In the highly-anticipated rematch between two of the top three teams in all of the country, it was Georgia Tech who came out on top.
Georgia Tech defeats North Carolina in the ACC Tournament title game
The Yellow Jackets dethroned the reigning champion Tar Heels by defeating them on Sunday afternoon in Charlotte, North Carolina. With the win, the two teams split four games between them throughout the 2026 season.
North Carolina got off to a solid start, courtesy of an Owen Hull RBI double. The early run in the top half of the first inning was a positive sign, as the offense hoped to build off their insane outburst not even 24 hours prior in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
However, Scott Forbes elected to roll with his starter, Folger Boaz, a little too long, allowing the Yellow Jackets to jump to a big lead.
After tying the game in the second inning, the Yellow Jackets responded with five more runs in the third, chasing Boaz before the inning came to a close. North Carolina was forced to play catchup the remainder of the game, and almost sparked a comeback over the following innings.
Rom Kellis continued his hot stretch with a two-out, two RBI single in the top of the fourth, and an Owen Hull two-run blast in the top half of the fifth cut Georgia Tech's lead to 6-5.
Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets had much more offense in them, capitalizing on some key mistakes from the Tar Heels en route to scoring seven more runs over their final three offensive innings.
The theme in this one was sticking with pitching for a little too long. While Forbes showed confidence in Boaz, his Sunday starter, it felt like the Diamond Heels were taking a big risk with every batter they let him face in that third inning. Walker McDuffie was great (as usual), but he was limited due to throwing nearly 50 pitches on Saturday, setting the Tar Heels up to have to rely on others who don't necessarily serve as "regulars" in the bullpen.
Jackson Rose had a strong first inning of work but faltered, and Matthew Matthijs was a bit wild in his own right (with no help behind the plate from Macon Winslow, who caught for the first time in over a month), setting up Georgia Tech to capitalize even more.
In a game where it was expected that Ryan Lynch and Caden Glauber wouldn't be available, you have to question as to why Jason DeCaro, who started on Friday and was limitedf in pitch count, wasn't considered, especially when the Tar Heels crept back into it.
Regardless, the focus shifts now to the NCAA Tournament, one in which the Tar Heels are fully expected to host. More baseball at Boshamer Stadium is set to come, and the hope is that the Diamond Heels can rebound quickly from this loss and regroup for the event they've been working towards all season long.
The road to Omaha is officially here, and the hope is that the road there runs through Chapel Hill.
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