No. 1 seed Diamond Heels survive No. 2 seed LSU, 4-3, to advance to super regionals

In a win-or-go-home game seven in the Chapel Hill Regional, the No.1-seeded UNC baseball team needed ten innings to defeat No. 2-seeded LSU, 4-3, on Monday, advancing to the super regionals for the first time since 2022.

“I told our guys this morning, ‘This is why you come to UNC, to play a game like this,’” head coach Scott Forbes said.

Playing as the visiting team for the second consecutive game, the Tar Heels came to bat to start the game against LSU pitcher Samuel Dutton. Junior center fielder Vance Honeycutt, redshirt sophomore Casey Cook and senior first baseman Parks Harber all singled to juice the bases out of the gate. After just 11 pitches, LSU made a call to the bullpen for pitcher Javen Coleman.

Coleman walked his first batter, graduate right fielder Anthony Donofrio, on four pitches to give UNC the first run of the game. The Tar Heels added one more on a double play from senior designated hitter Alberto Osuna for an early 2-0 lead.

First-year pitcher Jason DeCaro, who started in Friday night’s game against LIU and threw 65 pitches, got the start for UNC in the must-win game. The Tigers took advantage of a few mistakes from DeCaro in the first, including a hit-by-pitch and a wild pitch, to manufacture a run back and split their deficit in half.

After two more free passes from Coleman in the second, LSU head coach Jay Johnson was forced to make another call to the bullpen. Honeycutt strolled to the plate with two runners on and one out but he struck out looking on a pitch on the outside part of the plate. Later in the inning, Harber flew out deep to the warning track with the bases loaded to end UNC’s half of the frame.

The Tigers knotted the game at two in the bottom of the second with a 408-foot, two-out blast over the right field wall. DeCaro induced a weak groundout from the next batter to retire the side. 

UNC made its first pitching change in the third as head coach Scott Forbes replaced DeCaro with sophomore pitcher Matthew Matthijs. Similarly to the second inning, Matthijs mowed through the first two batters before LSU first baseman Jared Jones launched a solo shot to put LSU on top.

Following the home run, a pitcher’s duel ensued between Matthijs and Will Hellmers of LSU. Nineteen consecutive batters were retired before graduate second baseman Alex Madera ended the offensive lull with a single to leadoff the seventh. Senior shortstop Colby Wilkerson sacrificed him into scoring position, but first-pitch outs from Honeycutt and Cook ended the threat.

“[Matthijs] has always been an ice water kid,” Forbes said. “Here's a kid that committed to us really early. We've always felt like he's loved the big moment.”

The Tar Heels stranded another runner in the eighth. Harber led off the inning with a seven-pitch walk, but LSU struck out the next three batters, including senior third baseman Johnny Castagnozzi who pinch hit for first-year catcher Luke Stevenson.

UNC’s bullpen retired 15 consecutive batters before redshirt sophomore pitcher Dalton Pence walked Jones on four pitches in the bottom of the inning. The Tigers worked two runners on, but Donofrio snagged a looping fly ball in right to keep the UNC deficit at one entering the ninth.

Pitcher Gage Jump took the mound to close out the game for LSU. First-year third baseman Gavin Gallaher jumped on a 2-2 pitch to leadoff the inning with a double down the left field line. A 1-2 bunt from Madera missed the third base bag by a foot for a strikeout and the first out of the inning. Wilkerson delivered, punching an RBI single into left field to tie the game. 

“I knew everyone was cheering hard for me and I just took a deep breath and I just felt like a little kid in the box, man,” Wilkerson said. “I was ready to go.”

Pence remained in the game for UNC, looking to send it into extras. With a runner on first and two outs, Pence blew a fastball past LSU center fielder Paxton Kling to strike him out. Pence slapped his chest in excitement as he walked back to the dugout.

In the tenth, Castagnozzi sent a shot into right field that the LSU right fielder appeared to size up. As the ball came down, though, it ricocheted off the webbing of his glove, an error that allowed Castagnozzi to reach second. Two batters later, Madera came through, sending a rocket up the middle that found a hole for the RBI single. Wilkerson struck out to strand two runners in scoring position, and UNC took a one-run lead into the bottom of the tenth.

“When it got to 3-2, I kind of just sold out for fastball,” Madera said. “[I] told myself, ‘he's throwing 96. I'm not going to let myself get beat by a fastball here.’ So I just jumped on it and luckily hit up the middle.

Having already thrown 46 pitches, Pence stayed on for the save. With two outs and a runner on second, LSU left fielder Josh Pearson flew out to Honeycutt in center. When the ball was caught, Pence threw his glove toward the dugout in celebration.

“It was the best feeling I've felt in the world, probably,” Pence said.

Boshamer Stadium will be hosting the super regionals next weekend, as the Tar Heels take on the West Virginia Mountaineers.

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