Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Lucas: Oklahoma Rapid Reactions (2)
June 1, 2025 | Baseball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the regional final.
By Adam Lucas
1. You always knew this was going to be a tough regional. Oklahoma built some momentum in their afternoon shellacking of Nebraska and carried it over to the evening game, holding on for a 9-5 win over the Tar Heels.
2. Carolina simply wasn't sharp enough to win that game. They committed a pair of errors (which led to five unearned runs), had a passed ball, and most uncharacteristically, had trouble throwing strikes.
3. The control issues were staff-wide. Just 52.3 percent of UNC pitches were strikes. Tar Heel pitchers walked nine batters, with everyone who appeared other than Olin Johnson walking at least one. There were also countless three-ball counts, which slowed the pace of play, which ended up just not making this feel very much like a Carolina type of game. Oklahoma, meanwhile, was happy to stretch it out as much as possible. Aidan Haugh started on the mound and piled up 102 pitches in just 3.2 innings. Six of his 11 outs were by strikeout, but he also walked four.
4. Gavin Gallaher continues to have a great regional offensively. He started the UNC scoring with a solo homer, hit a two-run double in the top of the fifth that was 108 mph off the bat, and later added another RBI double at 102 off the bat. Gallaher has nine hits in the regional. The only other RBI on Sunday night came from Luke Stevenson.Â
5. Oklahoma shortstop Jaxon Willits--a very good player--added some spark to the game in the third. He was going from first to second on a two-out grounder to second. Willits inexplicably made a reaching motion as if he was going to try and catch the ball (he would have been out, of course), which had the added effect of shielding Tar Heel second baseman Jackson Van De Brake from the ball. Van De Brake made a clean play and the pair then exchanged words. The entire sequence seemed to wake up the Heels and the Boshamer Stadium crowd. The very next UNC batter was Gallaher, who swatted his homer to ignite the crowd even more.
6. It wasn't the headline performance of the day, but Tom Chmielewski had a very important outing from the bullpen. He entered in the fourth with the bases loaded and two outs in a 2-1 Oklahoma game. The lefty promptly fell behind 3-0 to Sam Christiansen, but then dropped in a 3-0 curveball for a strike and coaxed a groundout to short on the next pitch, another curve. That's the kind of veteran moxie you need from your bullpen to win in the postseason.
7. Unusual play in the fifth, as Olin Johnson appeared to catch a spike with Willits on first base. His less than graceful delivery left the ball down and away, but Luke Stevenson speared it and fired a strike to second base, giving Willits a caught stealing for the first time all year.Â
8. Pitching may be the headliner, but Carolina just wasn't as efficient offensively as they were in the first meeting with the Sooners. They missed some drivable middle-middle fastballs in the late innings with runners on base, were 0-for-3 with the bases loaded, and scored just one of four runners from third base with less than two out. Two out hits were big on Saturday; on Sunday the Heels were 2-10 in that situation.
9. UNC very much played that game as if it had some cushion, choosing not to use Walker McDuffie or Ryan Lynch in relief. They will be huge tomorrow--and it wouldn't be stunning if one of them gets the start--in a winner-take-all regional final.
10. The time for that game will be announced later tonight by ESPN. Stay tuned to Carolina baseball social media for updates, and prepare for what should be a raucous Boshamer Stadium against a good Oklahoma team. Essentially, these two teams are going to play a three-game series by the time the regional is over, and the winner will go to the supers. Monday is going to be a good one. Remember, this isn't unprecedented territory. It's hard to win a regional, and the Heels went to the extra game before winning in 2024 (LSU), 2022 (VCU) and 2013 (FAU).
1. You always knew this was going to be a tough regional. Oklahoma built some momentum in their afternoon shellacking of Nebraska and carried it over to the evening game, holding on for a 9-5 win over the Tar Heels.
2. Carolina simply wasn't sharp enough to win that game. They committed a pair of errors (which led to five unearned runs), had a passed ball, and most uncharacteristically, had trouble throwing strikes.
3. The control issues were staff-wide. Just 52.3 percent of UNC pitches were strikes. Tar Heel pitchers walked nine batters, with everyone who appeared other than Olin Johnson walking at least one. There were also countless three-ball counts, which slowed the pace of play, which ended up just not making this feel very much like a Carolina type of game. Oklahoma, meanwhile, was happy to stretch it out as much as possible. Aidan Haugh started on the mound and piled up 102 pitches in just 3.2 innings. Six of his 11 outs were by strikeout, but he also walked four.
4. Gavin Gallaher continues to have a great regional offensively. He started the UNC scoring with a solo homer, hit a two-run double in the top of the fifth that was 108 mph off the bat, and later added another RBI double at 102 off the bat. Gallaher has nine hits in the regional. The only other RBI on Sunday night came from Luke Stevenson.Â
5. Oklahoma shortstop Jaxon Willits--a very good player--added some spark to the game in the third. He was going from first to second on a two-out grounder to second. Willits inexplicably made a reaching motion as if he was going to try and catch the ball (he would have been out, of course), which had the added effect of shielding Tar Heel second baseman Jackson Van De Brake from the ball. Van De Brake made a clean play and the pair then exchanged words. The entire sequence seemed to wake up the Heels and the Boshamer Stadium crowd. The very next UNC batter was Gallaher, who swatted his homer to ignite the crowd even more.
6. It wasn't the headline performance of the day, but Tom Chmielewski had a very important outing from the bullpen. He entered in the fourth with the bases loaded and two outs in a 2-1 Oklahoma game. The lefty promptly fell behind 3-0 to Sam Christiansen, but then dropped in a 3-0 curveball for a strike and coaxed a groundout to short on the next pitch, another curve. That's the kind of veteran moxie you need from your bullpen to win in the postseason.
7. Unusual play in the fifth, as Olin Johnson appeared to catch a spike with Willits on first base. His less than graceful delivery left the ball down and away, but Luke Stevenson speared it and fired a strike to second base, giving Willits a caught stealing for the first time all year.Â
8. Pitching may be the headliner, but Carolina just wasn't as efficient offensively as they were in the first meeting with the Sooners. They missed some drivable middle-middle fastballs in the late innings with runners on base, were 0-for-3 with the bases loaded, and scored just one of four runners from third base with less than two out. Two out hits were big on Saturday; on Sunday the Heels were 2-10 in that situation.
9. UNC very much played that game as if it had some cushion, choosing not to use Walker McDuffie or Ryan Lynch in relief. They will be huge tomorrow--and it wouldn't be stunning if one of them gets the start--in a winner-take-all regional final.
10. The time for that game will be announced later tonight by ESPN. Stay tuned to Carolina baseball social media for updates, and prepare for what should be a raucous Boshamer Stadium against a good Oklahoma team. Essentially, these two teams are going to play a three-game series by the time the regional is over, and the winner will go to the supers. Monday is going to be a good one. Remember, this isn't unprecedented territory. It's hard to win a regional, and the Heels went to the extra game before winning in 2024 (LSU), 2022 (VCU) and 2013 (FAU).
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