CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina fought back with its back against the wall, taking game two of the Super Regionals 4-0 over Southern California at Boshamer Stadium on Saturday.
Starter Jason DeCaro provided a complete-game shutout for the Tar Heels, keeping the hopes of a 13th College World Series Appearance alive. Game three against the Trojans will be a win-or-go-home contest.
“When you get a performance like that, it gives you an opportunity to win,” head coach Scott Forbes said.
Below are some notes from the season-saving victory:
* DeCaro was given the nod to start, needing his best stuff of the season to keep the campaign alive. Coming off two straight rough performances, not only did he show great stuff, but he may have provided the best outing of his entire career. Nine innings of two-hit work made it look easy against an elite offense.
“It took me a little bit to settle in today, but after the third inning I had a couple of quick outs,” DeCaro said. “I came back to the dugout and told Coach Gaines that I felt a lot better then.”
* As the designated “away” team, the Tar Heels hit in the top of the inning. They continued the trend from the end of yesterday’s game of making good contact but not finding grass. Jake Schaffner, Gavin Gallaher, and Owen Hull all made good contact, but only Gallaher reached because of it.
* DeCaro didn’t produce a loud first inning by any means, but he got out of it in 17 pitches. His overall bad outings often start badly, so it was positive to see him establish a rhythm early.
* Colin Hynek was moved to the sixth spot in the order after Cooper Nicholson had a bad outing in game one, and he immediately cleared the fence in his first at-bat. This gave the Heels another early lead and helped start the momentum for this outing.
* One of the early plays of the game occurred in the bottom of the second, after DeCaro walked a batter with one out. That runner took off stealing in the next at-bat, and Hynek and Schaffner connected on a beautifully executed throwdown to cut him down. The batter popped out in the next pitch, and DeCaro’s lapse of control with the walk didn’t come back to bite him.
* The Heels loaded the bases with one out in the third but did not plate a single run. This is the second time in as many days that this has happened. These are moments that define games, and in this case, seasons. The execution has to be better. On the flip side, the Trojans had one opportunity with bases loaded in game one, and they turned it into a grand slam. That’s the major difference in the series.
* It wasn’t the same dominance against the USC starter in this one, but the Heels still knocked him out after five innings. It helped that he pitched in the win-or-go-home game on Monday in the College Station Regional, but he was feeling good enough to go over 80 pitches in this one.
* Erik Paulsen flexed some backside power against the reliever, going oppo for a solo shot in the sixth. This doubled the Tar Heel lead and gave the offense some juice. Plenty of fans were wishing this at-bat could’ve occurred with some runners on, but a score is a score.
* The offense finally strung it together in the sixth, utilizing some power, bunting, and sacrifice hits to score a pair. In a low-scoring game, this was a huge inning to widen the gap, especially with how explosive USC’s offense has been. The Heels followed with another run in the seventh off a sacrifice fly.
* Despite a win, the Heels left 13 runners on base, going 3-17 in that situation. They were 0-9 with runners in scoring position and 0-4 with the bases loaded. This is simply not a sustainable practice, and the offense needs to figure out how to score even half of those runners, especially if they want to go to the College World Series and potentially win it.
“We were a couple of swings away from breaking this one open,” Hynek said. “And you know what? Might as well save them for tomorrow.”
* The crowd erupted when Jason DeCaro went out there to finish his gem in the ninth.
“Coach Gaines told me to use the crowd to my advantage,” DeCaro said. “It’s not about executing the pitch; it’s just about getting after it out there for the ninth inning.”
Game three is set for 3 p.m. on Sunday.
© 2005-2026 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. 247Sports is a registered service mark of CBT Sports, LLC. Scout is a registered service mark of CBS 247 Inc. Fans Only is a registered service mark of CSTV Online, Inc.
The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and 247Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event.
There is no gambling offered on this site. This site contains commercial content and 247Sports may be compensated for the links provided on this site.
Leave a Reply