Tar Heels Overcome Scott Forbes' Absence, Keep Season Alive With Wins Over Georgia, VCU
UNC, VCU meet again Monday in winner-take-all regional title game
Scott Forbes was at Boshamer Stadium on Sunday.
No, not in the North Carolina dugout or third-base coach’s box, the result of a two-game suspension stemming from his ejection Saturday. He actually couldn’t be found in the stadium at all as UNC tried to keep its season alive in the Chapel Hill Regional.
Forbes’ presence, however, was felt from the moment the Tar Heels took the field. And with his No. 21 jersey hanging in the the dugout, they ensured he’ll get at least one more opportunity to be in there with them this season, beating Georgia, 6-5, and VCU, 19-8, to set up Monday’s winner-take-all game against the Rams.
“He’s coming back a folk hero,” VCU coach Shawn Stiffler said. “He’ll be happy to hear he’s coming back a legend. Remind me to get quickly dumped at VCU next year.”
For most teams, the challenge of winning two elimination games in the same day with their head coach, let alone without him, would be daunting. But for a UNC team that’s seen it all this season — from its great start, midseason slump and incredible finish to the regular season, to five walk-off wins, four walk-off losses and a bomb threat — it felt like one it was fully equipped to handle.
“That’s what we talked about last night after the game didn’t go how we wanted it to,” Caden O’Brien said. “We had a rough stretch, it’s been a story of our team. I think it put is in a better place after losing last night just to say, ‘What is this to us? It’s been like this for us all year. It’s just another thing. It doesn’t change what we’re trying to do.’ And I think that helped us have a great approach coming into today.”
Upon Forbes’ ejection Saturday, assistant head coach Bryant Gaines stepped in as acting head coach. The two spoke at length between the Tar Heels’ loss to the Rams and when Forbes had to cease communication with team personnel Sunday morning. Before he did, he passed along a message to his team about staying in the moment and focusing on attainable goals.
“If we try to win two games at 9 o’clock in the morning, we’re not going to be in a good position,” Gaines said. “So I thought the message was pretty good and I thought the task at hand was carried out extremely well by these guys.”
That might be an understatement.
Thanks to timely two-out hits by Johnny Castagnozzi and Mikey Madej, UNC jumped out to an early 4-0 lead against Georgia and entered the bottom of the ninth up 6-2. A three-run homer by Chaney Rogers followed by a deep shot by Josh McCallister put the Tar Heels’ lead in jeopardy. But Vance Honeycutt made a stellar leaping grab to rob McCallister of a game-tying homer and O’Brien came in and struck out Corey Collins looking to seal what became a hard-fought win.
“Something Coach Forbes always says is we’re going to play 27 outs,” Will Sandy said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re winning, we’re behind, by how much, we should keep going, put our heads down and continue pitch by pitch, inning by inning.”
Those words remained relevant about an hour later, when UNC found itself down 2-0 after a first-inning homer by VCU’s Tyler Locklear. As much as the blast could have dampened their spirits, the Tar Heels responded quickly — and impressively — sending 10 batters to the plate while scoring seven runs in the ensuing frame.
UNC went on to add 12 more runs, tying the school record for an NCAA Tournament game with 19. And with the victory all but secure in the top of the ninth, the Tar Heel fans in attendance started chanting Forbes’ name, ringing in his return.
“I just think it’s awesome,” O’Brien said. “There was a point in the game where we felt pretty confident we were going to be able to get the (win), and to get that kind of support, not just for our team but for our head coach, just shows they know how hard he works and how much they admire him as the guy who is going to lead us out there every game. That was awesome.”
When the last press conference of the day ended, reporters exited the player's lounge and walked into the hallway behind the UNC dugout, only to find Forbes speaking with athletics director Bubba Cunningham. The last 24 hours had been among the most frustrating of his coaching career. And yet, there he was, absolutely beaming.
Scott Forbes was back. But in reality, he never left.
Honeycutt’s Heroics
From his amazing diving grab on a ball slicing away from him in right-center against Florida State to his sliding snag on a line drive in left-center against Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament, Honeycutt has turned in several defensive gems recently.
