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Vance Honeycutt, UNC baseball sweep West Virginia to snag spot in College World Series

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CHAPEL HILL — The first pitch of Saturday’s game between UNC baseball and West Virginia was at 8:06 p.m. inside Boshamer Stadium. 

Roughly 20 seconds later, Vance Honeycutt stepped on home plate to set the tone in a 2-1 win for the Tar Heels, who are in the College World Series for the first time since 2018. 

A night after hitting a walk-off home run, Honeycutt sent the next pitch he saw to a similar spot beyond the left-field wall for a lead-off blast. It was his 26th homer of the year, a single-season record for the Tar Heels. 

The junior center fielder finished with two hits, two runs and a dynamic double play in the first four innings for UNC (47-14), which took two against the Mountaineers (36-24) to sweep the Chapel Hill Super Regional and secure its 12th trip to Omaha.

The dogpile celebration started at 10:55 p.m. on Bryson Field after reliever Dalton Pence picked up the save with six strikeouts in the final three innings. Pence raced over to first base for the final out to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning.

GAME 2 RECAP: UNC baseball vs West Virginia score, updates in Game 2 of Chapel Hill Super Regional

HONEYCUTT’S HEROICS: Vance Honeycutt’s home-run heroics put UNC baseball on cusp of College World Series berth

Here’s what stood out in the Tar Heels’ win against West Virginia and what awaits in Omaha. 

Vance Honeycutt was UNC baseball’s MVP in the Chapel Hill Super Regional

Across four regional games, Honeycutt was 3-for-17 (.176) with eight strikeouts. In two super regional games, Honeycutt was 4-for-9 (.444) with four runs, three RBIs and two home runs against West Virginia. Following his tone-setting homer to open the clincher, Honeycutt had a push-bunt single to start a two-out rally in the third, with Parks Harber hitting an RBI single to extend UNC’s lead. Honeycutt also showed off his arm and accuracy in center field with a missile to first base for a double play in the fourth inning. It was an MVP-type showing from UNC’s top player in what could be his final game at the Bosh. Honeycutt is projected to be a first-round pick in the MLB Draft.

UNC pitcher Jason DeCaro logs best start of NCAA Tournament 

After starting the opening and closing games of the Chapel Hill Regional, freshman pitcher Jason DeCaro got some extra rest before starting Game 2 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional. In two regional starts, DeCaro combined to allow five runs with four walks in six innings against Long Island and LSU. He allowed two hits and one run in 6 ⅓ innings against the Mountaineers, finishing with five strikeouts. Following a second-inning single, DeCaro retired 13 of the next 14 batters before exiting the game.

UNC baseball vs Virginia in College World Series 

The Tar Heels will be matched up with ACC rival Virginia (46-15), the No. 12 overall seed, at the College World Series in Omaha. The Cavaliers are undefeated (5-0) in the NCAA Tournament. In early April, Virginia won two out of three games against UNC in Charlottesville. 

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

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