Tar Heels split opening games in Omaha

After losing to Vanderbilt in Saturday’s College World Series opener, the North Carolina baseball team faced an uphill battle in trying to keep its national championship hopes alive.

But Kent Emanuel’s complete-game shutout in Monday’s elimination game extended the Tar Heels’ stay in Omaha at least a little longer.

Emanuel was the first pitcher to record a complete game shutout in the College World Series since UNC’s Robert Woodard did it in 2006.

Woodard, who now coaches for UNC, watched Emanuel’s stellar performance from the dugout at TD Ameritrade Park.

“It was just really neat to sort of sit back and see a kid compete and perform like that,” Woodard said. “It doesn’t happen very often, especially at this stage.”

Coach Mike Fox made adjustments to the lineup before Monday’s game, moving slumping Levi Michael down and replacing him in the two-hole with center fielder Ben Bunting.

And against Texas, the coach’s intuition paid off in a big way.

Bunting, who is now 14-for-31 in the NCAA tournament, led UNC with four hits in five at-bats and batted in the team’s final run in the ninth inning. Catcher Jacob Stallings drove in North Carolina’s first two runs in the third inning with a two-RBI single.

“Right now (Bunting and Stallings are) our best two guys in terms of being locked in and really taking good swings,” Fox said. “There’s some thought behind that. When guys are swinging well, just get them up there in the top of the order.”

Though the Tar Heels cruised to their first NCAA victory outside of Boshamer Stadium and avoided elimination, Monday’s game began to look eerily familiar from the onset.

During the first few innings, North Carolina struggled to capitalize on offensive opportunities and left many runners in scoring position. In Saturday’s loss to Vanderbilt, the Tar Heels left a season-high 16 men on base.

“It’s very frustrating looking back leaving all those runners on,” Bunting said after the loss. “To keep it happening and have that lingering feeling all game… It’s pretty tough mentally to try to get out of that.”

As the Tar Heels moved on, Mike Fox said it’s important to remember the College World Series is about more than just wins and losses.

“The more you’re out here, the more times you come, the more you really try and relish it,” Fox said. “We want to win, but the baseball sort of takes care of itself after the first pitch. I want people to come back from this trip and say, ‘I had a great experience.’”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.