UNC cruises to game 1 win against Arizona, Duke to play Saturday in Super Regional
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina and Duke are hosting two Super Regional sites as the nation's best college baseball teams hope to punch their ticket to Omaha and the College World Series.
North Carolina got things started with a bang on Friday afternoon. Hunter Stokely drove in five runs, Luke Stevenson drove in four, and the Heels rolled to an 18-2 victory over Arizona to open the Chapel Hill Super Regional.
Jake Knapp allowed two runs on nine hits in seven innings. He improved to 14-0 with a 2.02 ERA. Tom Chmielewski finished with two scoreless innings.
The top-ranked and No. 5 national seed Tar Heels scored eight runs in the first two innings, three on Stokely's home run that made it a 5-1 game in the first inning. Stevenson's three-run home run in the second made it 8-1.
"We had a plan going into the game, we knew their starter was pretty good, just like we did against Oklahoma, we had an approach, and we stuck to it," said UNC third baseman Gavin Gallaher. "We were able to execute in the game early."
Stokely added an RBI single in the fourth and another in the eighth inning. Stevenson drove in North Carolina's first run in the first inning.
Sam Angelo hit a three-run home run in the eighth, and Kane Kepley's solo home run later in the inning made it 18-2.
Gallaher had four hits and scored three runs. Kepley and Jackson Van De Brake each scored four times for the Tar Heels. The first five batters in the order had 13 hits and drove in 12 runs. They scored 15 runs.
"When you go up big like that on a team and a series like this, it sets the tone for the rest of the weekend, so it's always good to do that," Gallaher said.
Adonys Guzman drove in a run with a single in the first inning, and Easton Breyfogle added a sacrifice fly in the fourth for Arizona's two runs.
Owen Kramkowski (9-6) allowed eight runs in an inning and a third.
North Carolina (46-13) is playing in a Super Regional for the 12th time, having advanced eight times previously.
It is Arizona's sixth Super Regional, and the Wildcats (42-19) have won four of their previous five Super Regionals.
The two teams will play game 2 at noon on Saturday. If North Carolina wins that game, it will be heading to the College World Series.
Duke will host Murray State starting on Saturday. It is the first time in the program's history that the Blue Devils will host a super regional.
Game 1 will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed.
