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A go-ahead RBI single from Gavin Gallaher in the seventh and a massive three-run home run from Colin Hynek in the eighth helped the Diamond Heels overcome a 2-1 deficit and beat Ole Miss 6-2 in their first game at the Men’s College World Series in Omaha Friday night.
“What a great day,” head coach Scott Forbes said after the game. “Pitching duel. Their guy was on, our guy was on. It’s hard to do anything offensively for both teams.”
UNC’s Jason DeCaro and Ole Miss’s Taylor Rabe both put together excellent evenings on the mound, but it was DeCaro who left on the hook for the loss. Carolina’s ace lasted 6.2 innings while allowing only two runs, but that was enough to stake Ole Miss to a 2-1 lead. Rabe was even better than DeCaro, with his only blemish coming on an Owen Hull solo home run in the sixth. That home run tied the game at 1-1, but the Rebels answered with a run in the top of the seventh.
“We were not on the fastball as well as we needed to be,” Forbes said. “We were late, and he was beating us with fastballs. That was the goal the whole time: be on the fastball.”
Carolina put together its winning rallies once Rabe exited the game. Against reliver Hudson Calhoun in the seventh, Tyler Howe and Colin Hynek drew back-to-back walks, putting runners on first and second base with nobody out. After a Carter French bunt moved the runners over, Jake Schaffner drove in Howe with a sacrifice fly and Gavin Gallaher singled home Hynek from second base. UNC led for the first time all night.
With Caden Glauber on the mound, Forbes trusted in his relief ace to slam the door. Glauber had entered with two outs in the seventh and allowed an inherited Rebel runner to score, but the ACC Freshman of the Year was clean after that. He recorded the game’s final 10 outs finish off the victory, and Carolina is now 26-0 in games in which Glauber pitches. UNC is also 47-0 when it leads in the seventh inning or later this season.
“You have to have good outings out here,” Forbes said. “That sets the tone for the whole time.”
Carolina put a bow on the win with a two-out rally in the eighth. Cooper Nicholson reached after being hit by a pitch, then advanced to third base on a Tyler Howe double. They both came in on Hynek’s titanic blast.
Friday’s game was the first meeting in baseball between UNC and Ole Miss since 1969, and also Carolina’s first ever win against the Rebels. UNC has now won its last three opening games at the College World Series.
Up next, the Diamond Heels will face West Virginia in the winner’s bracket Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The Mountaineers defeated Troy 7-5 in Friday’s first game.
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Featured image via Associated Press/Vera Nieuwenhuis
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