DURHAM, N.C. – It’d been less than a week since the North Carolina Tar Heels had finished their regular season schedule with a three-game set against Florida State in Tallahassee, with both teams in the hunt for the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title.
You can call Saturday’s matchup, which a see-saw game that the Tar Heels won 7-5 with two runs in the top of the ninth capped off by shutdown relief in the bottom of the inning, a preview of a matchup you might see in Omaha at the College World Series.
Unable to get a base runner through the first three innings against Florida State starter Wes Mendes, Kane Kepley led off the top of the fourth for UNC by taking a fastball on the arm, then stole second and advanced to third when the throw from FSU catcher Jaxson West skipped into the outfield. It wasn’t until UNC sent it’s 13th batter of the game, Gavin Gallaher, to the plate, that they got a base hit, when Gallaher singled up the middle to get Kepley home for a 1-0 Tar Heels lead.
“Frankly, I think it was the best I’ve seen him throw. His first time through that lineup, the first [three] innings… that was impressive,” said Florida State head coach Link Jarrett about Mendes’ first three innings following the game. “He was in a position in some really good counts to try to finish some people off and we didn’t quite do it.”
The UNC lead didn’t last for long, however, as Myles Bailey launched his 15th homer of the season, a solo shot to right field, his third homer in two games at the ACC tournament and his fourth in his last three games, going back to the regular season finale against the Tar Heels on May 17.
Hunter Stokely led off the fifth for the Tar Heels, legging out an opposite-field double, then scored on Alex Madera’s one-out double to the right field corner. With two outs, Carter French singled home Madera for a 3-1 UNC lead.
Florida State battled back in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases when Myles Bailey drew a walk. Cal Fisher then drew a walk, pushing Gage Harrelson home. When Drew Faurot’s hot shot was gloved out of the air by second baseman Jackson Van de Brake, Max Williams scored, and Van de Brake’s throw to first to try to double off Fisher went into the first base dugout. That allowed Bailey to score, giving Florida State a 4-3 lead.
“There were some line drives… the one that created the runs? You’re one step or misread away from not having an inning to even discuss,” Florida State head coach Link Jarrett said. “And I’ve never seen that happen with a line drive to second.”
But no lead was safe Saturday evening, and the one-run lead FSU got in the bottom of the fifth was gone two batters into the top of the sixth. After Jackson Van de Brake led off the inning with a double to atone for his throwing error, Luke Stevenson launched his 18th homer of the year, a two-run shot to right field that put UNC back on top 5-4.
Again, Florida State returned fire, with Jaxson West drawing a walk and advancing to second on a wild pitch before scoring on Alex Lodise’s double to left center in the bottom of the sixth.
Finally, in the top of the ninth, UNC landed the final blow, when Kane Kepley’s single up the middle scored Alex Madera and Perry Hargett to give the Tar Heels a 7-5 lead.
Walker McDuffie came on for the bottom of the ninth and earned his seventh save of the year, facing the heart of the Florida State order. The freshman got Alex Lodise and Max Williams to fly out to left field before walking Bailey on five pitches. With a 2-2 count, he got Cal Fisher to hit a foul pop near first base that Hunter Stokely easily pulled in to send UNC to the championship game on Sunday.
“He is our closer, we can have him out for the last three outs. That’s a tough three, like you said, those are three really good hitters and he executed some really, really good pitches,” said Forbes. “And one of the best players in the country hit a ball hard and it went right to us.”
North Carolina will face Clemson at noon in the championship game at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, but the season isn’t over for Florida State, who are a lock to get into the NCAA Tournament and are projected by D1Baseball.com to host an NCAA regional in Tallahassee.
Forbes knows they’ll be a force in the NCAA Tournament.
“lorida State’s gonna represent our league extremely well,” the Tar Heels head coach said. “Link and I were wishing each other really a lot of good luck in the postseason. We hope that potentially we can meet in the Midwest.”
2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament Schedule
Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, N.C.
All times Eastern Daylight Time
Tuesday, May 20 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 16 California 12, No. 9 Miami 2
No. 12 Virginia Tech 7, No. 13 Stanford 4
No. 15 Pitt 13, No. 10 Louisville 11
No. 14 Boston College 5, No. 11 Notre Dame 4
Wednesday, May 20 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 16 California 14, No. 8 Wake Forest 12
No. 5 Clemson 6, No. 12 Virginia Tech 1
No. 7 Duke 4, No. 15 Pitt 3
No. 14 Boston College 12, No. 6 Virginia 8
Thursday, May 21 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 1 Georgia Tech 10, No. 16 California 2
No. 5 Clemson 7, No. 4 N.C. State 6
Friday, May 22 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 2 Florida State 14, No. 7 Duke 7
No. 3 North Carolina 7, No. 14 Boston College 2
Saturday, May 23 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 5 Clemson 9, No. 1 Georgia Tech 4
No. 3 North Carolina7, No. 2 Florida State 5
Sunday, May 24 – Game Broadcast on ESPN2
Noon – No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 3 North Carolina
Photo: Luke Stevenson rounds third after hitting a two-run homer in the sixth inning of the Tar Heels’ 7-5 win over Florida State in the ACC semifinal. (Photo courtesy of the ACC)
