UNC Baseball knocks around Oklahoma's ace, earns spot in Chapel Hill Regional final

Behind an incredible first inning, the Diamond Heels once again secured a win in the NCAA Tournament.
Jun 8, 2024; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels Jason DeCaro (29) pitches against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the first inning of the DI Baseball Super Regional at Boshamer Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Camarati-Imagn Images
Jun 8, 2024; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels Jason DeCaro (29) pitches against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the first inning of the DI Baseball Super Regional at Boshamer Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Camarati-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Camarati-Imagn Images

One of the major storylines in Chapel Hill this week surrounded Oklahoma's decision to save their ace, Kyson Witherspoon, for Saturday (anticipating a matchup with the UNC baseball program).

Well, the scenario played out how the Sooners thought it would, but even they didn't expect their ace to have by far his worst start of the season.

Behind a six run first inning, the UNC baseball program clinched its spot in Sunday night's Chapel Hill Regional final. They now await the winner of the elimination game, a rematch between Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Out of the gate, it looked like Witherspoon was going to be on his normal cruise control. Boasting a 2.47 ERA coming into the game, Witherspoon has dominated essentially every opponent he's faced in his two seasons at Oklahoma, but the Tar Heels had other plans.

North Carolina's offense rose to the occasion with two outs in the top of the first inning. Hunter Stokley got the Diamond Heels on the board with an RBI single and was followed by consecutive RBI knocks from Alex Madera and Tyson Bass.

The big swing of the inning came off the bat of Sam Angelo, the transfer from Montclair State University. With two runners on, Angelo took a Witherspoon pitch the opposite way, depositing it over the left field wall, capping off the Tar Heels' most productive first inning of the 2025 season.

North Carolina would tack on a few more runs throughout the ball game, including back-to-back jacks from Tyson Bass and Angelo, making it a 9-0 game before Witherspoon was removed from the game in the bottom half of the fifth inning.

The Diamond Heels' offense got to arguably the best pitcher in the country, giving sophomore right-hander Jason DeCaro plenty of run support to work with.

DeCaro pitched into the seventh inning, allowing just three runs on seven hits. His eight strikeouts ties a career-high he set against Virginia Tech during the 2024 season.

While Oklahoma added a few runs late, the deficit was too much for the Sooners to overcome. It just goes to show that regardless of who you save to pitch against the Tar Heels, they'll be more than ready for the challenge.

The Chapel Hill Regional finals are set to take place on Sunday night starting at 6:00 PM EST. In the double elimination format, a win would secure a Tar Heels trip to the Super Regional, while a loss would force a winner-take-all game on Monday.