Hull delivering the win in walk-off fashion.
And now, Hull and the Tar Heels are headed to the Finals after a 12-7 win over West Virginia.
North Carolina took on West Virginia in Omaha on Wednesday, needing a win to punch their ticket to the Finals while the Mountaineers needed a victory to force a winner-take-all rematch on Thursday. But Hull and the Tar Heels jumped out to a lead in the top of the first, starting with yet another extra-base hit from the UNC outfielder:
Hull later came around to score after stealing third, and advancing home on an error.
After West Virginia pulled one back in the bottom of the first, the Tar Heels broke the game open in the third and fourth innings. North Carolina pushed three runs across the dish in the top of the third, with the big blow a triple off the bat of Cooper Nicholson:
Then in the fourth UNC tacked on three more runs, and it was Hull again providing some of the offense, with this double down the left-field line to bring Carter French around to score:
A Gavin Gallaher single followed, bringing Hull and Jake Schnaffer home to make it 8-1 Tar Heels in the top of the fourth.
As the North Carolina offense was enjoying the afternoon, Jackson Rose was dealing on the bump. Folger Boaz got the start, but UNC turned to the freshman lefty to start the second inning.
Early in his outing Rose relied on his fastball and slider, before he started mixing in more of his curveball. Where Rose was truly impressive was with his slider, as well as how he worked his slider and fastball inside to hitters, preventing them from getting their hands extended to barrel up pitches. He needed just six pitches to get through the second, 13 to get through the third, 14 through the fourth, and just eight to get through the fifth inning.
In the top of the sixth, the Tar Heels got another extra-base hit, as Hull laced a triple down the right-field line. That made him the first UNC player with a four-hit game at the MCWS since 2011, and Hull came around to score on another single from Gallaher to make it 9-1.
For Gallaher, who finally broke through with his first hit in two trips to Omaha earlier this week, it was his 32rd RBI in 25 career NCAA tournament games, the most among active players.
Following a stolen base, an Erik Paulsen single brought home Gallaher to make it 10-1, and the rout appeared on.
But the Mountaineers would not go down that easily.
Rose finally got into some trouble in the bottom of the sixth, walking the bases loaded after giving up a pair of singles. That’s when Scott Forbes came out of the North Carolina dugout to summon Matthew Matthijs out of the pen, ending Rose’s day after 58 pitches. He needed just one pitch to end the inning, as Brock Wills lined out to Gallaher at second, who flipped to Schnaffer for the double play.
UNC tacked on two more runs in the seventh to make the score 12-1, those 12 runs a new single-game record for the Tar Heels in a Men’s College World Series game.
West Virginia made some noise in the bottom of the seventh, chasing Matthijs as they scored four runs to cause some stirring from those wearing Carolina Blue. That’s when Forbes summoned Caden Glauber, the freshman reliever with an 11-0 record on the year, and who entered play with 23 strikeouts in just over 14 innings of work in the NCAA tournament.
But a passed ball brought another run home, cutting UNC’s lead to 12-6. West Virginia fans were in full voice by that point, while the Carolina fans were looking for the Pepto Bismol.
After a long battle, Glauber finally got Ben Lumsden looking to end the inning.
However, the Mountaineers, refused to quit, as a Gavin Kelly solo shot in the bottom of the eighth pulled West Virginia within five.
But that would be as close as they got.
Glauber struck out Sean Smith to start the ninth, and after giving up a single to Matthew Graveline, he got a popup from shortstop Matt Ineich to push West Virginia to their final out. Willis singled to right, bringing Lumsden to the plate again, but a flyball to right ended the game, and touched off the celebrations for those in Carolina Blue.
For Hull, the UNC outfielder heads to the MCWS Finals red hot. His last game without a hit came back on May 16 against NC State, when he went 0-for-2 in a loss to the Wolfpack. He finished the game on Wednesday having gone 4-for-5 with two RBI, along with a pair of doubles and a triple, and Hull heads to the Finals riding a 12-game hitting streak.
“We’re getting it done in a lot of different ways,” said Gallaher after the win to ESPN.
“I’m just so thankful to be here.”
UNC will face either Oklahoma or Georgia in the Finals starting Saturday night. Those two teams face off on Wednesday night, with Georgia needing a win to force a winner-take-all rematch on Wednesday. A win from the Sooners would punch their ticket to the Finals against the Tar Heels.
