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May 29, 2026; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels infielder Gavin Gallaher (5) is greeted by his teammates after scoring during game 2 of the Chapel Hill Regional at Boshamer Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images | William Howard-Imagn Images
Twenty-four hours ago, UNC looked like it was in for one of the toughest regionals out of any of the top eight seeds — if not top sixteen. They were staring down a team they had already played before, and then they would face the winner of an ECU-Tennessee game that had saved their Aces for the Saturday game. Meanwhile teams like UCLA and Auburn looked like they had a cake walk to the next round.
As they say, that’s why you play the games.
The most important thing is that Carolina took control against VCU early — scoring three in the first inning — and Ryan Lynch didn’t pitch like a second day starter. UNC got exactly what they needed in a long outing from Lynch, only had to use one arm from the pen, and pulled away late to an easy 8-0 win over the Rams. Before that final out was recorded, though, UCLA and Auburn had already lost, meaning they’ll have to win four games in three days to make it to the next round, and Carolina’s opponent today — ECU — had to endure a fourteen-inning marathon against Tennessee just to get to this game. In doing so, they had to use their Friday starter, meaning their pen is already in rough shape.
It really was everything Carolina could have asked for going into this game — but this is also an opponent that has a win against Carolina this season early on, and the in-state rivalries mean you can throw a lot of metrics away when seeing how the two stack up.
For what it’s worth, Carolina whipped ECU the last time they faced each other with DeCaro on the the mound 10-0 in eight innings, and DeCaro had what is still his longest outing of the season. He went all eight innings that day, with one walk and seven strikeouts. This was in February, though, and the weather will be a lot warmer in Chapel Hill tonight for a squad that used the long ball to take down the Volunteers yesterday.
With ECU using Ethan Norby for over four innings yesterday, it’s quite possible ECU will just go with a committee approach for this game. That could be enough to fluster Carolina, but keep in mind the Pirates had to use four arms for at least two innings — so while some will be rested, it’s also telling who didn’t come in when ECU had to have the win.
All of this gets started later this afternoon, after Tennessee and VCU face off to see who’ll be heading home and who’ll stay one more day and play tomorrow at noon. If you can’t be at the Bosh, here’s how you can catch the action:
- Time: 5:00 PM ET (or about an hour after the end of Tennessee/VCU, whichever is later)
- Location: Boshamer Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC
- TV: ACC Network, where Mike Monaco will continue his great play-by-play work with Ben McDonald doing color.
- Streaming: ESPN+or ESPN Unlimited. If you subscribe to a cable service some now have agreements with ESPN to where you’ll have access already included.
- Radio: WCHL 97.9 in Chapel Hill as well as online and through the Varsity app. Dave Nathan will take you through the game for the Tar Heels, and it’s free.
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