Arizona Wildcats baseball shocks North Carolina, headed for College World Series
The Arizona Wildcats stunned the No. 5 national seed, the North Carolina Tar Heels, 4-3, and are going to the College World Series for the 19th time in school history.
Beaten soundly, 18-2, in the first game of their best-of-3 Super Regional in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on June 6, the Wildcats won two consecutive games to punch their ticket to Omaha.
Arizona was led by a strong start from Smith Bailey, who went six innings and allowed three runs on six hits, and a clutch two-run, go-ahead single in the eighth inning by Mason White.
Tony Pluta pitched a perfect ninth to close it out.
The win was especially meaningful for White, from Tucson, who told the ESPN broadcast he's always been a big Wildcats fan.
"I was 8 years old when we won the national title (in 2012) and I bought the winning T-shirt the second it happened ... I grew up for this moment," he said before being drenched with a bucket of water by teammates.
Arizona opened the scoring on a Garen Caulfield home run in the second inning off UNC starter Ryan Lynch, but the Tar Heels grabbed the lead on a three-run, third-inning homer from Jackson Van De Brake.
The score remained 3-1 until the eighth inning.
Arizona's Andrew Cain led off with a single, and Tommy Splaine followed with a grounder that handcuffed Van De Brake at second base. Splaine reached on the error and UNC coach Scott Forbes replaced Lynch with freshman Walker McDuffie.
Easton Breyfogle reached on a bunt single to third when the throw hit Breyfogle as he reached first base while UNC first baseman collided with Breyfogle while attempting to make the catch.
The ball bounced away, Breyfogle went down and Cain scored to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Arizona coach Chip Hale and an athletic trainer talked with Breyfogle before removing him from the game.
McDuffie then walked Brendan Summerhill to load the bases but retired Aaron Walton on a soft liner.
Forbes called on 6-foot-6 senior right-hander Aiden Haugh to face White, whose line single to center on a 1-1 pitch drove home the tying and go-ahead runs.
Junior right-hander Casey Hintz worked around two walks in the eighth, and Pluta needed only 12 pitches to lock it down, striking out Carter French to trigger a big on-field celebration as a stunned North Carolina crowd watched.
The Wildcats will begin their stay in Omaha with a matchup against Coastal Carolina, which upset No. 4 national seed Auburn in their Super Regional.