USC scored eight unanswered runs to take a 9-5 win over Carolina in Game 1 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional on Friday.
The loss puts the Tar Heels on the brink of elimination from the NCAA Tournament. They’ll have to beat the Trojans in Game 2 on Saturday to force a winner-take-all Game 3 on Sunday.
Carolina took a 2-0 lead in the second inning as Jake Schaffner singled in a run and Gavin Gallaher followed with a sac fly. A leadoff home run by Andrew Lamb put USC on the board in the top of the third,
but Carolina responded with another two-spot in the bottom half as Erik Paulsen hit an RBI double and later scored on an error. In the fifth inning, Colin Hynek drove in a run with a two-out double to extend the lead to 5-1.
USC started the sixth inning with three straight hits, scoring a run on a bloop single by Kevin Takeuchi. After retiring the next two batters, starting pitcher Ryan Lynch yielded to Walker McDuffie, who walked Lamb to load the bases. Dean Carpentier then launched a grand slam–only the third home run allowed by McDuffie this season–to give the Trojans a 6-5 lead. They added three more runs in the seventh on a groundout, a fielder’s choice, and a squeeze bunt.
As USC’s bats heated up, Carolina’s bats went silent; the Trojans retired the Tar Heels in order in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. Schaffner singled to lead off the ninth, only for Gallaher to ground into a double play. Owen Hull tried to spark a two-out rally, but it was quickly snuffed out when Macon Winslow flied out to end the game.
Carolina had won 44 straight games when leading by multiple runs. The last such loss was in Game 3 of last season’s Super Regional against Arizona.
Relief pitcher Chase Herrell was credited with the win for USC. He pitched 2.0 innings and allowed one earned run on three hits with zero walks and one strikeout. Andrew Johnson was awarded a save after pitching 3.2 scoreless innings. He allowed two hits with zero walks and two strikeouts. The Trojans pulled their starter, Division I strikeout leader Mason Edwards, after he threw 77 pitches in the first three innings. He allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
Lynch’s final line was 5.2 innings, six hits, four earned runs, zero walks, and seven strikeouts. McDuffie’s was 0.1 innings, three hits, four earned runs, one walk, and zero strikeouts. He was given the loss. The Tar Heels did get a strong relief outing from Jackson Rose, who allowed one hit with zero walks and four strikeouts in 2.2 innings.
Game 2 starts at 2:00 PM ET on Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN.
