Tar Heels Top WVU, 12-7, For Berth In CWS Championship Series

Wednesday, June 17

Omaha, Neb.

2 PM ET

North Carolina

53-12-1

West Virginia

47-17

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
North Carolina	2	0	3	3	0	2	2	0	0	12	16	0
West Virginia	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	1	0	7	12	2

Photo by: PAXTON REECE

June 17, 2026 | Baseball

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By: Matt Bowers

OMAHA, NEB.—Fifth-seeded North Carolina exploded for 12 runs, jumping out to a 12-1 lead and holding off 16th-seeded West Virginia, 12-7, to advance to the championship series of the College World Series on Wednesday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field.

With the victory, their fifth in a row, the Tar Heels advanced to the CWS championship series for the third time and the first time in 19 seasons, joining the 2006 and 2007 squads. They improved to 3-0 in games to send themselves to the championship finals.

The final, best-of-three series for the NCAA championship will begin in Omaha on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Tar Heels will face either Georgia or Oklahoma.

UNC has started 3-0 in the CWS for the first time since beginning 4-0 in 2006 and is a scorching 8-1 in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Carolina scored eight runs in the first four innings to take control early and allowed only one run through 6.2 innings. WVU scored five in the bottom of the seventh and added another in the eighth, but Caden Glauber slammed the door by striking out three and allowing just one run in 2.1 innings of relief to finish the game.

UNC improved to 28-0 this season when Glauber pitches.

Carolina's 12 runs were its most since scoring 13 against Pitt on May 23 in the ACC Tournament. The Mountaineers had allowed only a combined 10 runs in their first three games in Omaha prior to Wednesday.

Owen Hull went 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles and two RBI to set the tone for the Tar Heels. Gavin Gallaher also went 4-for-5 and became the second Tar Heel player with four hits and four RBI in a CWS game, joining Tim Federowicz (2006). Erik Paulsen started at first base and added three hits, while Jake Schaffner went 1-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored in the leadoff spot.

Matthew Graveline was 4-for-4 with two RBI at the plate for WVU, while Gavin Kelly was 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.

"We were here in '24, ran into two good teams, came close," Gallaher said. "And then last year, we're one inning away from being in Omaha again. So that really hurt. So to be back here, win our first three games, be in the national championship, it's something that, I mean, it's truly amazing."

UNC improved to 53-12-1 with the victory and has won 17 of its last 20 games. The Mountaineers saw their season come to an end at 47-17.

Jackson Rose (W, 5-0) was mostly masterful in relief of starter Folger Boaz before WVU loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth with one out. Matthew Matthijs relieved him and immediately induced a double play on his first pitch to get the Tar Heels out of the jam.

Chansen Cole (L, 10-2) started for West Virginia. He allowed three earned runs in 2.1 inning before Ian Korn relieved him and gave up seven hits and six runs (five earned) in 3.1 frames.

"I thought Jackson Rose came in, silenced them pretty quick," UNC head coach Scott Forbes said. "I thought he was outstanding. We were joking before the game today, like, man, we need to have one of those games where we get 15 hits and score some runs. So thankfully that happened.

"I thought our guys were ready. I felt like they were going after it. We talked about being in the moment, not counting outs and just playing like a Little Leaguer and having a blast doing so. And how can you not?

"I mean, this is unbelievable. We're at the College World Series. We talk about it's an honor and a privilege to wear our uniform at the University of North Carolina, but it's also an honor and a privilege to be here playing on that field. And I want our guys to feel that. I want them to play with joy and have a blast playing together. So they did that."

How It Happened:
• Carolina quickly grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. After Schaffner drew a leadoff walk and stole second, Hull smacked a double off the right-centerfield wall to drive in the game's first run. With the hit, Hull extended his hitting streak to 12 games and his on-base streak to 20. After a ground out by Gallaher, Hull stole third and scored when WVU third baseman Tyrus Hall failed to snare catcher Graveline's throw, which went into left field.
• In the bottom of the first, Armani Guzman induced a leadoff walk and took second on a single to left by Kelly. After a fielder's choice, WVU had runners on first and third with one out. After Boaz struck out Sean Smith with a good slider for the second out, Graveline then drove in Guzman with a single to right to make the score 2-1 Tar Heels.
• Schaffner walked again to start the third inning, then took second on a single by Hull to center. Gallaher followed with an RBI single to left to drive in Schaffner, extending his hitting streak to 13 and his on-base streak to 25 and driving Cole from the game after just 2.1 inning with three earned runs allowed. Paulsen's bloop single just past third base put runners on first and second with one out before Cooper Nicholson's two-run double to right-center short-hopped off the wall for a 5-1 Tar Heel advantage.
• In the top of the fourth, Hull doubled home Carter French, then Gallaher's two-run single against a drawn-in WVU infield drove home Hull and Schaffner to give Carolina a commanding, 8-1 lead.
• Two innings later, Hull hit a two-out triple before coming home on an RBI single by Gallaher to make it 9-1. After a pitching change, Gallaher stole second and came around to score on a single by Paulsen.
• In the top of the seventh with two outs, French doubled home Macon Winslow and then scored on a single by Schaffner for a 12-1 lead.
• The Mountaineers plated their first run in six innings with five two-out runs in the bottom of the seventh, the first run the Tar Heel bullpen had given up in 12.1 innings in Omaha.
• Kelly hit a solo home run in the eighth off Glauber to make the final score 12-7 Tar Heels.