North Carolina needed a hero to extend its season on Saturday.
Jason DeCaro delivers a gem as UNC avoids elimination against USC
UNC pitcher Jason DeCaro threw a gem to keep the Tar Heels’ season alive against USC
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
The Tar Heels got just that from starting pitcher Jason DeCaro.
Facing elimination against Southern California, the Tar Heels stayed alive in the NCAA baseball tournament with a 4-0 win at home to even their Super Regional series at 1-1. And DeCaro was the star, as the righty went the distance for a complete game shutout, allowing just two hits and one walk, while striking out eight.
DeCaro was aggressive on the bump, and that paid off in a huge way as he reached an 0-2 count on 14 of the 31 batters he faced Saturday. Speaking with ESPN after the game, the first nine-inning shutout of his collegiate career, DeCaro said that was completely by design.
“Just trying to go after them, they’re a pretty aggressive bunch. We figured we’d get ahead [in the count] a good bit,” said the UNC starting pitcher.
And despite throwing over 100 pitches — 117 to be exact — DeCaro still had his velocity in the ninth inning, as he was consistently in the mid-90s during his final inning of work.
Yet the final out came on this devastating breaking ball, for a strikeout to complete the outing:
While the Tar Heels did not need much offense on Saturday, thanks to DeCaro’s stellar game, they got what they needed thanks to home runs from Colin Hynek and Erik Paulsen. Each drilled a solo shot to spark the North Carolina offense.
Their other two runs came via sacrifice flies.
But DeCaro was the story, as the righty delivered a true gem in likely his final start in front of the North Carolina faithful, as he is a likely early pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. It was also something of a redemption arc for DeCaro, who lasted just over three innings in each of his last two starts, before stepping up when UNC needed him the most on Saturday.
“We knew we had to win two games no matter what this weekend, so just keeping that mindset,” added DeCaro after the game.
The two team will meet tomorrow with a spot in the Men’s College World Series on the line.
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