University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: ISABEL O. SWINDALL
Lucas: Take Them Home
June 17, 2026 | Baseball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Carolina dispatched West Virginia and will play for the national championship.
By Adam Lucas
"Country roads, take me home…"
                 Â
It's been ubiquitous in Omaha. Just outside the team hotel across from Charles Schwab Field, there's a tented area with drinks, TV's, and speakers rocking at virtually all hours.
                 Â
Walking around Monday evening, on a day West Virginia didn't even play, it blasted out onto the sidewalk and echoed around the street.
                 Â
"To the place I belong…"
                 Â
To be fair, the Mountaineers were a great story. They're a non-traditional baseball school with a passionate fan base and it was a fantastic moment when they walked off Kentucky during the Morganton Regional and then the players stayed on the field to sing along with the sellout crowd to "Country Roads."
                 Â
As a baseball fan, you had to love it. Social media loved it. ESPN really loved it a whole lot, using the song relentlessly in their game broadcasts.
                 Â
But North Carolina is a pretty good story, too. They reminded everyone on Wednesday afternoon in a much warmer Omaha, racing to a 12-1 lead before eventually winning a 12-7 decision. The victory, as you will undoubtedly hear plenty about in the days to come, means the Tar Heels will play for the national championship for the first time since 2006 and 2007.Â
                 Â
John Denver never sang about the Heels, perhaps because he could not find a suitable rhyme for Gallaher or Schaffner. You can't write the story of this season without either of those players, a perfect summation of the way Scott Forbes has built this team: one a homegrown player from a half-hour away from Chapel Hill, the other pulled from Wisconsin.Â
                 Â
And somehow, both fit perfectly. It's the place they belong, you (or ol' John D) might say. This whole team has the feeling of a group that is exactly where they are supposed to be, doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. Of course there would be a steady Matthew Matthijs to gobble up an inning on the mound after taking the ball from freshman Jackson Rose. Naturally Carter French would turn into a tough out at the bottom of the order, consistently working his way back into the lineup every time it looks like he's on the verge of being replaced. Certainly Caden Glauber would spend his June striking out the nation's best hitters in Omaha rather than shopping for his first dorm room.
                 Â
As often happens when a team gets on a run in the postseason, it feels like every move the coaching staff has made in June works smoothly. The Tar Heels shuffled the batting order, moving Owen Hull into the two spot, sliding Gallaher in at third, and putting Erik Paulsen in at cleanup.
                 Â
All those three players did was go 11-for-15 on Wednesday, driving in a combined seven runs and scoring six.Â
                 Â
The outcome of Folger Boaz's start wasn't flawless, but the Heels then went to Rose and watched the freshman give them exactly what they needed: 4.1 innings of shutout relief while the offense ignited. The Heels are now lined up to have 1-2 starters Jason DeCaro and Ryan Lynch start the first two games of the national title, and they'll have a fully rested Walker McDuffie ready in relief.
                 Â
Even on a day when the baserunning wasn't perfect, the aggressiveness could be forgiven. It was the attacking first inning, featuring Jake Schaffner stealing second, that set the tone for the entire afternoon. The 12-run eruption was the biggest Tar Heel offensive production of the NCAA Tournament.Â
                 Â
Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, there is even more bad news. West Virginia wasn't the only state Denver sang about. In 1970, he released an album titled Take Me To Tomorrow. On the second side of that record, you'll find Denver's cover version of a song by an emerging artist named James Taylor.Â
                 Â
Yes, even John Denver himself understood the unquestioned magical pull of "Carolina In My Mind." Maybe the Mountaineers can listen to it while they're taking the country roads back home.
Â
"Country roads, take me home…"
                 Â
It's been ubiquitous in Omaha. Just outside the team hotel across from Charles Schwab Field, there's a tented area with drinks, TV's, and speakers rocking at virtually all hours.
                 Â
Walking around Monday evening, on a day West Virginia didn't even play, it blasted out onto the sidewalk and echoed around the street.
                 Â
"To the place I belong…"
                 Â
To be fair, the Mountaineers were a great story. They're a non-traditional baseball school with a passionate fan base and it was a fantastic moment when they walked off Kentucky during the Morganton Regional and then the players stayed on the field to sing along with the sellout crowd to "Country Roads."
                 Â
As a baseball fan, you had to love it. Social media loved it. ESPN really loved it a whole lot, using the song relentlessly in their game broadcasts.
                 Â
But North Carolina is a pretty good story, too. They reminded everyone on Wednesday afternoon in a much warmer Omaha, racing to a 12-1 lead before eventually winning a 12-7 decision. The victory, as you will undoubtedly hear plenty about in the days to come, means the Tar Heels will play for the national championship for the first time since 2006 and 2007.Â
                 Â
John Denver never sang about the Heels, perhaps because he could not find a suitable rhyme for Gallaher or Schaffner. You can't write the story of this season without either of those players, a perfect summation of the way Scott Forbes has built this team: one a homegrown player from a half-hour away from Chapel Hill, the other pulled from Wisconsin.Â
                 Â
And somehow, both fit perfectly. It's the place they belong, you (or ol' John D) might say. This whole team has the feeling of a group that is exactly where they are supposed to be, doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. Of course there would be a steady Matthew Matthijs to gobble up an inning on the mound after taking the ball from freshman Jackson Rose. Naturally Carter French would turn into a tough out at the bottom of the order, consistently working his way back into the lineup every time it looks like he's on the verge of being replaced. Certainly Caden Glauber would spend his June striking out the nation's best hitters in Omaha rather than shopping for his first dorm room.
                 Â
As often happens when a team gets on a run in the postseason, it feels like every move the coaching staff has made in June works smoothly. The Tar Heels shuffled the batting order, moving Owen Hull into the two spot, sliding Gallaher in at third, and putting Erik Paulsen in at cleanup.
                 Â
All those three players did was go 11-for-15 on Wednesday, driving in a combined seven runs and scoring six.Â
                 Â
The outcome of Folger Boaz's start wasn't flawless, but the Heels then went to Rose and watched the freshman give them exactly what they needed: 4.1 innings of shutout relief while the offense ignited. The Heels are now lined up to have 1-2 starters Jason DeCaro and Ryan Lynch start the first two games of the national title, and they'll have a fully rested Walker McDuffie ready in relief.
                 Â
Even on a day when the baserunning wasn't perfect, the aggressiveness could be forgiven. It was the attacking first inning, featuring Jake Schaffner stealing second, that set the tone for the entire afternoon. The 12-run eruption was the biggest Tar Heel offensive production of the NCAA Tournament.Â
                 Â
Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, there is even more bad news. West Virginia wasn't the only state Denver sang about. In 1970, he released an album titled Take Me To Tomorrow. On the second side of that record, you'll find Denver's cover version of a song by an emerging artist named James Taylor.Â
                 Â
Yes, even John Denver himself understood the unquestioned magical pull of "Carolina In My Mind." Maybe the Mountaineers can listen to it while they're taking the country roads back home.
Â
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