Ryan Lynch deserves his flowers for his outstanding postseason run

In sports, there's no such thing as a "consolation prize." Even though it's become a habit in our world to cater to a "everyone is a winner" motto, that simply isn't the case.

Sometimes in life, you lose. Regardless of how hard you work toward something, the results might not always end in your favor.

That's exactly what happened to the UNC baseball program this weekend, as their season came to an end in the Super Regionals. North Carolina dominated the first game of the series but dropped back-to-back contests, putting an abrupt ending to a season that had everyone thinking a trip to Omaha was this group's destiny.

While the loss stings (and is one we won't get over for quite some time), fans need to take a moment to appreciate how phenomenal freshman right-hander Ryan Lynch was this season, most notably in postseason action.

For most of the season, Scott Forbes elected to use Lynch out of the bullpen, as he was a major weapon for the Tar Heels as a reliever. However, Lynch was thrown into the starting rotation just in time for postseason action, making his first start in the ACC Tournament Title game.

In that start, the Moorestown, New Jersey native threw four shutout innings, helping guide the Diamond Heels to an ACC Tournament championship victory.

While that start was a solid one, his next one, in the Chapel Hill Regional final, was even better. He held Oklahoma's offense to two runs over five innings of work, leading the Tar Heels to the Super Regionals.

To no surprise, Lynch was called upon again in a winner-take-home situation, and he was outstanding. The freshman pitched into the eighth inning, leaving the game with his team holding a 3-1 lead.

Of course, how the game ended takes away from how good Lynch was, and his stat line doesn't show just how dominant he was on Sunday afternoon at the Bosh. He put together multiple 1-2-3 innings, pitching efficiently and effectively throughout. If it wasn't for a solo home run in the second inning (a pitch that was well executed but a great swing was made on it), Arizona wouldn't have been on the board at all into that eighth inning.

That's just how good he was.

When we look back on the 2025 season, the loss in the Super Regionals will leave a sour taste in our mouths. However, it's important to take a moment to give Ryan Lynch his well-deserved curtain call, as his efforts on the mound played a major role in the Tar Heels even getting to this point.

While the UNC baseball program is set to lose a lot of talent from this year's roster, the Tar Heels seemed to have another gem that should factor into the rotation come the start of next season.