Ole Miss fell victim to a late implosion in its College World Series opener, falling to North Carolina 6-2 on Friday night.
The Rebels (41-22) took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. The small scoreboard advantage was instantly threatened when Ole Miss reliever Hudson Calhoun walked back-to-back batters. Rebel skipper Mike Bianco promptly pulled Calhoun and turned to closer Walker Hooks to try to keep the Tar Heels (51-12-1) off the scoreboard.
A sacrifice bunt found North Carolina with runners on second and third with no outs. A sacrifice fly tied the game. Then, an unlikely single from Gavin Gallaher, who was 0-15 in previous College World Series plate appearances, put Scott Forbes’ club up 3-2.
Hooks got himself out of the frame, but his teammates did nothing on the offensive side in the top of the eighth, leaving him with the task of minimizing damage from the Tar Heels’ bats. That was seemingly a non-issue at first, as the southpaw from Brandon worked two quick outs. However, the tide turned quickly after Hooks hit a batter, surrendered a double, and gave up a three-run dagger of a longball to effectively seal a game one win for North Carolina.
The late surge in scoring by the Tar Heels added insult to injury after Ole Miss right-hander Taylor Rabe delivered a 5.2-inning gem. Rabe had seven strikeouts while giving up only two hits and one run. He uncharacteristically walked four batters, but managed to work himself out of jams. Calhoun (5-4) was credited with the loss, with two earned runs on two walks being added to his stat sheet. Hooks was responsible for three earned runs in two innings.
Another frustrating aspect of the game for Ole Miss was that the Rebels out-hit North Carolina 8-5, while stranding two more base runners than the Tar Heels. Notably, Ole Miss had a chance to break things open in the top of the sixth. A two-out rally found Owen Paino at second base and Hayden Federico at third. Austin Fawley promptly struck out to end any chance at adding to what was a 1-0 lead at the time. North Carolina’s Owen Hull then hit a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth to tie things up.
Ole Miss was led offensively by Dom Decker’s two hits, both of which were doubles, and one RBI. The red and blue’s two runs came from a Decker double that scored Brayden Randle in the top of the third, followed by a Judd Utermark single that scored Decker in the top of the seventh. Aside from those scoring plays, along with the occasional hit and drawn walk, the Rebels were mowed down by a duo of dynamic North Carolina pitchers.
Tar Heel ace Jason DeCaro was masterful, fanning nine Ole Miss batters and giving up just two earned runs on five hits and three walks in 6.2 innings. Surehanded closer Caden Glauber (11-0) earned the win, though. The freshman struck out two Rebels, while allowing three hits in 2.1 scoreless innings.
North Carolina was led offensively by Colin Hynek, whose three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning wrapped the game in Tar Heel blue and white. Tyler Howe had the only multi-hit outing for his team. The freshman put two balls in play and reached home plate twice in the win.
Next up
Ole Miss is now in the loser’s bracket and faces an elimination game versus Troy on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. The matchup will air on ESPN and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
As for North Carolina, the Tar Heels will face West Virginia on Sunday at 6 p.m. CT.