Carolina Begins Regional Play With 5-4 Win Over UCLA
LUBBOCK – Carolina got 6 2/3 innings from Austin Love and pushed five runs across, which was just enough to upset UCLA.
Carolina will now take on the host team and No. 8 national seed Texas Tech on Saturday evening at 9:00 p.m. ET.
UCLA pushed across the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning, but the Tar Heels answered right back in the top of the second when a Will Stewart ground ball scored Brett Centracchio.
UNC took the lead two innings later when a Stewart single scored Centracchio and Caleb Roberts.
Meanwhile, Love was keeping the Bruins in check, not allowing another run until the sixth inning. In that scoreless span, he retired 13 straight UCLA hitters. Love finished with nine strikeouts, giving him 129 this season, second in Tar Heel history behind only Andrew Miller’s 133 strikeouts in 2006.
UCLA, for their part, chipped away from that point on. They tacked one run on the board in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. Thankfully though, Danny Serretti hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh on an 0-2 pitch, which provided what proved to be the winning runs of the game.
Gage Gillian came in and closed the door in the ninth inning, allowing only a walk amidst two strikeouts and a foul out.
Centracchio finished the night going 3-for-4 and scored two of Carolina’s runs. Stewart chipped in two hits but more importantly was responsible for three RBIs. Angel Zarate and Serretti each also had a pair of hits.
Dating to 1982, the Tar Heels now have at least one victory in 26 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Now comes the real challenge: Can Carolina knock off the Red Raiders in Lubbock on Saturday night? Tune in to find out.
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