By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Gavin Gallaher’s two-run triple gave North Carolina the lead in the seventh inning to help send the Tar Heels to a 5-2 win over West Virginia in the College World Series on Sunday night.
The Tar Heels (52-12-1) opened a CWS with two straight wins for the first time in eight appearances since 2006 and need one more victory to reach the best-of-three finals next weekend. They’re off until Wednesday, when they’ll meet the winner of a Tuesday elimination game between the Mountaineers (46-16) and Troy.
The Tar Heels scored three unearned runs against Big 12 pitcher of the year Maxx Yehl to break a 2-all tie in the seventh with country music star and North Carolina booster Eric Church cheering them on in a suite.
They had runners on first and second after West Virginia third baseman Tyrus Hall and second baseman Brodie Kresser couldn’t come up with grounders. Gallaher lined a ball deep into the gap in right center for a 4-2 lead and he came home on Owen Hull’s base hit.
An inning earlier, Carolina coach Scott Forbes called a team meeting in the dugout and, according to ESPN, told his players they needed to play looser and have more fun. The Tar Heels went three-up, three-down in the sixth, but the next inning Gallaher and his teammates were having a jolly time on a clear and cool evening at Charles Schwab Field.
The mood changed in the ninth. McDuffie (9-3), who relieved starter Ryan Lynch in the fifth, gave up a walk and single to bring Ben Lumsden to the plate as the potential tying run with one out.
Caden Glauber, who pitched 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief in a 6-2 win over Mississippi on Friday, came on and struck out Lumsden and Hall to earn his fifth save.
Yehl (9-3) left after he faced one batter in the eighth. He gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out seven.