UNC baseball on edge after loss in first game of College World Series finals
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Oklahoma beat North Carolina 9-3 in Game 1 of the College World Series finals.
- Oklahoma has won nine consecutive games during its NCAA postseason run.
- UNC hit 4 of 19 with runners on base and left 10 runners stranded.
“An underdog is still a freakin’ dog.”
That was Mississippi State softball’s rallying cry when it knocked out Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament. It appears the Sooners baseball team adopted the slogan for itself, and on Saturday, North Carolina became the latest victim of OU’s postseason hot streak.
The No. 5 Tar Heels fell to the unseeded Sooners, 9-3, in Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series championship series after giving up four runs in the fourth inning. Oklahoma (42-22) has now won nine consecutive games after knocking out the ACC, SEC and Big 12 champions en route to its national title appearance.
UNC (53-13-1) will play a must-win Game 2 against OU at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The Tar Heels are in familiar territory. This is the second time in the NCAA Tournament that Carolina has lost Game 1 of a series, after falling to Southern Cal to open the Chapel Hill Super Regional. It came back to win and advance to Omaha.
“They played really well, I thought, in all phases. That’s why they came out on top,” said North Carolina head coach Scott Forbes. “Our guys competed, loved the way they carried themselves, but I believe you give credit where credit is due, and I thought Oklahoma played a pretty complete game.”
For the first three innings, it felt like Carolina was in the driver’s seat.
Despite falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first, UNC responded in the bottom half of the inning to take a one-run lead. The Tar Heels recorded four straight hits, including three consecutive doubles, and a sacrifice fly to take the lead.
Starting pitcher Jason DeCaro also seemed to settle in, while the defense made huge plays behind him. Right fielder Carter French ran into the outfield fence, his glove getting stuck in the padding along the top, as he robbed the Sooners of a home run.
Even when the Sooners tied the game 3-3 in the top of the third, nothing indicated the Tar Heels were out of the game.
The wheels came off in the fourth.
With one out, DeCaro walked one batter and Oklahoma’s Dasan Harris hit his second double of the game. DeCaro recorded his sixth strikeout and was poised to end the inning. However, OU’s Kyle Branch notched his first hit in Omaha, driving in both runners, past a diving Jake Schaffner at shortstop. A stolen base, wild pitch and consecutive singles — one of which bounced off Schaffner’s glove — plated two more runs. The Sooners finished with three stolen bases, all in the fourth.
Sophomore Walker McDuffie replaced DeCaro mid-inning. McDuffie gave up the second RBI single of the frame, but DeCaro was charged with the run.
DeCaro, who entered the game with a 2.31 ERA, recorded a season-high seven earned runs. He finished with seven hits, six strikeouts and one walk.
The junior right-hander got ahead in the count against 11 of 19 batters faced. He was ahead 0-2 against eight. Three batters who went down 0-2 responded with extra-base hits — two doubles and one home run. UNC trailed 7-3 midway through the fourth inning.
“They just really punished the mistakes,” DeCaro said. “Feel like for the most part, (I) made some pitches, and then whenever I did leave the ball over the plate, especially with two strikes, they capitalized. Credit to them for that.”
Forbes said during an in-game ESPN interview that it was “only the fifth inning.” He emphasized the importance of his team having a short memory and responding as it has all season.
“That four spot, we can’t do anything about it,” Forbes said.
He was right, but Carolina didn’t do anything about it in the subsequent innings. In fact, the Heels’ previous struggles with leaving players stranded appeared once again. The Tar Heels left 10 runners on base, hitting 4 of 19 (.211) with runners on. It was 1 for 5 (.200) with players in scoring position. In fact, at least one UNC runner reached base in five of the final six innings but did not plate any additional runs.
On advancement opportunities, the Heels went 5 for 20 (.250). Meanwhile, the Sooners hit .378 and were 11 of 22 (.500) when runners were in position to advance.
Additionally, the Tar Heels recorded four hits in the first inning but finished with three in the final eight.
McDuffie threw 2 1/3 innings and gave up four hits and one run. Tom Chmielewski and Cameron Padgett closed the game. Chmielewski was tabbed with the ninth run after walking the leadoff batter in the ninth, but Padgett gave up the single and double play that ultimately allowed the runner to cross home.
“I was really proud of Chewie for going in there — never pitching here (in Omaha) — and keeping us in the game, giving us a chance to come back,” Forbes said. “We could just never piece it together and make that run that we generally do.”
Oklahoma catcher Deiten LaChance put the Sooners ahead in the top of the first, hitting a two-run home run to right center field. LaChance’s bomb was only the eighth homer off DeCaro this season. LaChance later tied the game at 3-3 after hitting his second home run of the game. Harris went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles, both off DeCaro, and one RBI.
Schaffner finished 3 for 5 with a run scored, while second baseman Gavin Gallaher had one run, one hit and two RBI.
Gallaher, Schaffner and center fielder Owen Hull collided in center field during the second inning, giving Harris one of his two doubles. All three Tar Heels came away unscathed.
Just another weekend series
The Tar Heels are not down after the loss and know how to respond.
Forbes said the team will meet briefly, but he doesn’t feel the need for a huge pep talk. His squad knows what’s on the line, and it’s been here before. The Tar Heels lost Game 1 against not only Southern Cal, but also lost its openers against Boston College and Clemson.
“I said, ‘You got to forget this one, just like we forget all of them, wins or losses,’” Forbes said. “That’s being process-oriented. Don’t let outcomes be distractions. … You’re playing a weekend series, and we’re trying to do what we’ve done really well and win the series. Unfortunately, we lost Game 1, and that’s a stinker. But you gotta win two. We were in a really tough spot against a really good Southern Cal team. We found a way. I have a lot of confidence in these guys, and we’ll go about our business the same way we’ve been doing it all year.”
This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 7:05 PM with the headline "UNC baseball on edge after loss in first game of College World Series finals."
