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North Carolina caps wild 9th inning with walk-off grand slam vs. LIU
By Paul Harvey
Published:
North Carolina opened its Chapel Hill Regional journey with a date against Long Island Friday night. After taking a lead in the 6th inning, the Tar Heels had a chance to shut things down in the 9th but suddenly found themselves in a hole.
Leading 5-4 heading into the 9th inning, the Tar Heels watched as the Sharks tied the game with a 2-out RBI double from JC Navarro. The inning was kept alive by an intentional walk to Jack Power, bringing Jacob Pipercic to the plate.
Pipercic had just 2 home runs on the season, but the moment was not too big. He drilled a 3-run home run down the left field line to stake LIU to an 8-5 lead.
LONG. ISLAND. SHARKS.
LIU with a 4 run 9th inning to silence The Bosh pic.twitter.com/Sh7YbDrlSZ
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) June 1, 2024
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CLAIM OFFERThe good news for UNC is that the Tar Heels did not hang their heads. The first 2 batters of the bottom of the 9th inning got on base, and the rally commenced.
UNC would score 2 runs on an infield single and bases-loaded walk, bringing Gavin Gallaher to the plate and trailing 8-7. Gallaher would not waste the opportunity, ending the game with just one swing.
He got a breaking ball that hung up over the middle of the plate, and he punished it deep into the night beyond left field for the walk-off grand slam. The blast moves UNC into the winner’s bracket in the most dramatic fashion possible for the 11-8 win.
Night time is Gallaher time!!! pic.twitter.com/Q5qBjtoKfl
— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) June 1, 2024
The grand slam is undoubtedly the highlight, but Gallaher was on fire all night long. He finished the game 3-for-4 with 2 home runs, a double and 6 RBI in the win.
Now, UNC moves into a matchup against the reigning national champs the LSU Tigers. That will be a must-see matchup set for 5 pm ET Saturday evening with the winner moving within a win of reaching the Super Regionals.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
