Diamond Heels Set For Super Regional Against Arizona

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Tar Heels enter their second Super Regional in as many years, where they will face off against Arizona with first pitch of game one scheduled for Friday, June 6 at noon ET.

It will be the 12th all-time appearance in the Super Regional round for North Carolina, who holds a 17-8 record and have advanced on eight of those occasions. Boshamer Stadium has played host to the supers nine times, with Carolina emerging victorious in seven.

The No. 2 seed from the Eugene Regional, the Wildcats come in hot after sweeping last weekend. It will be the first time since 1990 that these two programs have gone to battle, with Arizona leading 3-2 all-time.

SCHEDULE
Game 1: Friday, June 6 - 12 PM ET - ESPN2
Game 2: Saturday, June 7 - 12 PM ET - ESPN2
Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, June 8 - TBD

#1 North Carolina Tar Heels (45-13, 18-11 ACC)
Super Regionals: 12 (Last: 2024)
CWS Apperances: 12 (Last: 2024)
Head Coach: Scott Forbes
Record at North Carolina: 199-102

#21 Arizona Wildcats (42-18, 18-12 Big 12)
Super Regionals: 6 (Last: 2021)
CWS Appearances: 18 (Last: 2021)
Head Coach: Chip Hale
Record at Arizona: 150-92

RUN THROUGH THE REGIONAL
➤ North Carolina took care of business in the Chapel Hill Regional, going 3-1 to advance to the next round.
➤ They opened with a 4-0 win over Holy Cross, the team's fifth shutout of the season. Jake Knapp continued to deal, striking out seven with just four hits in 8.1 IP (the most by a UNC pitcher in the postseason since 2013.
➤ UNC took the winners bracket game over No. 2 seed Oklahoma with an offensive outburst, scoring six runs in the first inning. Sam Angelo brought the highlights with a pair of home runs against projected first round pick Kyson Witherspoon. Jason DeCaro picked up the win with eight Ks in 6.0 innings of work with no walks.
➤ The Sooners, back into a corner, won Sunday's contest 9-5 to force a game seven on Monday.
➤ The final face off would be all Heels, who won 14-4 to punch their ticket to the next round.
➤ Gavin Gallaher, who was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player, finished off his red-hot weekend with four hits, four runs, and four RBIs featuring a pair of home runs that put the final nail in the coffin.
➤ True freshmen on the mound shutdown the Oklahoma offense. Ryan Lynch got his second career start and went 5.0 with six strikeouts before Walker McDuffie came in for the final 4.0 and recorded seven punchouts.
➤ The Heels were incredibly clutch at the plate throughout the weekend, 22 of their 34 RBIs came with two-outs against them.

MAMBO NO. 5
➤ North Carolina was tabbed as the No. 5 national seed for the 2025 tournament, the first time they've been given that particular number in the postseason.
➤ It's the ninth time the Heels have earned a top-eight seed, advancing to the CWS on seven of those occasions.
➤ Carolina has made the NCAA postseason eight straight seasons, the longest active streak in the ACC. Wake Forest sits in second at four in a row.
➤ North Carolina leads the nation in the number of times hosting regionals since 2006, sitting in a tie with Florida State at 13 total. In those years, the Heels hold a 38-8 record in the regionals while advancing to supers 12 times.
➤ The Tar Heel's all-time super regional record is 17-8 (.680). They are looking to advance beyond the supers in consecutive seasons for fourth time. UNC went four years in a row from 2006-09.
➤ Head coach Scott Forbes has led the Tar Heels into the postseason each of his first five seasons, the only coach in program history to do so.

GAVIN GALLAHIM
➤ The sophomore standout Gavin Gallaher has come on incredibly strong down the stretch for the Heels, culminating in an absolutely unbelievable performance that earned him his second straight Chapel Hill Regional Most Outstanding Player award.
➤ On the weekend, he hit .722 with 13 hits, seven runs, three doubles, his first career triple, three home runs, and 10 RBIs.
➤ The hits and RBIs were the most by a Heel in a regional this century and the 3 homers were the most since 2006. He failed to reach safely just four times.
➤ This follows up the 2024 regional where his walk-off grand slam of LIU helped earn him his first career MOP honors.

SNIPPET OF TAR HEEL HISTORY
➤ The last time Carolina won against the Wildcats, one of our own made the decisive play.
➤ In 1989 the Tar Heels took down No. 1 ranked Arizona 5-3 in the Carolina Invitational, a tournament that served a warm-up for the postseason. UNC ran all the way to the CWS that season.
➤ It took a 10th inning two-run triple from Dave Arendas (current Director of Operations) to lift UNC to victory. With the corners juiced, the Heels' starting second baseman Arendas lined a ball to right center.
➤ Arendas also scored UNC's first point of the game as part of a three-run inning that was capped off by Bob Honeycutt, father of future Carolina home run king Vance, hitting a go-ahead sac fly.
➤ Carolina coach Mike Roberts was ejected in the contest.

ARM TALENT
➤ The Tar Heels' staff leads the ACC in a number of categories including ERA (3.39, 3rd NCAA), WHIP (1.23, 8th NCAA), and walks allowed per nine (3.52, 28th NCAA).
➤ The gap between Carolina's conference leading ERA and 2nd place (UVA, 4.68, +1.3) is bigger than the gap between 2nd and 14th (BC, 5.96, +1.28).
➤ Carolina's starters are all over the ACC leader boards, pacing the conference game only lists in at least five categories.
➤ The trio of starters make Carolina the only team with three inside the top-10 in ERA in the ACC.
➤ Peaking at the right time, Jason DeCaro has a 2.29 ERA with five wins in his last seven outings.
➤ UNC put up games with 17 and 14 strikeouts back-to-back twice in week two alone. The last time the team had 14+ Ks in back-to-back games more than once in the same season was 2008.
➤ In game one against NC State, neither team recorded a walk. It is the first time that's happened in a Carolina contest since at least the turn of the century. Dating back to the Queens contest, the Heels went 23 straight innings without surrendering a free base.
➤ UNC has six games this year where they haven't allowed a walk, the program's most since 2013.

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Players Mentioned

Sam Angelo

Jason DeCaro

Gavin Gallaher

Jake Knapp

Ryan Lynch

Walker McDuffie