The North Carolina Tar Heels’ unusually shaky bullpen nearly put them in the elimination bracket of their own regional Friday night.
Holding onto a 5-3 lead over Long Island University entering the eighth inning, UNC head coach Scott Forbes brought in star closer Dalton Pence to close things out.
LIU tied the game at five in the ninth, scoring two runs against Pence and opting Forbes to call for reliever Matt Poston. The Sharks took an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth, striking fear and disbelief into the hearts of Tar Heel Nation.
Lucky for the Diamond Heels, their bats came alive in the home half of the ninth, with freshman Gavin Gallagher capping off a 6-run ninth inning by hitting a walk-off grand slam. With UNC now knowing it’d match up against LSU, one had to wonder if North Carolina’s pitching staff would hold up against a significantly stronger offense.
It certainly did.
On Saturday, June 1, a day after giving up eight runs to the now-eliminated NEC Champions, Diamond Heel pitchers allowed just two runs on seven hits. This was a crucial factor in UNC’s 6-2 victory, which advanced them to Sunday’s 6 p.m. Chapel Hill Regional Final.
Shea Sprague got us started, Ben Peterson threw gas (12 pitches 95 mph+), and Dalton Pence slammed the door
Pitching staff was LOCKED IN last nightđź”’ pic.twitter.com/L7ofnWo7S0
— UNC Baseball Analytics (@UNCAnalytics) June 2, 2024
Starter Shea Sprague’s outing lowered his earned run average to a team-best 3.76. Ben Peterson lowered his ERA to under 5.00, one of 11 North Carolina pitchers to do so, while Pence’s 2 2/3 no-hit innings solidified his back-of-the-bullpen spot.
The Diamond Heels will play either Wofford for the first time – or LSU again – on Sunday at 6 p.m.
Will the UNC pitching staff show up and push them into the Super Regional?
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