UNC Baseball defeats LIU in walk-off grand slam fashion!

Gavin Gallaher. What more can we say!

Trailing by three runs heading into the bottom of the ninth, the UNC baseball program put together a game-winning rally, capped off by a walk-off grand slam off the bat of the freshman Gallaher.

It was a game that had many elements to it, so let's just start from the beginning.

North Carolina got on the board early with a run in the bottom half of the first inning. That run came from a RBI single from Alberto Osuna.

Although the Diamond Heels led early, Jason DeCaro didn't have his best stuff. Walks became an issue for the freshman right-hander, as LIU capitalized by a JC Navarro three-run blast (a home run that came right after two walks), to take a 3-1 lead.

Gallaher, who we will talk about a lot in this recap, hit a solo home run in the bottom half of the fourth, and the Tar Heels would proceed to score three runs in the following inning to regain the lead.

Similar to what UNC baseball fans witnessed a week ago in the ACC Tournament, the Tar Heels had the lead and had Long Island down to their last strike. However, the Sharks had other plans, as a two-strike RBI double off the bat of Navarro tied the game. A few batters later, Jacob Pipercic blasted a three-run homer, a shot that felt like the dagger in this game.

However, the Diamond Heels had a rally in their bones!

Vance Honeycutt led off with a walk, and Casey Cook followed with a single up the middle. Back-to-back singles from Anthony Donofrio and Osuna cut the lead to 8-6, and an impressive at-bat from Luke Stevenson (which resulted in a walk), cut the lead to just one.

Then, Gallaher once again put together a timely blast to seal the victory for the guys in Carolina Blue.

What an NCAA Tournament debut it was for Gallaher, who finished the night going 3-4 with a double, two home runs and six runs batted in. It's a night that the freshman, and UNC baseball fans, will truly never forget.

With the win, the UNC baseball program advances to the winner's bracket of the Chapel Hill Regional, as they'll match up with defending national champions LSU on Saturday night at Boshamer Stadium.