Heres what to know about UNC baseball's championship series in the College World Series

Every walk-off win, every pitcher's duel and every run across home plate have led to this moment for UNC baseball: playing in the final weekend of the College World Series.

Fifth-seeded UNC (53-12-1) will play Oklahoma (41-22) for a national championship beginning Saturday at 8 p.m. in Omaha, Nebraska, for the first game of the best-of-three series. The Tar Heels have made it to the final series twice in program history (2006 and 2007) but have never won a national title.

Game 2 will follow on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. with, if necessary, Game 3 to be played on Monday at 7 p.m.

Here's what to know before the final series of the baseball season:

North Carolina has skyrocketed into championship contention after facing some rockiness in the Chapel Hill Super Regional.

The Tar Heels were two outs away in Game 3 from the end of their season, down 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, when USC walked Cooper Nicholson.

The Trojans dipped into the bullpen, desperate for an answer, only for Carter French to nail a single to get on base. A sacrifice fly scored Nicholson, and a walk for Gavin Gallaher set the stage for the man of the hour: Owen Hull.

Hull launched a ball deep into leftfield, and the USC outfielder misjudged it, turning a would-be flyout into an RBI double to walk off with the win.

Ever since that close call, the Tar Heels have been flying.

Entering championship weekend, they are 8-1 in this year's NCAA Tournament and 3-0 in Omaha, outscoring opponents 23-11 in the CWS.

The top of the order in particular has come up clutch for UNC. Jake Schaffner, Gallaher and Hull are a combined 16-for-37 (batting .430) with 13 runs, 13 RBIs and seven strikeouts in Omaha alone.

Keep an eye out for pitcher Folger Boaz and reserve Sawyer Black, two Tar Heels with ties to the Triad. This year, Boaz has been the Sunday starter for UNC, but he struggled in the championship-clinching win over West Virginia.

The East Surry grad pitched only for the first inning, allowing a run, two hits and a walk.

If there is a Game 3 in this final series, head coach Scott Forbes will have to decide between entrusting Boaz once more or turning to one of the younger pitchers in the bullpen.

Oklahoma has risen out of the ashes to advance to the championship series.

The Sooners lost the final four SEC series of the regular season and fell in the first round of the SEC Tournament, lacking any signs of momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Then came the Atlanta Regional.

Oklahoma knocked off No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech, the regional host, with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. The Sooners haven't looked back since, dismantling Kansas in the Super Regional, 8-1 and 13-2.

Unlike the Tar Heels, who fell in the first game of their Super Regional, Oklahoma has not lost a game in its run to the championship.

The bats are especially active for the Sooners as they have hit 26 home runs in 10 postseason games, averaging 2.6 a game (an improvement from 1.2 in the regular season). They had no problem knocking off yet another national seed, No. 3 Georgia, twice to advance to the final series.

Also, in contrast to UNC, Oklahoma has won two national titles across its program history in 1951 and 1994.

Tune in on ESPN for the broadcast of Game 1 of the championship series, with ABC to pick up Sunday's game.

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This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 4:06 AM.