It’s not March, and this isn’t basketball – so, can we call it May Madness?
On Friday night, the North Carolina Tar Heels – the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA baseball tournament – faced off against the Long Island University Sharks on the opening day of regional play in Chapel Hill, N.C.
With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, the Tar Heels had a one run lead and could smell a win. That sense of victory vanished when LIU’s JC Navarro slapped a double into deep left field, scoring teammate Benjamin Fierenzi. After the next LIU batter walked, Jacob Pipercic then took UNC pitcher Matt Polston deep, driving a dinger over the left field wall. All of a sudden, the Tar Heels trailed by three runs heading into the bottom of the ninth and were staring down an upset.
A few swings of the bat later, the Tar Heels had scored two runs and the bases were loaded when Gavin Gallaher strolled up to the plate. And then, after he looked at the first pitch for a strike, this happened:
Night time is Gallaher time!!! pic.twitter.com/Q5qBjtoKfl
— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) June 1, 2024
Here’s the radio call from UNC’s Dave Nathan:
@DiamondHeels gave us an all-timer on Friday. Here’s the final call of Gavin Gallaher’s walk-off grand slam on The Tar Heel Sports Network. #goheels pic.twitter.com/niNfWfuUOu
— Dave Nathan (@Davenathanonair) June 1, 2024
Former UNC men’s basketball coach Roy Williams loved it too:
We were all Coach Williams after that grand slam 😆👏 pic.twitter.com/oLGTsHgGrH
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) June 1, 2024
Gallaher, it should be noted, is a freshman. And that grand slam – which gave the Tar Heels an 11-8 win – was his second of the game. He hit a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth inning, and finished the day going 3-of-4 at the plate with six RBI.
UNC’s win sets up a Saturday evening showdown for the Tar Heels with reigning national champions LSU. It’ll be the first time the Tar Heels have faced the Tigers on the diamond since the 2013 College World Series.
