OMAHA, NEB. - Karen Ananea's favorite part of watching her son, Tim Federowicz, hit a home run is seeing him round the bases. But she didn't get to do it Friday night; she was enveloped in too many hugs, and she was holding back too many tears.

Ananea said seeing Tim, a North Carolina junior catcher, hit a ninth-inning grand slam to avoid elimination by LSU in the College World Series "was the most emotional experience I've had watching him play ball."

Especially because she could do it in person.

Traveling to Rosenblatt Stadium once -- much less three straight years, like the Tar Heels -- is an expensive proposition for families, because the trip can stretch up to two weeks and cost up to $5,000. So when she feared she wouldn't be able to make it to Omaha this time around, her company -- Durham-based Inspire Pharmaceuticals, where she hasn't been working long -- took up a collection to make sure she could go.

"They surprised me with it, and I'm just so overwhelmed by their generosity," she said. "It's a real blessing for me to be able to come out here ... and I can't wait go back and tell everyone how much I appreciate it."

Tim's dad, Joe Federowicz, said he had a plane ticket for Monday already booked in the event that UNC beat Fresno State twice to advance to the championship series. He watched the dramatic hit on his television in Apex -- and by noon Saturday had fielded at least a dozen calls while watching the replay on SportsCenter at least four times.

"Tim has hit home runs before, but not in this position bases loaded, two outs, at the College World Series," he said. "As a dad, you know he can do it, but I was just thinking, 'get a base hit.' "

Ananea confirmed that the blast into the left-field grandstands wasn't just the first grand slam of Federowicz's college years -- but of his baseball career, period.

Remarkably, the first homer he ever hit occurred when he was 10 years old, playing for the South Wake Storm AAU team, with the score also tied in the ninth inning.

His mom did see him rounding the bases that time.