OMAHA, Neb. — Colin Hynek’s three-run homer broke open a close game in the eighth inning and sent North Carolina to a 6-2 win over Ole Miss in the College World Series on Friday night at Charles Schwab Stadium Omaha.
The Atlantic Coast Conference’s Tar Heels, seeded fifth nationally, prevailed in what began as a pitchers’ duel between Jason DeCaro and Rebels starter Taylor Rabe. North Carolina had just three hits through seven innings and led 3-2 when Hynek ripped Walker Hook’s first-pitch changeup to him out to left with two outs.
“You have to do special things to win and get this far already, but you have to do even more special things to win out here,” Carolina coach Scott Forbes said of the cavernous confines in which the CWS is played. “It’s all about pitching and defending and being fundamentally sound and manufacturing a run. The ballpark is going to play bigger out here, so you have to have good outings. That sets the tone.”
North Carolina (51-12-1), playing in the CWS for the second time in three years, will face West Virginia (46-15) on Sunday with control of its four-team double-elimination bracket at stake. Ole Miss (41-22), in Omaha for the first time since winning the national title in 2022 and one of five Southeastern Conference schools in this year’s CWS, will try to stave off elimination against Troy (38-31) on Sunday.
The Big 12’s Mountaineers beat the Sun Belt’s Trojans 7-5 earlier Friday in the CWS opener.
North Carolina scored twice in the seventh inning to take a 3-2 lead, with Jake Schaffner’s sacrifice fly tying it and Gavin Gallaher’s line drive up the middle driving in the go-ahead run.
Rebels leadoff man Dom Decker, hitless in two CWS games for Murray State last year, doubled twice off DeCaro. Decker’s first double put Ole Miss up 1-0 in the third, and he scored the go-ahead run in the seventh on Judd Utermark’s single off Caden Glauber.
DeCaro, the North Carolina ace who pitched a two-hitter against the University of Southern California in the second game of the NCAA Division I tournament’s Chapel Hill Super Regional last Saturday, struck out nine batters in 6 2/3 innings and appeared to get stronger as he went along until Decker’s hit in the seventh. Glauber (11-0) worked the last 2 1/3 innings.
Owen Hull, the hero of the Tar Heels’ super regional-clinching walk-off win over USC last Sunday, homered off Rabe in the sixth to tie it at 1.
“The guy’s pitch count was pretty high, and that was our goal,” Hull said. “We knew we would get to him eventually, and we did just that.”
Rabe, who retired the next two batters before Hudson Calhoun relieved, had turned in strong starts in the regional and super regional rounds of the NCAA tourney but wasn’t as sharp against the Tar Heels. He allowed one hit over the first five innings, but he walked a season-high four batters.
The Rebels had broken through against DeCaro in the third after left fielder Tyler Howe lost Brayden Randle’s fly in the sun. The ball landed just inside the line, Randle ended up on second and he came home on Decker’s double.
“We had the lead and we couldn’t finish,” Rebels coach Mike Bianco said. “But I thought Taylor pitched his guts off today, and of course, Judd with the big hit. Just came up a little short. And it happens.
“North Carolina did more to win it than we did.”