Game 1 Upset at Chapel Hill
The first game of the Chapel Hill Super Regional ended with a 9‑5 victory for the University of Southern California, leaving the North Carolina Tar Heels on the brink of elimination from the NCAA Tournament.
Carolina had taken an early 2‑0 lead in the second inning, but the Trojans answered with eight unanswered runs that flipped the momentum.
Turning Points in the Sixth Inning
Andrew Lamb opened the third inning with a leadoff home run, and later in the sixth Dean Carpentier’s grand slam gave USC a 6‑5 edge before the Trojans added three more runs in the seventh.
The Tar Heels’ offense went silent in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, unable to respond as the lead grew.
Reliever Chase Herrell earned the win with two innings of work that yielded just one earned run, while Andrew Johnson closed out the game with 3.2 scoreless innings to record the save.
Starter Mason Edwards, the nation’s strikeout leader, was removed after three innings, a decision that reflected the changing tide on the mound.
The Tar Heels’ 44‑game streak of winning whenever they led by multiple runs was snapped, a rare blemish that underscores the unpredictability of postseason baseball.
Game 2 is set for 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday and will be televised on ESPN, giving North Carolina a chance to force a decisive Game 3 on Sunday.