Murray State pounds Duke 19-9 to force deciding game in Durham Super Regional; UNC falls to Arizona

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The Chapel Hill and Durham Super Regionals delivered thrilling baseball action on Saturday, setting the stage for decisive games on Sunday.

UNC

Mason White's two-run single capped a three-run eighth inning, lifting Arizona to a 4-3 victory over North Carolina on Sunday to earn the Wildcats their 19th trip to the College World Series.

Arizona (44-19) dropped the opener of the Chapel Hill Super Regional 18-2 to the fifth-seeded Tar Heels (46-15) before winning 10-8 on Saturday and rallying on Sunday.

The Wildcats, whose last appearance in the CWS was in 2021, will face Coastal Carolina in Omaha, Nebraska, later this week

The final game belonged to the pitchers as both teams mustered just five hits.

Arizona starter Smith Bailey gave up three runs and all five hits in his six innings. Two of the hits were singles ahead of Jackson Van De Brake's home run in the third. Julian Tonghini (5-2) pitched a perfect seventh, Casey Hintz gave up a pair of walks in a scoreless eighth, and Tony Pluta faced three batters in the ninth for his 14th save.

Garen Caulfield gave Arizona a 1-0 lead in the second with a solo home run. The Wildcats had one hit from there until Andrew Cain singled leading off the eighth.

An error put two on base before Walker McDuffie relieved starter Ryan Lynch. That's when Easton Breyfogle beat out a bunt to third with Cain scoring when the third baseman threw the ball away. A walk loaded the bases before McDuffie (3-3) recorded an out with an infield fly. White greeted reliever Aidan Haugh with a single up the middle for the lead.

Arizona is heading to the finals for only the fifth time since winning its third national title in 1986. The Wildcats also won in 1976, 1980 and 2012.

North Carolina failed to advance to the CWS for just the third time in the 10 super regionals the Tar Heels have hosted.

Duke

Dustin Mercer had four hits, Dom Decker and Will Verling drove in four runs apiece, and Mercer pounded Duke 19-9 on Sunday to force a deciding third game in the Durham Super Regional.

Four players scored three times and two scored twice as the Racers (43-15) scored 10-plus runs for the seventh time in 11 games. Jonathan Hogart, Carson Garner, Dan Tauken, and Connor Cunningham had home runs.

The deciding game is Monday at Duke's Jack Coombs Field, which was built 94 years ago and is holding its first postseason playoff games. Game Two attendance was 2,689, three less than the record crowd that attended the opener.

Duke's last College World Series appearance was in 1961, and Murray State has never made it there.

Murray State took a 10-3 lead with a five-run fourth inning. The Blue Devils (40-20) got back in the game with five runs in the sixth, but a nine-run seventh broke it open for the Racers.

Decker had a two-run single, Vierling a two-run double, and Tauken and Cunningham homered in the seventh.

AJ Gracia and Ben Miller had back-to-back solo home runs in the first for Duke, and Wallace Clark added another in the third. Ben Rounds had a two-run double in the sixth, and Macon Winslow capped the rally with a two-run homer. Rounds added a solo shot in the eighth.

Isaac Silva (8-2) went 5 1/3 innings, giving up six runs for Murray State, and Graham Kelham gave up a hit and a run over the final three innings for his seventh save.

Kyle Johnson (4-4) took the loss after giving up six runs in the first three innings.