By Adam Lucas
1. Huge 5-2 win for Carolina over West Virginia, which moves the Tar Heels into Wednesday’s bracket final.
2. It wasn’t real pretty, but it didn’t have to be. The biggest offensive breakthrough came after a pair of West Virginia errors in the seventh. Those miscues from the Big XII’s best fielding team led to three unearned runs, but being opportunistic is part of having a good offense.
3. The big swing in the seventh came from Gavin Gallaher. His two-run triple on a 1-2 pitch felt like it provided the first breathing room of the game. Owen Hull then scored Gallaher with an RBI single for the eventual 5- winning margin.
4. Five runs felt like a big total with the type of pitching Carolina was getting. Ryan Lynch wasn’t his sharpest but still carried the game into the fifth, allowing just two runs on five hits. He struck out two and walked two.
5. That turned the game over to Walker McDuffie, who was excellent. The sophomore earned the win after throwing 3.2 shutout innings, scattering three hits and striking out four. He then handed the ball to freshman Caden Glauber, who was dominant in striking out the only two batters he faced.
6. The Heels were happy to get two early runs in the bottom of the first, but might have wished for even more. After loading the bases with one out, an Erik Paulsen walk scored the game’s first run, and then a Cooper Nicholson fielder’s choice made it 2-0. One more base hit in that scenario would have made the game feel very different.
7. It didn’t take the Mountaineers long to tie it. They pushed one across in the third and one more in the fourth. In both those innings, big Carolina defensive plays minimized the damage. In the third, Colin Hynek threw out Armani Guzman stealing third, snapping a 21-for-21 WVU base stealing rate in the postseason. And then in the fourth, a Gallaher to Jake Schaffner to Erik Paulsen double play allowed a run to score but kept more traffic off the bases.
8. A big stat from the opportunistic offense: the Heels were 3-3 with runners on third and less than two outs. The other underappreciated stat: the Heels turned two double plays. Stellar infield defense has been a big part of this postseason run.
9. So now Carolina is in the same position they were in 20 years ago, having won the first two games and able to await Troy and West Virginia burning through some pitching in their Tuesday matchup.
10. The Heels will face the winner of that game on Wednesday at 1 p.m. One win would put Carolina in the best-of-three national championship series. You have to think it’s an advantage that Scott Forbes has been in this scenario before–the days off are valuable but it’s also a long time to sit when you feel like you’re playing well. His 2006 experience will help him shape these next couple of days.
