Alex Madera was the hero Monday night for North Carolina to send the Tar Heels to the Super Regional of the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
He drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning, beating LSU 4-3 in a do-or-die game in Chapel Hill. Madera actually was victim to a critical mistake in the top of the ninth, but he bounced back.
He spoke with the ESPN broadcast following the game.
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“It’s awesome I mean the inning before, not getting the bunt down (and the guys) picking me up,” Madera said. “You know all the guys in the dugout (saying) ‘you’re gonna get another at bat, it’s gonna be bigger’ and they were right. Just trying to put the bat on the ball let everything else work itself out.”
Madera described his at-bat in the 10th inning, which led to UNC’s win.
“I missed the first fast ball,” Madera said. “He threw me a couple of sliders but I knew he was gonna go back to the fastball at some point. Got to a full count and I just sold out on the heater, got the heater and beat it up the middle.”
Madera struck out bunting down the third base line in the ninth. It could’ve cost the Tar Heels a chance to win the game, but Madera made everyone forget that moment.
“I mean, it was just all the guys in the dugout,” Madera said. “All credit to the guys in the dugout, I mean, they were just picking me … and you’re gonna get a bigger at-bat and you know they were right.”
North Carolina won its regional in front of the home fans, giving Tar Heel supporters a big summer gift as they stayed alive to ultimately win the national title.
“I mean, it was incredible,” Madera said of playing in front of the home fans. “I mean, these guys, the fans, you know, they just absolutely showed out for us and you know, we’re gonna need that again next weekend. And I mean, there’s no better feeling right now.”
Following a 2-1 lead in the first, LSU chipped away at UNC’s lead. The Tigers took a 3-2 lead in the third.
However, North Carolina scored runs in the ninth and 10th to get the win and advance to the Super Regional.
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