NCAA baseball: UNC beats ECU, advances to Super Regional round

North Carolina, the No. 5 overall seed, defeated East Carolina 9-3 on Sunday at Boshamer Stadium to win the Chapel Hill Regional and advance to the best-of-three Super Regional round for the third straight year.

North Carolina (48-11-1) will host either Texas A&M or Southern Cal in the Super Regional next week in Chapel Hill for a berth in the College World Series. Southern Cal must defeat the host Texas A&M twice to advance out of the College Station (Texas) regional. The teams play Sunday night and, if necessary, Monday.

UNC went 3-0 in a regional for the first time since 2019. The Tar Heels are 41-8 all-time in Chapel Hill during the regional round.

North Carolina beat ECU on Saturday, but the Pirates topped VCU to earn a rematch with the Tar Heels. Center fielder Owen Hull had three RBIs for the Tar Heels, who led 5-0 after two innings un Sunday's clincher.

The Tar Heels advanced to the College World Series in 2024, beating LSU in the Super Regional to advance. They lost to Arizona in the Super Regional last season. UNC has made 12 appearances in the College World Series and finished national runner-up twice in 2006 and 2007.

NC State and coach Elliott Avent, who announced his retirement before the tournament, were eliminated Saturday in the Auburn (Alabama) regional.

Chapel Hill Regional

Chapel Hill, N.C.

Friday, May 29

Game 1 - East Carolina 7, Tennessee 3, 14 innings

Third-seeded East Carolina outlasted No. 2 seed Tennessee in a 14-inning battle Friday afternoon in the Chapel Hill Regional opener. The postseason pitchers' duel was the longest NCAA Regional game since 2023. The game lasted 4 hours and 30 minutes. The game was tied at 1 into the ninth inning when both teams scored one. Both teams scored a single run in the 13th inning before ECU broke the game open with four runs in the top of the 14th. 

Game 2 - North Carolina 8, VCU 0

Ryan Lynch pitched seven innings and allowed just two hits and no runs to lead No. 5 overall seed North Carolina to a victory over VCU. UNC scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Eric Paulsen had a two-run double in the inning. Third baseman Cooper Nicholson had three hits, including a solo home run.

Saturday, May 30

Game 3 - VCU 5, Tennessee 4 (Tennessee eliminated)

Game 4 - North Carolina 7, East Carolina 5

Catcher Colin Hynek's three-run home run in the fourth inning tied the game 3, and The Tar Heels added four more runs in the fifth and sixth to earn the win. Caden Glauber pitched 4.1 innings of relief and allowed two runs while striking out eight. UNC improved to 24-0 in games that Glauber pitches this season. Walker McDuffie earned the save. Jason Decaro started and allowed three runs and six hits in 3.2 innings for the Tar Heels.

Sunday, May 31

Game 5 - ECU 10, VCU 0 (VCU eliminated)

Game 6 - North Carolina 9, ECU 3 (UNC advances, ECU eliminated)

Auburn Regional

Auburn, Ala.

Friday, May 29

Game 1 - Milwaukee 13, Auburn 8

Game 2 - UCF 9, NC State 3

NC State led 3-0 in the first inning, but UCF scored the game's final nine runs. The game completed Saturday after a weather delay forced a stoppage in the top of the eighth inning. NC State left a season-high 14 runners on base in the game. Coach Elliott Avent is retiring after the season, and the Wolfpack are a loss away from elimination.

Saturday, May 30

Game 3 - Auburn 17, NC State 13 NC State eliminated)

NC State coach Elliott Avent's 30-year run with the Wolfpack ended Saturday as his team dropped its first two games in the Auburn regional. Auburn led 10-0 before NC State cut the deficit to 10-7, but the Tigers offense was too much and the Wolfpack's pitching staff to depleted. Longtime assistant coach Chris Hart has been promoted to head coach for NC State.

Game 4 - Milwaukee 13, UCF 6

Sunday, May 31

Game 5 - Auburn vs. UCF, 3 p.m.(elimination game)

Game 6 - Milwaukee vs. Game 5 winner, 8 p.m.

Monday, June 1

x-Game 7 - Rematch Game 6