“I would’ve predicted this was going to be a close game,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said.
They’re an older team, so I want to give a shout out to Holy Cross.
And he arrived Friday to face Holy Cross having last pitched in the NCAA Tournament in June 2023, in a regional opener that resulted in a loss to Iowa.
Holy Cross chose not to send Brendan Jones from third base there, deciding against running and testing the charging Kane Kepley’s throwing arm.
Holy Cross is making the program’s second appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1978.
N. Chapel Hill. A. Jake Knapp’s winning streak continued on Friday afternoon as North Carolina began the NCAA baseball tournament with a victory.
At Boshamer Stadium, the Tar Heels easily defeated Holy Cross with a 4-0 shutout in this regional opener. Their ace, Knapp, pitched into the ninth inning and delivered a four-hit gem to extend his season-long unbeaten record.
In his 8⅓ innings, ACC Pitcher of the Year Knapp gave UNC its longest appearance in an NCAA Tournament game in over ten years, since Hobbs Johnson’s shutout of NC State in the 2013 College World Series. On this day, Knapp, a big right-hander, recorded a season-high 119 pitches. He improved his perfect record to 13-0 on the season, which is the best record for any college baseball starter, while dishing out three walks and providing seven strikeouts.
Before scoring its first hit of Friday’s game in the bottom of the fourth inning, Carolina sent 12 batters to the plate. But the 43-12 Tar Heels, the No. There was enough distance between them and the tournament’s fifth national seed. They then play the winner at 6 p.m. between Nebraska and Oklahoma. A. Saturday. . With the win on Friday, UNC’s record improved to 22-5 over its last 27 games.
UNC coach Scott Forbes stated, “I would have predicted this was going to be a close game.”. “I just had a gut feeling while I watched them play. Holy Cross deserves special recognition because they are an older team. They have an excellent team. They forced us to put in a lot of effort. Ultimately, though, Jake Knapp was the game’s main character. “.
In this four-team, double-elimination regional, Holy Cross (31-26), the Patriot League’s regular-season and tournament champion, will play an elimination game against the Oklahoma-Nebraska loser at noon on Saturday.
UNC’s record in games where Knapp has pitched this season is 15-0 overall. With one out in the top of the ninth inning, he left to a standing ovation from the home crowd. Walker McDuffie, the reliever, then came in and recorded the final two outs.
Following their victory in the ACC Tournament, the Tar Heels hit Holy Cross starter Danny Macchiarola for five hits and three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, ending the game’s scoreless tie at that point. The afternoon’s first hits for UNC came from Gavin Gallaher, who blasted a one-out triple off the left-center outfield wall, and Hunter Stokely, who then stroked an RBI single.
The lead then increased to 3-0 after Sam Angelo hit a run-scoring single and Tyson Bass hit a double with two outs. Gallaher drove in Jackson Van De Brake with a single in the bottom of the fifth inning, giving UNC a 4-0 lead. After Van De Brake hit a leadoff double there, Holy Cross coach Ed Kahovec substituted lefty reliever Derek Volz for right-hander Macchiarola two batters after Gallaher’s single. With two walks, Gallaher went 2-for-2 at the plate.
“I’ve had a lot of close calls rounding second base,” Gallaher, a sophomore, remarked, making light of his first triple of the season in the fourth inning. “I finally got one that bounced off the wall far enough away from the guy to really kick into the next gear because I know myself as a runner. However, it’s always beneficial to have a guy in scoring position with fewer than two outs as the game’s first hit. I also know that I have a good chance of scoring if I’m in a scoring position with this lineup. “..”.
Knapp’s incredible 2025 season is all the more impressive given that he missed the entire previous season due to Tommy John surgery. In terms of victories, innings pitched, opposing batting average, and ERA, he was the ACC leader. Additionally, he had not pitched in an NCAA Tournament game since June 2023, when he came to play Holy Cross in a regional opener that ended in a defeat to Iowa.
Here, Knapp escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the top of the sixth inning while bearing down and grunting louder and louder on the mound. He got Chris Baillargeon on a flyout to center field, then pounded Gianni Royer of the Crusaders with his lively fastball, which reached 96 mph once more. Instead of running to test the throwing arm of the charging Kane Kepley, Holy Cross decided not to send Brendan Jones from third base there.
Knapp recalled his grunts in that situation and laughed afterwards. “I knew in that situation, it was one of those moments where I did have to reach back,” he said. “I knew I still had more to give. And I won’t leave anything out in a situation that big. My grunting was definitely louder than usual, but whatever. “.”.
Knapp had given up just two hits in five scoreless innings earlier, and Carter French of the Tar Heels had retreated to the left-field wall to catch a drive off the bat of Connor Peek of Holy Cross. Knapp reached back to strike out Sean Scanlon of the Crusaders in the top of the seventh inning. Jimmy King then reached base for Holy Cross, and Peek bounced into an inning-ending double play.
After hosting an NCAA baseball regional for the thirteenth time since 2006, UNC’s home record in regional games is now 37-9 overall. Holy Cross is participating in the NCAA Tournament for the second time since 1978. In 2017, the Crusaders participated in their most recent NCAA regional.
According to Kahovec of the Crusaders, “I thought that our approach was great in the box.”. It’s difficult to overcome a pitcher who is among the best in America, if not the best. He’s the ACC Pitcher of the Year for a reason: he can persevere and finish the job in those situations. And that’s how it went, along with our occasional executional shortcomings. “..”.
