'We didn't get it done': UNC baseball's late game magic runs out in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. — UNC’s College World Series game on Tuesday had all the makings of another magical finish. 

The Tar Heels fell behind early and used a big inning to catapult themselves back into the contest. Their superstar Vance Honeycutt went 3-5, including a three-run moonshot. They entered the final frame down just two runs. 

For a team whose calling card all postseason has been ninth-inning magic, it almost seemed inevitable that UNC would have another trick up its sleeve. 

But when all was said and done and Florida State made the final out, UNC’s season ended unceremoniously. No walk-off celebration in right field or at home plate. No jersey lying on the grass after being ripped off of the late-game hero.

There was nothing but tears and end-of-year hugs. It was over, just like that. The magic had run out.

After digging themselves in a 7-1 hole, the No. 4 Diamond Heels fell 9-5 to No. 8 Florida State in an elimination game in Omaha. With UNC’s season on the line, uncharacteristic mistakes prevented the team from manufacturing another comeback and extending their search for the program’s first national championship.

“We came down here, and I think the postseason sums it up,” redshirt sophomore left fielder Casey Cook said. “We didn't hit like we necessarily wanted to. We knew we were capable of doing more, but we found a way. We found a way. We found a way. And then, we didn't get it done.”

The Tar Heels started slow offensively and found themselves facing a major deficit. Junior pitcher Aidan Haugh — UNC’s third starter who struggled in recent outings — only managed to go 2.1 innings and allowed three earned runs.

Even North Carolina’s most reliable reliever, redshirt sophomore Dalton Pence, did not have his best stuff. After four consecutive scoreless appearances over 14.2 innings, Pence watched as Seminole batters hammered away at his deliveries en route to a four-run top of the fifth.  

Pence, who has seemed invincible throughout the postseason, failed to locate his cutter and FSU capitalized.

“They made Dalton pay for some mistakes,” head coach Scott Forbes said.

As the Tar Heels tried to crawl back into the game, self-inflicted wounds plagued their comeback effort. The pitching staff dished out ten free passes, leading to three Florida State runs. In the seventh, with Honeycutt on first and the tying run at the plate, the center fielder ran himself into an out by being picked off while stealing second. 

The team has prided itself on clean baseball all year, but these missteps made overcoming a six-run deficit that much tougher.

Still, the team fought.

“That's just how this team's been all year,” Honeycutt said. “There’s just no quit.”

Off the heels of allowing four runs in the fifth, UNC responded. Honeycutt mashed a no-doubter into left field, driving in three runs. Later in the inning, senior designated hitter Jackson Van De Brake added just his 11th RBI of the season with a two-out single up the middle.

In the blink of an eye, North Carolina was back within striking distance. 

But the setbacks were just too much to overcome. After pitching 2.1 scoreless innings, sophomore Cameron Padgett gave up a leadoff home run on the first pitch of the ninth inning. And then he gave up another. Back to back. 

“The guy hit a mistake,” Forbes said. “And that’s what good hitters do.”

Suddenly, UNC was back down four runs. The gap was too wide to close. The magic was slowly dissipating. 

The Tar Heels flirted with danger throughout the postseason. 

Facing a potential upset against regional no. 4 seed LIU, they rallied from a three-run deficit in the ninth. Needing a win in game seven of the Chapel Hill regional, they entered the final frame trailing by a run. Adding to their dramatics, they staged another last-inning comeback in game one of the super regionals.

In Omaha, that magic ran its course. 

And for the 12th time in program history, the Tar Heels left the city without the national championship trophy in hand.

“That word ‘belief’ is extremely important and having faith,” Forbes said. “And there was no doubt in my mind [that if] we get the tying run [to the plate], something crazy was going to happen. Unfortunately, it just didn't.”

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