Who knew Sharks could be so dangerous? Well, the University of North Carolina baseball program found that out early during their first game of the Chapel Hill Regional.
The Tar Heels needed a walk-off grand slam from freshman Gavin Gallaher to escape a big upset bd in the bottom of the ninth. After UNC gave up the lead in the top half of the inning, they found themselves down three with three outs to go.
And then one of their talented freshmen delivered the big swing for a 11-8 win.
The game had its ups and downs for the Diamond Heels, grabbing an early lead, losing it, re-grabbing the lead and then relinquishing it back up. In fact, it was not looking good for a lot of it.
Who loves Walk off Grand Slams from Gavin Gallaher? pic.twitter.com/8KJZHI2RTW
— Collin Wilson (@_Collin1) June 1, 2024
Pitcher [autotag]Jason DeCaro[/autotag] got the start, becoming the third freshman since 1999 to start a Regional opener, and despite looking to be in control, things would soon explode. After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, it felt like easy sailing for UNC, however, the third inning showed otherwise. The Long Island Sharks attacked, put three runs on the board, and officially put UNC on their heels.
The Tar Heels did start to answer back in the fourth inning with a sweet homer by [autotag]Gavin Gallaher[/autotag].
Panic would creep in with UNC struggling to put up runs, only scoring that one in the fourth, and finding themselves down 3-2 heading into the sixth. However, in Tar Heel fashion, UNC surged back, tying the game with a Gallaher double, before [autotag]Alex Madera[/autotag] stepped up to the plate adding two more runs.
LIU did muster up another run in the eighth, but the damage appeared to be done until it wasn’t… Instead of finishing the job, UNC added more work to their plate after allowing four runs in the ninth inning to go down 8-5 before the Gallaher heroics.
Next up for the UNC is a date against the LSU Tigers as they look to get a one-game advantage. The two teams will face off Saturday at 5 p.m., with the winner taking on whoever wins between LIU and Wofford.
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