Updated

Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jun 13

North Carolina Beats Ole Miss 6-2 as 2.28-ERA DeCaro Silences Rebels in CWS Opener

Updated

Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jun 13

North Carolina Beats Ole Miss 6-2 as 2.28-ERA DeCaro Silences Rebels in CWS Opener

Q: How did a player with no prior playoff experience become North Carolina’s unlikely College World Series hero overnight?

It was Colin Hynek, a Georgia State transfer who had never played in a true postseason before arriving at North Carolina, and he became UNC’s overnight College World Series hero by delivering the game’s decisive swing. Hynek’s moment came in the eighth inning of North Carolina’s 6-2 win over Ole Miss, when he launched a three-run homer that turned a one-run game into a comfortable lead. That hit effectively sealed the Tar Heels’ opening-round victory in Omaha and made him the central figure of the night. What made it unlikely is his background. Hynek had not experienced playoff baseball in high school or at Georgia State, so this postseason with UNC has been his first real exposure to elimination-style, high-pressure games. Yet he has shown a pattern of rising to those moments. He also hit a key three-run homer against East Carolina in the Chapel Hill Regional, and his production this season — a .271/.360/.486 line with eight home runs — reflects a player having a career year at exactly the right time. Hynek himself has framed that as part of why he transferred to North Carolina: to play in games like these. On a team chasing its first national title and carrying the pressure of another deep Omaha run, he supplied the biggest swing of the opener despite having none of the playoff résumé usually associated with a College World Series hero. In short, Hynek became that hero by pairing fresh opportunity with immediate clutch production on the sport’s biggest college stage.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jun 13

6-2 became Ole Miss' first NCAA Tournament loss after North Carolina erased a 2-1 deficit and pulled away with a three-run homer in the eighth.
2 runs were the fewest the Rebels had scored this postseason, as they stranded eight runners, struck out 11 times and failed to homer after hitting seven in their first five tournament games.
Jason DeCaro, who entered with a 2.28 ERA, held Ole Miss to two runs over 6 2/3 innings before All-American closer Caden Glauber — owner of a 2.20 ERA — finished 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Ole Miss now drops into a June 14 elimination game against Troy, while North Carolina moves on in the winner's bracket.