The North Carolina Tar Heels’ quest for their first College World Series title started with a major win Friday afternoon.
UNC faced off against the University of Virginia, an ACC rival which won two of three regular-season matchups, in the CWS’ opening game. This game pitted a pair of teams with very similar playing styles against each other – clutch hitting, power bats and stellar pitching.
It was the Diamond Heels who emerged victorious in the end, with star center fielder Vance Honeycutt delivering more walk-off heroics, this time a 2-out single in a 3-2 North Carolina victory.
The Tar Heel faithful were expected to travel in droves to Nebraska, especially with how many fans showed up at the Boshamer Stadium send-off this week. From watching (and listening) to North Carolina-UVA, I saw several Carolina blue shirts scattered throughout the stands at Charles Schwab Field.
You might not recognize every – or any – fan in the stands. I don’t blame you – even though the stands weren’t full Friday afternoon, Charles Schwab Field still holds 24,000 spectators.
There’s one fan you might recognize, though – former UNC head basketball coach Roy Williams, who helped the Tar Heels capture the 2005, 2009 and 2017 National Championships.
Welcome to The Schwab, Coach Roy Williams 🐐#MCWS x @DiamondHeels pic.twitter.com/M9bROGHYwV
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 14, 2024
Williams continues to enjoyed the retired life since stepping down in 2021. He cheered on the Diamond Heels in the Chapel Hill Regional, but was more widely-seen at the Final Four, actively rooting against NC State.
Will we see Williams in the stands on Sunday, too?
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