UNC seeks second straight trip to Omaha. It has to beat Arizona first
North Carolina is two wins away from a second consecutive trip to Omaha, but head coach Scott Forbes said now is a time for excitement.
The Tar Heels want to win a national championship, and that goal is still ahead of them. Forbes said the staff and players can still have fun and appreciate that advancing to the Super Regionals is an accomplishment of its own.
“I don’t think people realize how hard it is just to make the postseason in college sports,” Forbes said. “That’s the thing that’s so unique about baseball. One pitcher can just neutralize your offense in a tournament in a heartbeat, so I don’t take it for granted. I remind our coaching staff. I thank them, like, ‘Hey, like you guys have put in all this work, so now really, really enjoy it.’”
No. 5 national seed UNC welcomes unseeded Arizona to Chapel Hill for their Super Regional this weekend. They are scheduled to play at noon Friday and Saturday, with both games broadcast on ESPN2. An “if necessary” game is scheduled for Sunday.
Carolina is 28-7 at home this season. Arizona is 10-8 on the road and has won eight straight games.
“We have a lot of guys who have been here before. We’ve been in this spot only a year ago,” said second baseman Jackson Van De Brake. “Having a little bit of that experience, even though we lost some guys, can only help. I think that talent-wise, baseball-specific-wise, I think we’re in as good of, if not a better, spot than we were at this point last year.”
Carolina vs. the Cats
UNC has played Arizona five times, with the Wildcats holding a 3-2 advantage in the series. They’re tied 1-1 in Chapel Hill, with Arizona winning the most recent matchup, 3-2, on May 19, 1990.
Things will look quite different this time around. The Tar Heels are a favorite to advance to the Men’s College World Series and statistically the most challenging opponent for the Wildcats this season.
Carolina comes into its second consecutive Super Regional with momentum after pulling off a 14-4 win over Oklahoma in a winner-take-all game to advance.
Third baseman Gavin Gallaher lit up the scoreboard in the regional, earning Most Outstanding Player after hitting 13 of 18 with 10 RBIs, three doubles, one triple, three home runs and seven runs scored.
Designated hitter Sam Angelo went 5 of 13 from the plate and drove in six runs.
Catcher Luke Stevenson, meanwhile, looks to bounce back after he struggled offensively. Stevenson went 1 of 15 in the regional and struck out six times. His last multi-hit game took place against Boston College in the ACC Tournament, and his walks have dropped dramatically. Stevenson has 58 bases on balls this season; only seven have come since May 1.
Forbes said the staff talked with Stevenson after the regional, encouraging him to get back to being himself at the plate.
“If you walk, that’s your single, because you’re just not going to hit many singles. Just get back to controlling the strike zone,” Forbes recalled telling Stevenson. “If you walk and you go 0-0 on the day, but you’re on base four times and you score four times, you’ve helped us win. Just control the strike zone, and when you swing, swing at your pitch you can do damage with.”
Jake Knapp and Jason DeCaro are expected to start Friday and Saturday. Knapp pitched into the ninth inning against Holy Cross to open the regional, and DeCaro matched his career high with eight strikeouts. If UNC plays a third game, the starting pitcher remains uncertain. Forbes, however, is not opposed to starting Ryan Lynch or Walker McDuffie after their stellar outings to defeat Oklahoma on Monday.
All about Arizona
Overall, the Tar Heels feel comfortable entering the final weekend at the Bosh. Not only does the schedule return to a best-of-three series — the regionals can disrupt scouting and preparation routines — but the team knows how it feels to face a deficit and potential elimination. It knows what it takes to respond.
Forbes said the team entered the ACC Tournament and regional weekend with the mentality that the season was on the line. He plans to remind the team to approach Friday that way, too.
“Sometimes you can just roll. Some teams may make it to the College World Series and not face, quote, that elimination game. They just win. But that’s rare,” Forbes said. “I’ll remind the guys tomorrow, ‘Let’s don’t think about Saturday. Let’s go in tomorrow like it is an elimination game.’”
Arizona is one such team that rolled through its regional with relative ease. The Wildcats earned a spot in the Super Regionals without facing No. 12 seed Oregon last weekend after the Ducks went two-and-out.
Meanwhile, the Cats defeated Utah Valley and Cal Poly twice. They outscored their opponents 31-6 — including a 14-0 win over Cal Poly in the regional final — in Eugene.
Arizona entered the regional ranked No. 27 in the RPI and the Big 12’s automatic qualifier. Prior to the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats hit 59 home runs in the regular season and conference championship. They hit 15 en route to the regional title, including 14 in the final two games.
Center fielder Aaron Walton and shortstop Mason White came up with clutch plays for the Wildcats to propel them past their mid-major opponents.
Walton finished the weekend 7 of 11 with a pair of doubles, four home runs, eight RBIs and four runs scored. He hit three home runs against Cal Poly.
White hit 4 of 8 with one double, three home runs and four RBIs. He also earned three walks and was hit by a pitch twice. He scored six times.
Catcher and leadoff hitter Adonys Guzman was relatively quiet at the plate in the regional, but he holds a .308 batting average and has contributed 66 hits, 39 runs, 10 doubles and eight home runs. On defense, Guzman has 469 putouts, 46 assists, caught 17 would-be base stealers and has seven errors on the season. He hasn’t been tabbed with an error in three weeks.
“They’re good, they’re balanced,” Forbes said. “They have a superstar leading off … very well-coached. The pitchers give you a lot of different looks. They’re not the same, so your approach offensively is going to be really important. They don’t beat themselves very often. They don’t run a ton, necessarily, but they’ve got some guys that can hit doubles and hit home runs. It’ll be a huge challenge for us.”
This will be Arizona’s first Super Regional appearance since 2021. Last season, the Wildcats were paired with the Tar Heels on the bracket but they faced the same fate that Oregon did this season. They went two-and-out in their own regional and did not advance.
Instead, West Virginia won the Tucson regional. UNC beat the Mountaineers in two games to earn its spot in Omaha.
How to watch UNC vs. Arizona baseball
No. 5 national seed North Carolina will face Arizona at Boshamer Stadium for Game 1 on Friday and Game 2 on Saturday.
On TV: 12 noon, ESPN2
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 5:50 PM.
