Late Arizona rally sinks UNC in super regional, ends Tar Heels’ ‘Road to Omaha’
Two hundred ninety-three days have passed since North Carolina held its first team meeting for the 2025 season.
“The Road to Omaha starts here” is printed on the wall of the players’ lounge — where that meeting was held — and where the Tar Heels set the team’s ultimate goal: A return trip to the Men’s College World Series and the program’s first national title.
The Tar Heels, however, will have to wait another season for another shot after right-handed pitcher Ryan Lynch’s career performance was not enough to extend their season.
No. 5 national seed UNC lost to unseeded Arizona, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon in Game 3 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional after the Wildcats forced a winner-take-all matchup. It will be Arizona’s first CWS appearance since 2021.
The Tar Heels (46-15) walloped the Wildcats (44-19), 18-2, on Friday in Game 1. They blew a lead and lost, 10-8, on Saturday in Game 2. UNC had not lost back-to-back games since March nor had it lost consecutive games at home.
“Thankful to even be in this opportunity. It sucks and it hurts when you don’t take the next step, but you want to be in those opportunities,” said Carolina head coach Scott Forbes. “Carolina baseball has been a lot of them. Won a lot of them. We’ve lost some tough ones. But the journey, the joy of coaching, to me, is helping the team that you have that year have the most success they can possibly have. To see these guy start figuring out what their identity was, playing to those strengths, and being so coachable is why they made it this far.”
Lynch started for the Tar Heels and made his third appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He entered the game having pitched twice against Oklahoma in the regionals. Between the two appearances, he allowed six hits and two runs in six innings of work. The freshman also recorded eight strikeouts and three walks.
Carolina had won three straight games with Lynch making an appearance, including its regional finals victory over Oklahoma and in the ACC Championship.
Lynch started strong against the Wildcats, retiring the first three batters in order. A day prior, the Tar Heels did not achieve that until the eighth.
Arizona scored first — which it did in the other two matchups — with a two-out solo home run from second baseman Garen Caulfield over the left field fence in the second inning. It was the third home run Lynch had given up all season.
Lynch still pounded the strike zone, trusting his defense to make plays behind him. He threw a career-high seven innings and 91 pitches, retiring the opposing batters in order three times. The rookie allowed two runs on three hits and struck out five.
“He was phenomenal. He was the reason we were in the position we were in,” Forbes said. “He had complete control of the game. He was attacking the strike zone. Coach [Bryant] Gaines and him had a great game plan. He was executing the pitches Coach Gaines was calling. He had great mound presence. It didn’t surprise me, honestly, because he’s had those big starts, and he’s been so good for us the last two times.”
Lynch came out of the game in the top of the eighth after the Wildcats put two on base with a single and defensive error from second baseman Jackson Van De Brake on a botched double play attempt.
Freshman reliever Walker McDuffie replaced Lynch but was unable to find a groove against the Wildcats. McDuffie faced three batters. He gave up one hit, one walk and the defense committed another error while McDuffie was on the bump. Third baseman Gavin Gallaher overthrew a ball to first baseman Hunter Stokely, who collided with Arizona’s Easton Breyfogle. Wildcats designated hitter Andrew Cain scored the unearned run and cut Carolina’s lead to 3-2.
Righty Aidan Haugh entered the game and immediately gave up a hit, allowing another unearned run to score. The defense turned a double play to end the eighth and Haugh retired three straight in the ninth, with UNC trailing 4-3.
Forbes said Jake Knapp and Jason DeCaro, the Tar Heels’ No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers, were available to throw in certain situations but not in the one Carolina faced.
“You have to keep the health [in mind]. Both those guys are going to be big leaguers. Aidan had a little less wear and tear,” Forbes said. “We also know how all of our guys recover, so you have to take that into account. No doubt in my mind, it was the right move with with Aidan. He just left one change up [high]. The other change up, he got a swing and miss.”
Meanwhile, UNC’s bats couldn’t get it done.
For the second straight day, the Tar Heels struggled with clutch hitting. UNC put runners on base in six innings but left six stranded.
Tyson Bass was responsible for four stranded runners after he grounded into a double play in the second and sixth innings. The right fielder was also unable to move shortstop Alex Madera in the fourth frame, though Bass was not the inning-ending out.
He wasn’t the only batter with production issues. Madera grounded out twice with runners on base. Gallaher, catcher Luke Stevenson and designated hitter Sam Angelo were also among the batters with opportunities to plate additional runs.
“It happens. It’s the game of baseball. It is what it is,” Madera said. “Obviously, any one of those guys wants to make the play and be ‘the guy.’ I had an opportunity in the eighth inning to hit in a run. I didn’t do it either.”
Starter Smith Bailey gave up all three UNC runs, but he limited their opportunities. Meanwhile, the other three relievers kept Carolina from getting hot.
The bottom of the lineup finished 1 for 11 in the loss. As a team, Carolina went 5 of 31 (.161) overall and 2 of 13 (.154) with runners on base. Arizona also recorded five hits but capitalized when it had opportunities, leaving only three runners stranded.
Van De Brake was the only Tar Heel to record any RBIs after hitting a three-run homer 347 feet and over the left field fence in the third. The hit was Van De Brake’s eighth bomb of the season and fifth in a month.
Gallaher hit 17 of 23 (.739) in the NCAA Tournament through the first game of the Super Regional. In the final two games, he finished 1 for 9 (.111).
“We’re getting opportunity to go to Omaha and move on, and I don’t know [what] we’ll see when we get there, but it’s going to be hard to find a team that’s as good as them — lineup, pitching, the way they play the game,” Arizona coach Chip Hale said of UNC. “I know they’re disappointed, and it’s just this is a hard deal. I know winning is great, but sometimes you learn a lot in the losing part, too, so I want to congratulate them on a great season.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2025 at 3:08 PM.
