NCAA baseball tournament: UNC completes the comeback against USC

When the North Carolina Tar Heels came to bat in the bottom of the eight inning of Game 3 of their Super Regional matchup against USC, the No. 5 team in the nation trailed 3-1, and were just six outs away from elimination.

After a dramatic comeback to win 4-3, the Tar Heels are now headed to Omaha for the second time in the last three seasons.

UNC got a key hit off the bat of Owen Hull in the bottom of the ninth, the outfielder’s fourth double of the game, to bring home the game-winning run and book a trip to the Men’s College World Series for the Tar Heels.

“Oh it means the world,” said Hull to ESPN after the game. “This is one special team and we’re looking forward to playing in Omaha.”

UNC dropped Game 1 on Friday, but rode a gem of a start from Jason DeCaro on Saturday to force a decisive Game 3. But the Tar Heels fell behind early, as a balk from Sunday starting pitcher Caden Glauber brought a run home for the Trojans in the top of the first.

The Tar Heels tied the game in the bottom of the third on an RBI double from Hull down the right-field line that brought MLB Draft prospect Jake Schaffner around to score from first. But the Trojans tacked on runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, on solo home runs from Kevin Takeuchi and Andrew Lamb, to stake USC to a 3-1 lead.

Glauber settled in from there, keeping the Tar Heels close.

However, USC starter Andrew Johnson was cruising. The sophomore right-hander, who pitched 3.2 innings on Friday in relief to earn the save, lasted deep into Game 3, exiting in the bottom of the eighth after giving up a double to Macon Winslow that brought Hull around to score.

USC got out of the eighth with a 3-2 lead, but everything changed in the bottom of the ninth.

Adam Troy, who closed out the eighth, retired Tyler Howe on a grounder to second to start the inning. But after Troy walked Cooper Nicholson and started 3-0 to Carter French, USC head coach Andy Stankiewicz came out of the dugout again to pull his closer, turning the game over to Chase Harrell – who got the win in relief on Friday – to get the final two outs.

The USC reliever battled back against French to work the count 3-2, with a pair of fastballs low in the zone, but French then laced a single through the right side, advancing Nicholson to third and putting the potential winning run on first.

That brought leadoff hitter Schaffner to the plate. He lofted a flyball to center on the first pitch he saw from Harrell, driving it deep enough for Nicholson to come home on the sacrifice fly and tie the game at 3-3:

Gavin Gallaher came to the plate next, already a hero in Chapel Hill lore. Back in 2024 Gallaher, then a freshman, belted a walk-off grand slam to cap off a comeback win over Long Island in the Chapel Hill regional. Gallaher walked, bringing Hull, UNC’s RBI leader, to the plate with a pair of runners on and French on second as the potential winning run.

Harrell missed with the first two pitches, falling behind 2-0 to Hull, who delivered an RBI single earlier in the game. Following a mound conference, Hull dug into the batter’s box for the third pitch of the at-bat, and lofted a pop-up along the left-field line. But the ball fell harmlessly between USC fielders, giving Hull an extra life.

He made the most of it:

Hull drilled a line drive to deep left-center, and Takeuchi’s sliding attempt on the warning track came up short. It was the fourth double of the game from Hull, sending UNC to the Men’s College World Series for the second time in the last three years.

The loss means the Big Ten will be without a team in the Men’s College World Series, as the Trojans were the last team alive in the Super Regionals.