OMAHA, Neb. — Gavin Gallaher’s two-run triple gave North Carolina the lead in the seventh inning to help send the Tar Heels to a 5-2 win over West Virginia in the College World Series on Sunday night.
The Tar Heels (52-12-1) opened a CWS with two straight wins for the first time in eight appearances since 2006 and need one more victory to reach the best-of-three finals next weekend. They’re off until Wednesday, when they’ll meet the winner of a Tuesday elimination game between the 16th-seeded Mountaineers (46-16) and Troy (39-31). The Sun Belt’s Trojans won 12-8 against Ole Miss in an elimination game earlier Sunday.
“Our goal is to play really well on Wednesday,” North Carolina coach Scott Forbes said, “but I think I’ll sleep pretty good tonight going 2-0.”
The Tar Heels, an Atlantic Coast Conference program and the No. 5 national seed for the NCAA Division I tournament, scored three unearned runs against Big 12 pitcher of the year Maxx Yehl (9-3) to break a 2-all tie in the seventh with country music star Eric Church cheering them on in a suite.
They had runners on first and second after West Virginia third baseman Tyrus Hall and second baseman Brodie Kresser couldn’t come up with grounders. Gallaher lined a ball deep into the gap in right center for a 4-2 lead and he came home when Owen Hull sent a ball up the middle for a single.
“When you give a great team five outs, it’s hard to get through it,” Mountaineers coach Steve Sabins said, “and the ground ball broke our back.”
An inning earlier, Forbes called a team meeting in the dugout and, according to ESPN, told his players they needed to play looser and have more fun. The Tar Heels went three up, three down in the sixth, but by the next inning, Gallaher and his teammates were having a jolly time on a clear and cool evening at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
Forbes called Gallaher “Mr. Clutch” for his history of coming up with big hits in critical situations over his three years in the program.
“I just try to keep everything the same, stick to my routine and trust my preparation,” Gallaher said. “I keep grinding.”
Gallaher said he also finds comfort having Forbes coaching third base.
“Always has a smile on his face, and that takes weight off your shoulders,” he said.
The mood in the Tar Heels’ dugout changed in the ninth. Walker McDuffie (9-3), who relieved starter Ryan Lynch in the fifth, gave up a walk and a single to bring Ben Lumsden to the plate as the potential tying run with one out.
Caden Glauber, who pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief in a 6-2 win over Ole Miss on Friday, came on and struck out Lumsden and Hall to earn his fifth save this season.
Sabins said the task they face to reach the title series is difficult but not insurmountable. The Mountaineers won three elimination games in their Morgantown Regional on the opening weekend of the NCAA tourney.
“We were able to scratch back and claw back,” he said. “You get a little bit more rest in this event. So guys get rested, recover, come back and try to eliminate a team in a day.”