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UNC Baseball: Auburn rallies to beat Tar Heels in Game 1

By Zack Pearson

Omaha, NE - JUNE 23: A general view of a bag of baseballs before the start of the game between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Vanderbilt Commodores during game two of the College World Series Championship Series on June 23, 2015 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) Omaha, NE - JUNE 23: A general view of the away jersey of the Vanderbilt Commodores and the home jersey of the Virginia Cavaliers before the start of game two of the College World Series Championship Series on June 23, 2015 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
Omaha, NE - JUNE 23: A general view of a bag of baseballs before the start of the game between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Vanderbilt Commodores during game two of the College World Series Championship Series on June 23, 2015 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) Omaha, NE - JUNE 23: A general view of the away jersey of the Vanderbilt Commodores and the home jersey of the Virginia Cavaliers before the start of game two of the College World Series Championship Series on June 23, 2015 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /
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The Tar Heels fall in the opening game of the Chapel Hill Super Regional as Auburn rallied late to stun them on Saturday afternoon

North Carolina starter Tyler Baum was sharp for the 6 1/3 innings he threw on Saturday, leaving with a 4-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning.

The Tigers were able to do some damage to UNC’s bullpen in this game, taking advantage of the starter Baum leaving the game. Auburn rallied to stun the Tar Heels by scoring five in the eighth inning and four in the ninth inning to take Game 1 11-7.

The Tar Heels jumped out to the early 3-0 lead in the first inning headlined by Ashton McGee’s two RBI single. They held that 3-0 lead until the fifth inning when Auburn got on the board with a two-run homer, Baum’s only mistake of the game.

UNC would add some more runs with an Ike Freeman RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to go up 4-2 and then got another run on an RBI single from Aaron Sabato in the seventh. But after that? It was all Auburn.

The Tigers got a double in the top of the eighth to push across a run and then a wild pitch to add another. With UNC leading 5-4, the big blow of the game came on a one-out double from Rankin Woley that scored three runs and gave the Tigers a 7-5 lead.

Auburn added four more runs in the ninth which would prove to be the difference. UNC got two more runs in the bottom half and had the bases loaded with two outs but failed to tie the game.

With the loss, UNC now faces a must-win situation on Sunday morning. The two teams play Game 2 at 11:30 a.m. and an Auburn win advances them to the College World Series.

UNC will send Austin Bergner to the mound in Sunday’s start as they look to turn things around and stay alive.

The Tar Heels’ bullpen had been really good in the postseason leading up to this point but had a real bad outing on Saturday. Auburn’s rally was led by a few walks in the late innings and the Tigers drew six walks in total.

dark. Next. Chapel Hill Super Regional schedule

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