The North Carolina Tar Heels and Stanford Cardinal were forced to the dugout in the ninth inning of Saturday’s Super Regional matchup as rain and lightning pelted the field in Chapel Hill. Stanford was trailing at the time, and needed to pull out a comeback win to survive and force a third game. But when play resumed, the Tar Heels tacked on an insurance run and the Cardinal were unable to answer, ending their NCAA Tournament with a 7-5 loss.
NCAA Baseball Super Regionals: North Carolina Weathers Rain Delay, Eliminates Stanford, 7-5
Stanford scored first, plating in a run in the bottom of the first, but was unable to find the offense again until the eighth inning. By then, North Carolina had opened a 6-1 lead, putting the Cardinal on the ropes late in the Super Regional matchup. It came in bunches as the Tar Heels scored three in the fourth and three in the seventh to take control of the game.
Kent Emanuel earned the win for North Carolina after allowing just one run on five hits over six innings. Michael Norin earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning. Jordan Pries lasted just 3-1/3 innings while allowing three runs on six hits for the Cardinal. His replacements didn’t fare much better -- Brian Busick gave up a run over 2-2/3 innings and Chris Reed gave up three runs over three innings.
North Carolina advances to the College World Series with its sweep of Stanford. The Tar Heels are off until next weekend, when the final eight teams take the field in Omaha.
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