Arkansas players celebrate their win over North Carolina following an NCAA college super regional baseball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Sunday, June 12, 2022.
(AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Brady Slavens hit a walk-off single Sunday to give Arkansas a 4-3 win over North Carolina and the Razorbacks swept the best-of-three Chapel Hill Super Regional.
Arkansas clinched the 11th trip to the College World Series in program history.
North Carolina (42-22) took its first lead when Tomas Frick led off the top of the ninth with a double and then scored on a two-out single to right by Patrick Alvarez to make it 3-2. Jalen Battles and Peyton Stovall hit back-to-back singles and Kendall Diggs, who pinch hit for Zack Gregory, drew a walk to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth. Battles scored when Braydon Webb reached on a fielder’s choice and, after Caden O’Brien replaced Davis Palermo, Slavens hit a ground ball through the right side the brought home Stovall to give the Razorbacks a 4-3 win.
Battles went 2-for-3 with a RBI double, Stovall was 3-for-4 and Webb hit a solo homer in the fifth inning that gave Arkansas (43-19), which won Game 1 4-1, a 2-0 lead.
Starter Will McEntire allowed three hits with two walks and four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings for the Razorbacks. Zack Morris (6-0) earned the victory when he came on with two out and a runner on first and got Angel Zarate fly out to left to end the game.
Alberto Osuna went 2-for-4 and Frick went 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored for North Carolina.
The game went into the first of two weather delays at 1:44 p.m. local time with no score in top of 3rd and resumed play nearly-2 hours later. The second delay, which lasted about an hour, began at 5:22 with the scored tied 2-2 in top of 8th.
