Chapel Thrills! UNC baseball stuns USC with late rally to earn trip to Omaha

Memory’s a funny thing.

Owen Hull hit four doubles on Sunday, but none will be remembered — by him, his teammates, the coaches or anyone packed into Boshamer Stadium — more than his last.

The North Carolina junior launched a pitch toward the scoreboard and just beyond a diving USC center fielder in the bottom of the ninth inning to send Carter French home with the winning run and North Carolina back to Omaha.

Hull’s walk-off RBI double lifted No. 5 overall seed UNC to a 4-3 victory over USC in a winner-take-all Chapel Hill Super Regional Game 3, sending the Tar Heels to their 13th College World Series and second in the last three seasons.

UNC (50-12-1) advances to the College World Series for the ninth time in the last 20 years, tying Florida for the most appearances during that span. This is also the first time in program history the Tar Heels lost their opening game in a regional, super regional or College World Series and still advanced.

To get there, they leaned on a trait that has defined their season: the ability to move on quickly.

Or, in Hull’s case, not remember much at all.

UNC hitting coach Jesse Wierzbicki pulled Hull aside before his final at-bat and offered a few words. Hull heard none of them.

The center fielder had entered what his family calls “The O-Zone.”

“No offense to Coach Wierzbicki, but I don’t remember what he said,” Hull said, drawing laughter from the packed press conference room. “I’m in a zone. My family has a funny word for it, ‘The O-Zone.’

“So I just tapped into it and I’m up there having fun,” Hull continued. “I don’t know what’s happening. I’ve had my moments this season, good and bad, in that zone.”

But Hull made sure that number didn’t climb any higher in the ninth.Sunday was one of the good ones.

Hull went 4 for 5 with four doubles, producing much of the offense for a UNC lineup that struggled to cash in opportunities throughout the super regional. The Tar Heels finished the weekend 3 for 25 with runners in scoring position.

Hull was the exception.

He drove in junior leadoff hitter Jake Knapp with a double down the right-field line in the third inning. Another double in the sixth went for little after he was stranded. He doubled again in the eighth and later scored on a hit by catcher Macon Winslow.

Down 3-2 entering the ninth inning, Hull didn’t appear likely to get another chance.

Then Cooper Nicholson worked a leadoff walk. French singled through the right side. Knapp followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 3-3, and Gavin Gallaher drew a walk to bring Hull to the plate with French standing on second.

After Hull fell behind with two strikes, coach Scott Forbes called time and walked out to talk with him.

Forbes declined to reveal everything that was said afterward, joking that he couldn’t give away all the program’s secrets. Mostly, he wanted to slow the moment down.

“I was surprised — I wasn’t sure if they were going to pitch to him,” Forbes said. “Just said, ‘Hey man, if you get something close, just put a good swing on it’ … and, obviously, he did that.”

“He got the barrel to it,” Forbes continued. “I think they were trying to just throw an extra fastball away and he was aggressive. It reminded me of the same type of swing Michael Busch started to take as he progressed in his career. But, man, that was an unbelievable moment for me to watch that ball fall.”

Hull’s teammates erupted as soon as it did.

Helmets and caps flew into the air. Players poured from the dugout and mobbed Hull at second base before chasing him into the outfield.

“I have no words to describe it,” Hull said. “I’m out here having as much fun as I can, and there’s no other group of boys or coach I’d rather play for. I love this team so much.”

This year’s Tar Heels reached the 40-win mark for the third consecutive season and the fourth time under Forbes. But as dominant as they’ve been, their defining characteristic may be their resilience.

Forbes pointed to a March series loss at Virginia, when the Cavaliers “kicked us in the teeth pretty good.” He pointed out that UNC responded by winning every series the rest of the way. He mentioned last season’s heartbreaking super regional loss to Arizona and how the Tar Heels used that disappointment as fuel.

“We had that Bosh magic with us,” Forbes said. “That helps as well, but these guys, they’re a tough group. A resilient group. They play 27 outs. They bought in completely to the next-play mentality and being process-oriented.”

That mentality surfaced throughout Sunday’s winner-take-all game.

In the ninth inning, Nicholson watched what appeared to be a game-tying home run hook just foul down the left-field line. He doubled over in frustration halfway to first base before regrouping and drawing the walk that sparked UNC’s final rally.

On the mound, freshman right-hander Caden Glauber recovered from a shaky first inning that included a balk and two hits. The 18-year-old, who skipped his senior year of high school to enroll early at UNC, settled in to deliver the best outing of his young career. He struck out 11 batters, the most by a UNC pitcher in an NCAA Tournament game since Patrick Johnson in 2011.

Even Walker McDuffie, whose hanging slider resulted in USC’s pivotal grand slam in Friday’s opener, returned to record the final two outs in the ninth inning and preserve the tie.

No player, however, embodied that resilience more than French.

One year ago, the senior represented the final out of UNC’s season, swinging through strike three in a 4-3 super regional loss to Arizona at Boshamer Stadium.

The score of this year’s Chapel Hill Super Regional Game 3 was also 4-3.

But this time, French crossed home plate with the winning run that sent the Tar Heels back to Omaha.

“No matter what, this is my last time playing baseball with this group,” French said. “Over the years, I’ve learned from this sport that you can’t get too high, you can’t get too low … we just kept plugging away, and it ended up working in our favor.”

“I just think that we’re going to carry that to Omaha,” French continued. “We’re not done yet. We got a lot more baseball left to play.”

And a lot more memories to make.

Forbes admitted he was “selfishly” excited about one thing above all else: he gets to spend a little more time with this team.

But after Sunday’s win, he found himself thinking about another journey — the one that brought him to North Carolina.

Forbes remembered graduating from college and mowing grass back home when former UNC coach Mike Fox called with an offer to become a volunteer assistant in Chapel Hill. Unsure whether coaching was a realistic career path, Forbes sought advice from his father.

His dad encouraged him to take the chance.

More than two decades later, Forbes is headed to Omaha for the ninth time. His father, who has continued attending games while battling pulmonary fibrosis, is expected to be there, too.

As the Tar Heels chased Hull around the outfield Sunday evening, Forbes jogged over to the third base line where his father was sitting in the front row. He took in

“Life’s short,” Forbes said. “You don’t know what’s coming your way. I’m going to be able to spend time with him in Omaha, which is awesome. Those are memories you just can’t get back.”

North Carolina’s trip to Omaha was secured by its ability to forget quickly.

But on Sunday night, there was plenty worth remembering.

This story was originally published June 7, 2026 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Chapel Thrills! UNC baseball stuns USC with late rally to earn trip to Omaha."