USC baseball rallied from a 5-2 deficit to defeat No. 5 North Carolina 9-5 in Game 1 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional on Friday, moving one win away from the College World Series for the first time since 2001.
Quick Facts
- Dean Carpentier hit a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning, his first career grand slam in 132 games.
- USC’s largest comeback victory of the season, tying its previous comeback win.
- This marks USC baseball’s first Super Regional appearance since 2005, a span of 21 years.
- Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. PT on ESPN; a USC win advances them to Omaha.
Carpentier’s blast off North Carolina reliever Walker McDuffie turned the game in the sixth inning, giving USC a 6-5 lead. “I was sitting on a slider,” Carpentier said. “He’s a slider guy. I got a good pitch to hit, put a good swing on it and it found a way out of here.”
The Trojans manufactured three additional runs in the seventh inning on a groundout by Isaac Cadena, a fielder’s choice by Jack Basseer, and a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Lamb to extend their lead to 9-5. Andrew Lamb had opened USC’s scoring with a solo home run in the third inning.
USC baseball rallies past North Carolina 9-5 in Chapel Hill Super Regional
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USC’s bullpen proved decisive after starter Mason Edwards struggled through three innings, yielding three earned runs with four walks. Chase Herrell entered in the fourth and held North Carolina to one run over two innings, earning the win. Andrew Johnson then worked 3.2 scoreless innings in relief, allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out two, securing his first save of the season.
North Carolina, the No. 5 overall seed with a 48-12-1 record, scored four runs across the second and third innings to build its early lead but could not overcome USC’s comeback. The best-of-three series continues Saturday with the Tar Heels facing elimination.
Sources
- Los Angeles Times — Game recap, Dean Carpentier grand slam details, and bullpen performance.
- USC Athletics — Official box score, inning-by-inning scoring, and player statistics.
- ESPN — Final score and game confirmation.
