OMAHA, Nebraska — When a lead feels safe and then gradually stops feeling that way, a ballpark makes a specific sound. On Wednesday night at Charles Schwab Field, North Carolina’s bats created that exact feeling. The Tar Heels had built up a 12-1 lead against West Virginia, but during the seventh and eighth innings, they watched it erode, run by run, until the unc baseball score was 12-7 and nobody in the stadium was completely at ease.
In the end, North Carolina prevailed. For the first time since 2007, the Tar Heels will play in the College World Series finals. Head coach Scott Forbes was almost hesitant to announce this, as if doing so would ruin the team. He didn’t have to be concerned. Even though the last few innings gave the impression that it wouldn’t be, the victory was genuine.
When you look at the box score afterward, you’ll notice how lopsided this game was before it became interesting. In its first four innings, UNC scored eight runs, which is typically enough to end a game by the sixth. Batting from the leadoff-adjacent slot, Owen Hull went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a stolen base, and enough hard contact that reporters began discussing the cycle he never quite finished. Tim Federowicz and Gavin Gallaher are the only Tar Heels to record four hits and four RBIs in a single CWS game. Gallaher matched him hit for hit, finishing 4-for-5 with four RBIs. That’s a big deal. Those two performances are separated by twenty years.
The seventh inning is treated as a footnote in one version of this recap, which ends there. That would be incorrect. In the bottom of the seventh, West Virginia, trailing 12-1 and appearing to be done, scored five runs. This was the first run UNC’s bullpen had given up in more than twelve innings of work during the tournament. An infield single that had no right to be a hit was legged out by Armani Guzman. The dugout, which had appeared carefree and joyous just ten minutes before, suddenly appeared much less so.
Perhaps Forbes anticipated this. Pitching depth can be put to the test just when a team thinks it won’t be necessary. Matthew Matthijs escaped a bases-loaded jam with a double play that likely prevented the game from becoming uncomfortable an inning earlier than it ultimately did, and freshman Jackson Rose had been outstanding in relief, pitching four and a third scoreless innings before leaving. The lead had dropped from comfortable to just sufficient when West Virginia added a solo home run in the eighth inning off closer Caden Glauber.
After that, Glauber settled in and closed it out, and whenever he takes the mound this season, UNC has improved to a perfect 28-0 record. Observing that figure gives me the impression that Forbes already knows exactly who he can rely on in the most crucial situations.
When questioned about it later, Gallaher didn’t seem interested in acting as though this was simple. He brought up the 2025 team that was just one inning away from making it to Omaha, as well as the 2024 team that nearly faced two formidable opponents. It’s difficult to fully understand this group’s history from outside the dugout, but it’s difficult to ignore how frequently players from this program discuss near-misses on their own, as if they’re still processing them.
North Carolina will now have to wait until Saturday to learn if it will play Georgia or Oklahoma in the best-of-three finals. To get that matchup, the Bulldogs must defeat the Sooners twice in a row; if they don’t, Oklahoma will be waiting. In any case, the Tar Heels have won 17 of their previous 20 games and have scored at a rate that indicates this offense is still figuring out how to make a comfortable lead appear difficult. As of right now, it’s unclear if that turns into a strength or a weakness in a title series.
