The UNC baseball program's magical run comes to an end in the College World Series

You know what they say... "all good things must come to an end."

The UNC baseball program's season came to an end on Tuesday afternoon as they suffered a loss to the Florida State Seminoles in the elimination game of the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

North Carolina dug itself in a early hole, as the Seminoles scored three runs over the first three innings of play. Scott Forbes was forced to turn to the bullpen early, as the pitching staff as a whole had trouble with command (allowing 9 walks and one hit batter).

After Florida State put together a four-run fifth inning off star reliever Dalton Pence, it felt like the Diamond Heels were in deep trouble.

However, Vance Honeycutt was there once again to bring his team back into the game.

Trailing 7-1 Honeycutt launched this three-run blast, likely the last homer of his UNC baseball career, to cut the lead to just three. The Diamond Heels weren't done in the inning, as Jackson Van De Brake added a RBI single to make it a 7-5 ballgame.

However, that is as close as it would get, as Cam Padgett, who put together some big-time pitches to record some timely outs, allowed back-to-back home runs to lead off the top of the ninth.

And that was your ballgame.

Sure, there's no participation trophies in this setting. The goal wasn't just to get to Omaha, but to win the whole thing while making the trip. It didn't go the way the Diamond Heels planned, but what a heck of a season it was for the boys in Carolina Blue.

A total of 48 victories, an ACC regular season crown, hosting both the Regional and Super Regional rounds along with many memorable highlights along the way.

You may not think it now, but this season was a huge success.

Next year's team will look different. Honeycutt won't be patrolling centerfield, and plenty of key contributors won't be back either. Even though we've seen the last of some household names, their legacy will carry on, as they played a huge role in helping this program get back to Omaha for the first time in six seasons.

There's no UNC baseball fans who are happy with how it ended, but the key thing to remember is just how special this group was throughout the entire 2024 season.