North Carolina beat Stanford 7-5 Saturday in game two of the NCAA super regional, moving on to the College World Series for the fifth time in six years.
Freshman Kent Emanuel, now 8-2 on the season, allowed just five hits and one run while striking out five in six innings pitched.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Stanford’s Austin Wilson hit a three-RBI double to bring the Cardinal within one run. But the inning ended with a UNC double play, and reliever Michael Morin struck out two batters in the bottom of the ninth.
The Cardinal led UNC 1-0 through the first three innings before senior center fielder Ben Bunting batted in the first Tar Heel run of the game in the top of the fourth. Brian Holberton followed moments later with an RBI double to give UNC a 3-1 lead.
After an error from the Stanford third baseman helped the Tar Heels load the bases in the top of the seventh inning, first baseman Jesse Wierzbicki and catcher Jacob Stallings batted in three more UNC runs.
The Tar Heels will be one of eight teams to compete in the 2011 College World Series, which will begin June 18 in Omaha, Neb.
