OMAHA (WNCN/AP) — After a big win Friday in their first game in the College World Series, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was beaten by Tennessee Sunday night at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
The top-ranked Volunteers won 6-1 over North Carolina after a big fourth inning when Kavares Tears hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the inning.
With his 27th homer of the season, Vance Honeycutt hit a solo home run for UNC in the sixth for their lone score.
Tennessee also added runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Tears added the final score for the Volunteers when he hit a double, scoring Billy Amick in the bottom of the 8th.
UNC will continue in the double-elimination series facing No. 8 Florida State on Tuesday.
The Volunteers (57-12), trying to become the first No. 1 national seed since 1999 to win the championship, will advance to the best-of-three finals if they can beat Florida State or North Carolina (48-15) on Wednesday. The Vols would have to lose twice to be denied a first appearance in the finals.
Drew Beam (9-2) limited North Carolina to three base runners through five innings, and his team was up 4-0 when he went out for the sixth.
Tar Heels starter Shea Sprague (3-2) retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced before he gave up a single and walk in the fourth. Then Tears drove an elevated change-up off the back wall of the right-field bullpen, next to the North Carolina logo, for his 20th homer of the season. Chapman, 1 for his last 15 when he came to bat, connected for his seventh to start the bottom of the fifth to chase Sprague.
Kirby Connell held the Tar Heels scoreless for two innings and turned things over to Nate Snead to start the eighth.
The first meeting of the teams since 2019 began with each teams making sterling defensive plays.
Carolina’s Colby Wilkerson threw to first from his knees to get Moore. Tennessee’s Hunter Ensley took off in a full sprint and stretched out his left arm to snag Anthony Donofrio’s deep fly to center just before crashing into the wall and leaving eyeblack smudged on the padding. Though he didn’t show any immediate sign of injury and batted twice, he was replaced by Colby Backus in center to start the fifth.
Home-plate umpire Kellen Levy was replaced in the fifth by Scott Cline, who had been working second base. Levy was hit in the facemask by a foul ball the previous inning and began feeling unwell. An NCAA spokesman said Levy was being monitored for concussion symptoms. The game was delayed 16 minutes while Cline was in the umpires’ locker room changing into protective gear.
The Tar Heel loss comes after a big win Friday over Virginia.
The Tar Heels had advanced to play Tennessee on Sunday after UNC pulled out a win in its last at-bat, a 3-2 walk-off victory over Virginia in the College World Series opener on Friday.
Four of North Carolina’s six wins in the NCAA Tournament have come on its final at-bat.