UNC moves to Super Regional

North Carolina has leaned on consistent offensive performances from shortstop Levi Michael and third baseman Colin Moran all season long, but Sunday against James Madison, the hard-hitting pair was relatively quiet.

And it didn’t really seem to matter.

In a strong display of offensive depth, five different Tar Heels registered at least one RBI en route to a 9-3 win against JMU in the NCAA regional final at Boshamer Stadium. North Carolina will host Stanford next weekend in the NCAA Super Regional round.

In the sixth inning against the Dukes, Michael ended his 0-for-11 streak with a double to center field. He finished the game with one run, one hit and no RBI in four at-bats.

North Carolina Associate Head Coach Scott Forbes was quick to remind the shortstop that what Michael lacked at the plate, he made up for on the field.

“I talked to Levi — I looked him in the eye after the game and I said, ‘Don’t concentrate on what you didn’t do, concentrate on what you did,’” Forbes said. “He played unbelievable defense.”

The Dukes went into this weekend’s regional with the best scoring offense in the country. But JMU head coach Spanky McFarland soon realized just how stingy North Carolina’s defense could be.

“I think just as important as their pitching was their defense and their placement,” McFarland said. “They seemed to be in the right spots all weekend. I don’t know who was in charge of that, but they sure did a nice job. The ball came off the bat and we’d think we would have a double, but there would be somebody right there.”

North Carolina allowed its first run of the weekend in the bottom of the first inning, and James Madison led 1-0. The Tar Heels rallied back to lead 3-1 before JMU catcher Jake Lowery blasted his 24th home run and 91st RBI of the season to tie the score 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth.

Starting pitcher Chris Munnelly allowed eight hits and four runs in four and two-thirds innings pitched. UNC cycled through six other batters during the game, but the bullpen allowed just three hits and no runs collectively.

Second baseman Tommy Coyle and left fielder Chaz Frank combined for five RBI in the matchup, but just as flashy as the pair’s performance were the pink socks the Tar Heels sported.

The team made the uniform switch to honor the memory of head coach Mike Fox’s mother, who died Saturday.

“It was a pretty easy decision,” Forbes said. “We wanted to honor a great lady and a huge supporter of our baseball program. Once I got the OK from (Coach Fox) last night when I talked to him, he thought she would appreciate that. So we went with it.”

Forbes has been filling in for Fox, who has missed all three of UNC’s regional games.

But even during his absence, Fox still manages to be a motivation for the Tar Heels.

“It’s one thing to win a regional, but when you do it without your head coach there and you’re pulling for him without him there, I think that makes it even more special,” Coyle said. “We’re excited to go to the Super Regional and hopefully we’ll have coach Fox back for that.”