USC rallies – USC erased a 5-1 deficit with eight unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh innings to beat UNC 9-5 in Game 1 of their Super Regional. Game 2 is Saturday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium, with all possible games staying in Chapel Hill.
Friday night at Boshamer Stadium didn’t turn into a comeback story for North Carolina.
USC came to the Super Regional trailing for stretches and left with the upper hand after rallying from a 5-1 deficit. The Trojans scored eight unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh innings and finished off UNC 9-5 to take Game 1.
The swing began with Dean Carpentier’s grand slam, a hit that pushed USC ahead 6-5 in the sixth inning and set the tone for the rest of the game.
Now UNC has to do what it didn’t do on Friday: answer back. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, still in Chapel Hill, with all three potential games set to be played at Boshamer Stadium.
UNC entered this Super Regional carrying homefield advantage and plenty of momentum from the postseason. The Tar Heels swept through the regional last weekend. beating VCU in the opener and then knocking off East Carolina twice. North Carolina also arrives as the No. 5 seed nationally, and it reached the ACC championship game before falling to Georgia Tech.
USC’s path here has been different, but it has carried it to the same moment. The Trojans won the College Station Regional by taking four straight games and outscoring their opponents 55-14 after dropping the opener to Texas State.
It’s the first time the teams have met since 2012.
The stakes sit close to program history, too. UNC last reached the CWS in 2024, when it was eliminated by Florida State—marking the program’s 12th College World Series appearance. USC, on the other hand, hasn’t reached the CWS since 2001.
Chapel Hill now has its next test mapped out:
Game 1 was Friday, June 5, with USC 9 and UNC 5.
Game 2 is Saturday, June 6 at 2 p.m.
Game 3—Sunday, June 7—will happen only if necessary.
The College World Series begins on June 12 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
On Friday, USC showed it could flip the script late. For UNC, the question moving into Saturday is simple and immediate: can it turn the kind of rally it allowed into one of its own?
UNC baseball USC baseball Super Regional Game 1 Boshamer Stadium Dean Carpentier grand slam College World Series