Tar Heels and Wolfpack survive Carolina, make it to Omaha

When the announcement of the 64 team field for the Men’s Baseball Championship was announced, people in the Carolinas had to feel good about the odds of one of the region’s team’s chances of walking away holding the trophy. Eight teams made the field in the quest to make it to the final bracket in Omaha, NE. Four teams would be hosting one of the 16 sites. Potential first round MLB Draft selections could be found on a host of rosters.

Once the games began, optimism quickly gave way to disappointment, and in a few instances, shock. While three teams did manage to win their regional and advance to super regional play, five teams had their seasons ended abruptly. UNC-Wilmington’s elimination from the Athens, GA regional was widely expected, Duke, who featured No. 34 ranked prospect LHP Jonathan Santucci, was expected to put up more of a fight before bowing out of the Norman, OK regional.

Upsets at the regional sites changed the landscape of the tournament. In the Raleigh, NC regional, underdog James Madison eliminated South Carolina who featured one of the top catching prospects for July’s draft, No. 104 overall prospect Cole Messina. Messina came into the tournament as one of the nation’s hottest hitters, but it was not enough to save the Gamecocks. The Dukes almost took out the host NC State in the regional final. The Wolfpack was finally able to put away the pesky James Madison squad and continue a run that was becoming reminiscent of their counterparts on the men’s basketball team and their late-season magical run. By capturing the Raleigh regional, NC State advanced to the Athens super regional.

A major upheaval occurred in Greenville, NC where plucky Evansville wreaked havoc over the course of regional play. First, they dispatched the loaded Wake Forest squad. The Demon Deacons featured the first pitcher expected to be selected in the draft, #prospect RHP Chase Burns and one of the nation’s top collegiate sluggers in No. 4 prospect 1B Nick Kurtz. They also featured two other prospects that should be drafted on the first night of selections in #13 prospect 3B/OF Seaver King and #62 prospect LHP Josh Hartle. Once the Aces had finished playing giant killer with Wake Forest, they toppled the region’s host team, the East Carolina Pirates, and their ace #11 prospect RHP Trey Yesavage. Both Wake Forest and ECU had reasonable expectations to reach Omaha, but thanks to Evansville, they are preparing for either summer classes or the draft.

Clemson took care of business in the regional they hosted. Their stiffest challenge was from in-state baseball rival, the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina. The Tigers top prospect, No. 68 LHP Tristan Smith, took care of business against another Carolina based team, High Point, and watched as his teammates closed out Coastal Carolina. By capturing the Clemson regional, they would be welcoming the Florida Gators to town for a super regional match up.

The Chapel Hill, NC regional was the most exciting of the opening round. Perennial powers North Carolina and LSU would be facing baseball neophytes Wofford and Long Island. It was expected that the Tar Heels and Bayou Bengals would waltz to the regional final against each other. Somebody forgot to tell the opposition. LSU squeaked by Wofford 4-3 in their match up. UNC needed every run they could muster to get by Long Island 11-8. North Carolina topped LSU in the first meeting in the regional, 6-2. The win put the Tar Heels one win away from claiming the double elimination bracket. LSU put the celebrational on hold with a 8-4 victory in the rematch. UNC won the rubber game in thrilling fashion, 4-3, by walking the game off in 10 innings. The Tar Heels then prepared to host the West Virginia Mountaineers for the right to advance to the College World Series and Omaha.

Moving on to the super regionals would be three Carolina teams, UNC, NC State, and Clemson. North Carolina and Clemson would host their games, while NC State would have to travel to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. Florida ousted Clemson in a sweep of their two games. However, that series was notable for constant lead changes, bench clearing brawls, ejections, and atrocious umpiring. The Tiger faithful got an eyeful of what future major league teams will experience in the offensive onslaught of No. 3 prospect, the Gators’ 1B Jac Cagliaone.

NC State also ran up against a high profile slugger, the No. 2 prospect, Georgia OF/3B Charlie Condon. The Wolfpack pitching handcuffed the potential top two pick, holding him to 2-13 hitting with one home run and one run scored. There was a plethora of scoring otherwise, and NC State eventually carried the best of three series 2-1. A total of 44 runs were scored over the course of the weekend. The victory moved NC State onto the baseball version of the Big Dance.

The Tar Heels faced minimal resistance from West Virginia in their sweep over the Mountaineers. The series featured two anticipated first round picks in WVU middle infielder and #4 prospect JJ Wetherholt and UNC OF Vance Honeycutt, the No. 20 prospect. Honeycutt solidified his status as a first round pick by going 4-9, with four runs scored, two home runs, and three RBIs. Out of the eight teams that began tournament play, they would join their foes from Raleigh as the only two teams to reach Omaha.

There was little success to be had once either team began to play in Nebraska. In bracket one, North Carolina defeated fellow ACC combatant Virginia in their opening game 3-2. However, the were beaten by eventual national champion Tennessee, 6-1, in their second game and were eliminated from the loser’s bracket by Florida State, 9-5, ending their season at 48-16. NC State was unable to keep team leader and No. 42 prospect, catcher Jacob Cozart, hot enough to win a game. They fell in game one of bracket two to championship runner up Kentucky, 5-4, before befalling the same fate as Clemson and being eliminated by Florida, 5-4. The Wolfpack ended the season with a record of 38-23.

College baseball season in the Carolinas provided months of excitement and entertainment in 2024. Scores of players from dozens of programs throughout North and South Carolina will hear their names called in the 20 rounds of the MLB Draft occurring July 14-16 in Arlington, TX.

Once all the games have been played, there can be only one champion, and while it may take time to realize, these programs enjoyed a successful season.