None, however, carry as much significance as his home-run robbery of McCallister.
“It’s something he’s doing pretty regularly now, and it’s something we’ve seen him do ever since the beginning of the fall,” Gaines said. “And for him to make a play like that when we needed him to make a play like that speaks to what type of player he is and how hard he plays. I thought the ball was out of the ballpark, personally. And to go back and get it takes all the momentum out of Georgia’s dugout and puts it right back in Carolina’s dugout. That was a huge swing of momentum for us.”
Honeycutt said the catch marked the first time he’d ever stolen a homer.
“Whenever the ball was hit, we were already playing pretty deep, and when I got to the track, I thought it was done carrying,” he said. “It just kind of kept going, but luckily it stayed in. It just kind of stayed enough. We got that out and then Caden came in and got the last one. It was special.”
Although the grab was his most notable highlight of the day, Honeycutt produced several others while going 3-for-8 with a homer, three RBIs, three walks, four runs scored and a stolen base. The home run — a two-run blast in the first inning against VCU — was his 24th of the year, tying Devy Bell’s single-season school record, set in 1986.
Clutch Caden
One of the key contributors to the Tar Heels’ 18-3 start, O’Brien opened the year with four saves and without giving up an earned run in his first 11 appearances. The lefty, however, encountered some struggles in April, and he entered Sunday having tossed just 3 1/3 innings in three appearances since April 25.
Still, few pitchers in the country are as experienced as O’Brien. So, with UNC needing someone to step up and get the final out against Georgia, Gaines didn’t hesitate to call on him. And boy, did the fifth-year senior deliver, striking out Collins on four pitches for his first save since March 20 against Duke.
“I think we all knew he was ready for that moment,” Gaines said. “It was a great matchup for Caden. I just wanted to give him the ball and get out of the way, and I knew he was going to get the job done. Fortunately, that’s what he did.”
Of course, O’Brien wasn’t finished.
After Connor Ollio and Nik Pry each went an inning to begin the VCU game, Gaines again went to O’Brien, who gave the Tar Heels the length that they needed in allowing three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two over four innings. His 71 pitches fell one shy of his career high, and the performance marked his longest since matching his career high of 4 1/3 innings against Oregon State as a true freshman in the 2018 College World Series.
“First game, that’s a role I’ve been in a lot,” he said. “I definitely feel comfortable in that situation. I’m thankful I was able to get it done for the guys and for us to get a win. And then going into the second game, I think I was in the same boat as everyone else. It doesn’t matter who goes in, it doesn’t matter what happens, every single guy who steps out there has to give everything they have. I think that was the simple mindset that I took and every single one of us who pitched today or didn’t pitch the second game took into the game. I think it worked out for us.”
With his two appearances, O’Brien is up to 110 for his career, tied with Rob Wooten (2005-08) for the fifth most in program history. Twelve of those have come in the postseason, and should UNC advance, it wouldn’t be surprising to see O’Brien increase that total in Super Regionals.
“The fact that he pitched in the first game and did that again in the second game, it gave us some length,” Gaines said. “It just shows the competitiveness, work ethic and the makeup of him. We tell those guys all the time that you’ve got to be prepared for that opportunity when we need you the most. Obviously, this is when we needed somebody the most. He stepped up and gave us that length we needed.”
What’s next?
UNC and VCU will meet for the third in as many days at 6 p.m. Monday in the Chapel Hill Regional championship game. The winner will advance to play the winner of Monday’s Oklahoma State-Arkansas game in a Super Regional. If UNC and Arkansas win, the Tar Heels, the No. 10 national seed, would host a Super Regional between the two. If UNC and Oklahoma State, the No. 9 national seed, win, the Tar Heels would travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for a Super Regional.
Gaines said Sunday that he had “no idea” what the pitching plan would be for Monday, although it wouldn’t be surprising to see Max Carlson (108 pitches Friday) and Brandon Schaeffer (79 pitches Saturday) get some limited work. O’Brien will likely be the only unavailable UNC pitcher. The Rams haven’t used any of their pitchers more than once in regional play, so most, if not all, of theirs will be available.