UNC Falls to LSU, Faces Winner-Take-All Game for NCAA Regional

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina entered Sunday night with two chances to clinch this NCAA Tournament regional, and that extra opportunity now comes into play.

LSU defeated the Tar Heels 8-4 at Boshamer Stadium, delivering its second must-have victory of the day to stay alive in the double-elimination format and force a winner-take-all game against UNC on Monday at 6 p.m.

Carolina’s eight-game home winning streak ended Sunday night, as the Tar Heels (44-14), the No. 4 national seed in the NCAA field, lost at home for just the third time across the entirety of this season and dropped to 34-3 here.

UNC’s defeat of LSU on Saturday gave the Tar Heels a 2-0 start in regional play for the 11th time since the NCAA Tournament’s current format was implemented in 1999. The Tar Heels have advanced to the super regionals in nine of those previous 10 situations, including the last nine in a row.

UNC will have to get that accomplished in Monday’s decisive game now, and again will be tasked with the challenge of trying to quiet LSU’s red-hot bats. The Tigers (43-22) pounded out a combined 32 hits and piled up 21 runs across the course of their two victories on Sunday, after roaring back to beat Wofford 13-6 in an afternoon elimination game, before downing Carolina at night. LSU trailed Wofford 5-0 in the first inning, but responded with authority, and joined the Tar Heels as the final teams remaining in this regional.

Carolina fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning, when starting pitcher Aidan Haugh issued a two-out walk to Jared Jones, and Josh Pearson followed by cranking a two-run homer. The Tar Heels gave the right-hander Haugh his first starting assignment in two weeks, since the regular-season finale May 18 at Duke.

UNC coach Scott Forbes pulled Haugh in the bottom of the fourth inning, when things became unglued for the Tar Heels. Six straight LSU batters reached base before UNC recorded an out. Tommy White and Steven Milan supplied bases-loaded singles, as the Tigers’ lead ballooned to 7-1.

Later, the Tar Heels pulled within 8-4 on Anthony Donofrio’s two-run single with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning. Two pitches later, Kade Anderson got UNC’s Alberto Osuna on a pop-up and LSU was out of the inning. In the top of the eighth, the Tar Heels had two runners aboard and Vance Honeycutt at the plate. But LSU stopper Gavin Guidry struck out Honeycutt, who was caught looking at a full-count pitch.