Keeping It Heel
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College World Series: Tar Heels face off against Mississippi State

By Blake Cockrum

Omaha, NE - JUNE 26: A general view of the stadium during the National Anthem of game one of the College World Series Championship Series between the LSU Tigers and the Florida Gators on June 26, 2017 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
Omaha, NE - JUNE 26: A general view of the stadium during the National Anthem of game one of the College World Series Championship Series between the LSU Tigers and the Florida Gators on June 26, 2017 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /
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Streaking Tar Heels take the field against Mississippi State Bulldogs

After an exciting win over the third-seeded Oregon State Beavers on Saturday afternoon, the North Carolina Tar Heels will face off with unranked Mississippi State on Monday night.

The No. 6 Tar Heels will look to remain undefeated in NCAA Tournament play against the 38-27 Bulldogs, who managed just 15 conference wins and a losing record away from home this season. They did, however, knock off one of college baseball’s top programs in the NCAA Super Regional when they beat Vanderbilt in a best-of-three series.

North Carolina, on the other hand, won the ACC Coastal Division with a 22-8 record, and a 12-10 mark on the road this season. The Tar Heels are 44-18 overall, and haven’t lost a game since dropping their ACC Tournament opener to Pittsburgh on May 23rd.

The Tar Heels have won seven consecutive games since, and are scoring better than nine runs per contest. They’re hitting .271 overall and .320 with runners in scoring position.

Those same offensive trends showed up on Saturday against Oregon State when North Carolina hung six runs on Pac-12 Player of the Year Luke Heimlich. Heimlich entered the game with a 27-2 record and a 1.77 ERA over the past two seasons before the Tar Heels ended his day after just 2 and 1/3 innings.

Cody Roberts, Ike Freeman, Zack Gahagan and Ben Casparius led the way for the Tar Heels on offense, combining for nine of the team’s 11 hits. Freeman was 3-for-4 and scored two runs, while Casparius recorded a pair of hits and drove in three RBIs.

Consider that the majority of the Tar Heels’ offensive outpouring against the Beavers came from players not named Kyle Datres, Brandon Riley and Michael Busch, and you’ve got to feel pretty good if you’re UNC manager Mike Fox.

North Carolina obviously looks better on paper, but the Tar Heels won’t want to overlook the Bulldogs. Three of their seven wins in the NCAA Tournament have come on walk-off hits, including a game-winning home runs against Florida State and Vanderbilt that helped propel them to the College World Series in Omaha.

Next: Tar Heels outlast Beavers in Omaha

First pitch between North Carolina and Mississippi State is set for 6 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN.

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