Arizona struck first, but boy did North Carolina strike back in a massive way!
Behind a historical offensive performance, the UNC baseball program secured a blowout victory over Arizona in Game 1 of the Super Regionals in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The victory puts the Diamond Heels just one win away from another trip to Omaha.
In what will be his final start at Boshamer Stadium, Jake Knapp faced adversity early and often. The right-hander allowed a run in the first inning, something that hasn't happened to him quite often in the first frame (one run allowed in the first inning prior to today's game all season long).
However, the veteran ace would battle, and the Tar Heels gave him more than enough run support to work with.
Trailing 1-0, North Carolina saw just eight pitches before tying the game back up. Kane Kepley led off with a hit by pitch, and Jackson Van De Brake followed by drawing a walk. That brought Luke Stevenson up to the plate and he delivered, stroking a RBI single to right to knot up the score.
That would be the last time the game was tied up.
Gavin Gallaher, the hottest hitter on the planet, found a hole for an RBI single while Hunter Stokley kept the parade going by crushing a moonshot homer to right, giving North Carolina a 5-1 lead.
The Diamond Heels were far from done, adding three more runs in the bottom half of the second inning. Those runs came courtesy of a three-run blast off the bat of Stevenson, putting the game out of reach right away.
Ultimately, the UNC baseball program scored a season-high 18 runs, capped off by four home runs (Stokley, Stevenson, Sam Angelo and Kepley), setting a new record for most runs scored by the program in Super Regional history.
While he didn't have his best stuff, Knapp battled into the eighth inning. The right-hander allowed just two runs, showing just how much of a workhorse he is by the way he handled adversity on a hot and muggy day in Chapel Hill.
Overall, this serves as a statement win for the Diamond Heels, who will turn to Jason DeCaro on Saturday looking to clinch their ticket to Omaha.