No. 4 seed Diamond Heels season ends after falling to No. 8 Florida State, 9-5, in CWS

OMAHA, Neb. — A four-run fifth inning was not enough to power the No. 4 seeded Diamond Heels (48-16) past No. 8 Florida State (49-16) during the Men's College World Series, leading the Tar Heels to a 9-5 loss on Tuesday afternoon at Charles Schwab field. 

Junior center fielder Vance Honeycutt went 3-5 with a three-run homer to left field to put UNC back in the game, but FSU's two home runs in the ninth frame put the final nail in the coffin.

To open the first inning, junior right-handed pitcher Aidan Haugh immediately went to work. After throwing three straight balls to open the frame, he recovered with three strikes to retire Florida State’s center fielder Max Williams. 

Haugh sat down the next two batters after Florida State’s third baseman Cam Smith popped up to second and right fielder James Tibbs III went down swinging. 

After only scoring one run against Tennessee on Sunday, the Tar Heels’ bats remained silent to end the first inning in a 1-2-3 outing. 

Junior center fielder Vance Honeycutt went down swinging while redshirt sophomore left fielder Casey Cook and senior first baseman Parks Harber grounded out. 

In the second frame, the Seminoles found some life. 

With left fielder Jaime Ferrer on first base off a free pass, first baseman Daniel Cantu singled up the middle. Two batters later, second baseman Drew Faurot followed suit with a single up the middle to bring Ferrer home. Catcher Jaxson West struck out looking to end the inning. 

Down one run, North Carolina failed to find the equalizer in the second. 

With graduate right fielder Anthony Donofrio on base, senior designated hitter Jackson Van De Brake hit to second base, allowing FSU to turn the double play. During the next at-bat, first-year third baseman Gavin Gallaher grounded out to the pitcher. 

The Tar Heels' bullpen found trouble in the top of the third inning. 

After handing out three back-to-back free passes with one out, sophomore right-handed pitcher Matthew Matthijs took over on the mound. 

With bases loaded, Matthijs walked a batter, pushing the Seminoles to a 2-0 lead. 

To get out of the situation, redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher Dalton Pence entered for North Carolina. Cantu flew out to center field to push Tibbs home. Lodise popped up to shortstop on the next at-bat to close the top of the frame. 

During the bottom of the sixth, the Tar Heels worked to close the three-run gap. 

After graduate second baseman Alex Madera grounded out to shortstop and senior Colby Wilkerson flew out to center field, Honeycutt doubled down the left field line. 

Cook followed with a double of his own — this time down the right field line — to bring Honeycutt in. On the next at-bat, Harber grounded out to third with the score 3-1. 

Following a silent fourth frame, Florida State exploded in the fifth. 

The Seminoles rotated through their entire lineup, recording six hits and four runs. To try and gain any form of control, senior right-handed pitcher Matt Poston entered for Pence. Leaving the top of the fifth, FSU led 7-1. 

But the Tar Heels refused to give up. 

Powered by a three-run Honeycutt bomb, the Tar Heels finally found some life. With two outs and two runners on base following a free pass, Van De Brake singled up the middle to bring Harber home. 

North Carolina exited the inning down 7-5. 

In the top of the sixth, the Tar Heels found themselves in another do-or-die situation. 

With two outs and bases loaded after Poston walked three batters, sophomore right-handed pitch Cameron Padgett entered for UNC. The sophomore struck out Farout to escape the situation, but North Carolina followed with a three up, three down performance to end the frame. 

After Padgett got out of another inning, the Tar Heels failed to produce any runs in the bottom of the seventh. 

Honeycutt singled up the middle but was later picked off stealing second. Harber struck out swinging a few pitches later to end the eighth. 

Following a silent eighth inning, any dreams of moving on in Omaha for UNC were dashed in the top of the ninth. On the first pitch, West lead off with a home run to left field. During the next at-bat, Williams responded with a home run of his own to put the Seminoles up 9-5.

After a postseason powered by late game heroics, the Diamond Heels season ended in four at-bats in the ninth. 

This concludes the Diamond Heels season. 

@_emmahmoon

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com

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