OMAHA, Neb. -- North Carolina looked to be in good shape to reach the bracket final of the College World Series.
Arizona State's Kole Calhoun had other plans, though. His fifth-inning grand slam and a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh erased a four-run deficit and helped the Sun Devils beat the Tar Heels 12-5 to reach the bracket finals Thursday night at Rosenblatt Stadium.
The Tar Heels, who had lost to the Sun Devils in the opening round Sunday, were in good shape after staking themselves to a 4-0 advantage in the fourth. Jacob Stallings executed a pair of safety squeezes in the second and fourth innings, the second sparking a three-run outburst that put North Carolina in command.
That all changed in the fifth. Arizona State turned two walks and a hit batter into a one-out, bases-loaded situation and Calhoun, batting cleanup, turned on a Brian Moran 3-2 pitch and sent it into the seats in left-center to tie the game at 4-4.
After that, it looked like North Carolina fell completely flat, and Arizona State took advantage in the seventh. Calhoun's two-run double broke the 4-4 tie and started a monster inning that saw the Sun Devils score eight runs and send 13 batters to the plate. North Carolina would pick up a run in the ninth, but it was far too little, far too late, as their season came to an end.
With the win, Arizona State advances to the bracket final against Texas. Needing two wins to reach the College World Series best-of-three championship series, the Sun Devils will go for their first win in Friday's 6 p.m. matchup.
Kicking off the festivities Friday will be an all-SEC battle between LSU and Arkansas at 1 p.m. The Tigers need one win to reach the finals, while Arkansas will have to double the number wins they have against their conference rivals (they won the first of a three-game series during the regular season) to reach the championship round.
Don't forget -- you can get great seats to Friday's College World Series games right now at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.
College World Series Schedule, Results
(All times CDT)
Saturday, June 13
Game 1 -- Arkansas 10, Cal State Fullerton 6
Game 2 -- LSU 9, Virginia 5
Sunday, June 14
Game 3 -- Arizona State 5, North Carolina 2 (10 inn.)
Game 4 -- Texas 7, Southern Miss 6
Monday, June 15
Game 5 -- Virginia 7, Cal State Fullerton 5 (CSF eliminated)
Game 6 -- LSU 9, Arkansas 1
Tuesday, June 16
Game 7 -- North Carolina 11, Southern Miss 4 (Southern Miss eliminated)
Game 8 -- Texas 10, Arizona State 6
Wednesday, June 17
Game 9 -- Arkansas 4, Virginia 3 12 inn. (Virginia eliminated)
Thursday, June 18
Game 10 -- Arizona State 12, North Carolina 5 (North Carolina eliminated)
Friday, June 19
Game 11 -- LSU (53-16) vs. Arkansas (41-23), 1 p.m.
Game 12 -- Texas (48-14-1) vs. Arizona State (51-13), 6 p.m.
Saturday, June 20
Game 13 -- Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 11, 1 p.m.
Game 14 -- Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 12, 6 p.m.
(NOTE: If only one "if necessary" game is played, it will be at 6 p.m.)
Monday, June 22
Championship Game 1 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, June 23
Championship Game 2 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 24
Championship Game 3 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m. (If necessary)
