University of North Carolina Athletics
Friday, May 31
Chapel Hill, NC
6 p.m.
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Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Gallaher's Walk-Off Grand Slam Lifts Diamond Heels Over LIU
June 1, 2024 | Baseball
From wire and staff reports
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Gavin Gallaher hit his second home run of the game, connecting on a walk-off grand slam with one out in the bottom of the ninth that lifted No.4 seed North Carolina over LIU, 11-8, in its opening game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels (43-13) will face No. 24 LSU (41-21) at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the winner's bracket game of the Chapel Hill Regional, while LIU (33-24) will take on Wofford (40-19) in an elimination game at noon. UNC's game against LSU will be televised on ESPN2.
"With this team, nothing surprises me," UNC head coach Scott Forbes said. "I thought our guys that last inning had really, really locked in at-bats. That's a tough atmosphere to have those at-bats. Gavin was obviously locked in all night. He had a slow heartbeat for us tonight."
The Tar Heels were down 8-5 heading in their half of the ninth after the Sharks rallied from 5-4 down with a four-run inning highlighted by Jacob Pipercic's go-ahead three-run homer.
But North Carolina was not done, especially not at home, where the team went 32-2 before this latest victory.
Vance Honeycutt was hit by a pitch to lead off, then Casey Cook singled. Anthony Donofrio's one-out single, his fourth hit of the game, loaded the bases. Alberto Osuna followed with an RBI single before reliever Justin DeCastro walked Luke Stevenson to force home a run and cut it to 8-7.
That's when Gallaher smashed a shot that landed in front of the giant video scoreboard in left center. Gallaher had his seventh home run this season and was mobbed by teammates after touching home.
"I think the biggest thing is, you know, these guys like to make jokes, but seriously, slowing the game down helps a lot," Gallaher said. "I feel like I did a good job of that tonight. I feel like I saw all these pitches well. I noticed patterns from watching the guys in front of me, the kind of pitch sequencing that their pitchers were through."
It looked like Pipercic's timely blast might send the Sharks against LSU. But Sharks' relievers PJ Moritz and DeCastro surrendered six runs on four hits with a walk and a hit batter.
J. Mastillo's three-run homer put LIU ahead 3-1 in the third. North Carolina moved in front with three runs in the sixth, helped by Alex Madera's two-run single.
North Carolina reliever Matt Poston (4-2), who gave up Pipercic's home run in the ninth, got the victory. DeCastro (4-4) picked up the loss.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Gavin Gallaher hit his second home run of the game, connecting on a walk-off grand slam with one out in the bottom of the ninth that lifted No.4 seed North Carolina over LIU, 11-8, in its opening game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels (43-13) will face No. 24 LSU (41-21) at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the winner's bracket game of the Chapel Hill Regional, while LIU (33-24) will take on Wofford (40-19) in an elimination game at noon. UNC's game against LSU will be televised on ESPN2.
"With this team, nothing surprises me," UNC head coach Scott Forbes said. "I thought our guys that last inning had really, really locked in at-bats. That's a tough atmosphere to have those at-bats. Gavin was obviously locked in all night. He had a slow heartbeat for us tonight."
The Tar Heels were down 8-5 heading in their half of the ninth after the Sharks rallied from 5-4 down with a four-run inning highlighted by Jacob Pipercic's go-ahead three-run homer.
But North Carolina was not done, especially not at home, where the team went 32-2 before this latest victory.
Vance Honeycutt was hit by a pitch to lead off, then Casey Cook singled. Anthony Donofrio's one-out single, his fourth hit of the game, loaded the bases. Alberto Osuna followed with an RBI single before reliever Justin DeCastro walked Luke Stevenson to force home a run and cut it to 8-7.
That's when Gallaher smashed a shot that landed in front of the giant video scoreboard in left center. Gallaher had his seventh home run this season and was mobbed by teammates after touching home.
"I think the biggest thing is, you know, these guys like to make jokes, but seriously, slowing the game down helps a lot," Gallaher said. "I feel like I did a good job of that tonight. I feel like I saw all these pitches well. I noticed patterns from watching the guys in front of me, the kind of pitch sequencing that their pitchers were through."
It looked like Pipercic's timely blast might send the Sharks against LSU. But Sharks' relievers PJ Moritz and DeCastro surrendered six runs on four hits with a walk and a hit batter.
J. Mastillo's three-run homer put LIU ahead 3-1 in the third. North Carolina moved in front with three runs in the sixth, helped by Alex Madera's two-run single.
North Carolina reliever Matt Poston (4-2), who gave up Pipercic's home run in the ninth, got the victory. DeCastro (4-4) picked up the loss.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Poston, Matt (4-2)
L: DeCASTRO, Justin (4-4)
Batting:
2B: NAVARRO, JC 1
HR: NAVARRO, JC 1 ; PIPERCIC, Jacob 1 ; McGURK, Matthew 1
RBI: NAVARRO, JC 4 ; PIPERCIC, Jacob 3 ; McGURK, Matthew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: FIERENZI, Benjamin 2 ; MASTILLO, Jake 1 ; NAVARRO, JC 2 ; POWER, Jack 1 ; PIPERCIC, Jacob 1 ; McGURK, Matthew 1
HBP: FIERENZI, Benjamin 1 ; POWER, Jack 1
Batting:
2B: Donofrio, Anthony 1 ; Gallaher, Gavin 1
HR: Gallaher, Gavin 2
RBI: Osuna, Alberto 2 ; Stevenson, Luke 1 ; Gallaher, Gavin 6 ; Madera, Alex 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Honeycutt, Vance 1 ; Cook, Casey 1 ; Harber, Parks 1 ; Donofrio, Anthony 1 ; Osuna, Alberto 1 ; Van De Brake, Jackson 1 ; Stevenson, Luke 2 ; Gallaher, Gavin 3
HBP: Honeycutt, Vance 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
4
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
6
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
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OF
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INF
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RHP
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C
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