UNC Sets NCAA Tournament Record with 18-2 Win Over Arizona

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina — The University of North Carolina baseball team set a new NCAA tournament record on Friday, defeating Arizona 18-2 in game one of the Super Regionals.

UNC scored eight runs in the first two innings, quickly building a lead that the team maintained throughout the game. This win marks the highest run total the Tar Heels have achieved in an NCAA tournament game.

Carolina has frequently jumped out to significant early leads in this tournament. In earlier games, the team led 6-0 after the first inning against Oklahoma and had an 8-2 lead against the Sooners in an elimination game.

In this match, even with a comfortable lead, the Tar Heels continued to perform aggressively; they scored five runs in the eighth inning to secure their record-setting victory over the Wildcats.

Player Gavin Gallaher led the offense, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and scoring three runs. He has now collected 17 hits in 23 at-bats during the NCAA tournament, giving him an impressive .739 batting average for the postseason.

Hunter Stokely also had a standout game, getting three hits, driving in five runs, and scoring two runs himself. Collectively, the team hit four home runs, with contributions from Gallaher, Stokely, Luke Stevenson, and Sam Angelo.

On the pitching side, Jake Knapp had another solid outing. Though he allowed nine hits and faced two bases-loaded situations, he skillfully escaped those jams. In the second inning, Arizona had the bases loaded with one out, but Knapp induced a double play to end the threat. He managed to limit Arizona to just one run during a bases-loaded scenario in the fourth inning.

Knapp pitched seven innings, giving up nine hits and two runs while striking out three batters. His performance further solidified his reputation as one of the team’s dominant pitchers this season.

With this victory, the Tar Heels are now just one win away from advancing to the College World Series in Omaha. They will play game two against Arizona on Saturday at noon (EST) at Boshamer Stadium.