Emanuel shutout fuels Tar Heel victory

OMAHA, Neb. — North Carolina pitcher Kent Emanuel wasn’t nervous about making his first career start in the College World Series. In fact, the freshman said Sunday afternoon that important games usually give him more motivation to perform on the mound.

With elimination from the College World Series on the line in Monday’s game against Texas, there was plenty of pressure on the Tar Heel pitcher.

And true to his word, Emanuel shined.

Emanuel threw a complete-game shutout Monday at TD Ameritrade Park to help the Tar Heels avoid elimination and beat Texas 3-0.

Emanuel’s performance was the first complete-game shutout in the College World Series since UNC’s Robert Woodard did it in 2006, and the first by a freshman since 1993.

Even though his freshman star was pitching in front of more than 20,000 people, Fox never witnessed a glimpse of anxiousness from Emanuel.

“Other than his left arm, his best trait is his demeanor,” Fox said. “I’ve never seen Kent any different. Just you don’t see a lot of emotion out of him. That’s what you want when you get on the mound, especially at this stage.”

Early in the game, the Tar Heels struggled to capitalize offensively despite having runners in scoring position.

For Fox, the game began to appear frighteningly similar to Saturday’s loss to Vanderbilt – in which the Tar Heels left a season-high 16 men on base.

“You just have to keep taking deep breaths in there… because it’s easy to get frustrated as it goes on,” Fox said. “Like, man, another opportunity, more base runners on. It did look like we were just kind of a mirror (of Saturday).”

But a clutch hit from catcher Jacob Stallings in the top of the third inning soon put those fears to bed.

With two strikes against him, Stallings hit a two-RBI single to break open the game and give the Tar Heels a little breathing room.

In an attempt to cure Levi Michael of his 4-for-26 postseason slump, Fox pushed the shortstop further down in the batting order for Monday’s game and put center fielder Ben Bunting in the two-hole.

And while Michael – who went 1-for-4 against Texas – still struggled, Bunting found success in his new home.

The senior, who is now 14-for-31 in the NCAA tournament, led North Carolina with four hits, and in the top of the ninth inning, he batted in an insurance run for the Tar Heels.

“Right now I’m just very fortunate to be seeing the ball good at the plate,” Bunting said. “(I’m) trying to hit the first strike I see, not trying to get myself into bad counts, and I’ve been fortunate to put good swings on the ball.”

Texas was the first team to be eliminated from the College World Series. The Tar Heels will play Vanderbilt in another elimination game on Wednesday.

And though North Carolina hit a bump in the road in its first game in Omaha, with a win against Texas the Tar Heels proved that their postseason success extends beyond the four walls of Boshamer Stadium.

And, just as it’s been known to do, UNC has proved it is capable of shutting down its opponent with a defense that can be exasperatingly relentless.

“(Emanuel) hit spots and he could throw three pitches for strikes and where he wanted to throw it,” Texas’ Brandon Loy said. “That makes it tough on hitters. So we tip our cap to him. We fought
throughout the game — he just made it tough on us.”