4-seed North Carolina defeated defending national champions LSU 4-3 in 10 innings on Monday to win the Chapel Hill Regional and move on in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels managed to tie the game in the ninth inning to send it to extra innings after an LSU blunder in the outfield put UNC’s Johnny Castagnozzi on second base. Alex Madera singled after finding the gap in the middle to retake the lead for the first time since the second inning.
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LHP Dalton Pence finished off the Tigers on the mound in the bottom of the 10th as the Tar Heels punched their ticket to the next round of the postseason for the 13th time in program history.
The win wasn’t always a given for the Tar Heels, though. North Carolina took a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to the first three UNC batters hitting singles to lead off the day. The Tigers walked in a run and were forced to allow another to force a double-play. LSU was on its third pitcher by the end of the second inning.
However, that’s when LSU mounted its comeback. After five innings, the Tar Heels ended up trailing the Tigers 3-2 thanks to the strong pitching performance of LSU’s Will Hellmers. He was the third pitcher up for LSU and after 4.2 innings pitched, he hadn’t allowed a run, while giving up just three hits and struck out 25 percent (4/16) of the batters he had faced to that point. He would go on to pitch another full inning before he was relieved for Nate Ackenhausen.
It wasn’t until the ninth inning that UNC added to its scoring total for the first time since the opening inning and tying the game. The Tar Heels would use that momentum to take the lead in extra innings and ultimately won the game in a win-or-go-home scenario with one of the hottest teams in the SEC down when it mattered most this season.
They will now take on West Virginia in the Super Regionals beginning on Friday, June 7. The Mountaineers defeated Grand Canyon 10-6 in the Tucson Regional final to claim their spot in the Chapel Hill Super Regional.
The first pitch for the best of three series between North Carolina and WVU is TBD, and will be announced once the entire Super Regional is set in stone.
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