CARY, N.C. — Adam Warren threw six innings of two-hit ball, Dustin Ackley drove in three runs and North Carolina beat Coastal Carolina 14-4 on Sunday to reach the College World Series for the third straight year.
Warren took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and every starter in the lineup had at least one hit for the Tar Heels (51-12). North Carolina scored six runs in the second, led 12-0 in the sixth and then celebrated its latest CWS berth with a dogpile behind the mound.
The Tar Heels will play the winner of the UC Irvine-LSU super regional in the opening round in Omaha next weekend.
Warren lost his no-hitter with two outs in the fifth when second baseman Kyle Seager lost Tyler Bortnick’s pop-up in the sun, before he was relieved in the seventh by Colin Bates. Warren (9-1) won his third straight decision and earn his first victory of the NCAA tournament.
Nick McCully (10-3) allowed six runs and seven hits in two innings, losing for the first time since April 6 for Coastal Carolina (50-14).
Florida State 11, Wichita State 4
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jack Rye’s three-run homer capped a six-run first inning and Florida State reached the College World Series for the first time since 2000 with a victory over Wichita State.
The Seminoles (54-12), who have never won the national title, are headed back to college baseball’s biggest stage for the 13th time in coach Mike Martin’s 29 seasons.
Tommy Oravetz followed Rye’s homer with a three-run double to chase Wichita State starter Anthony Capra (9-1). That would be all the Seminoles would need en route to their sixth postseason victory while facing elimination.
Florida State’s Ryan Strauss (10-1) was nearly perfect in relief of starter Geoff Parker. Strauss gave up just one hit in six innings, shutting down the Shockers (48-17).
The Seminoles have scored 99 runs in six elimination games this postseason, eclipsing 10 runs in every contest. They will play Stanford in their CWS opener next weekend.
LSU 9, UC Irvine 7
BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU scored five runs in the ninth inning, including Sean Ochinko’s go-ahead single, as the Tigers rallied to stave off elimination in their super regional series against UC Irvine.
The deciding third game at LSU’s Alex Box Stadium is Monday night.
Trailing 7-4, LSU (47-17-1) loaded the bases with no outs when Jared Mitchell, who homered in the eighth, walked to force in a run. Pinch-hitter Nicholas Pontiff drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, Blake Dean hit an RBI single to tie it and Ochinko followed with a chopper over the third baseman’s head to drive in the go-ahead run. DJ LeMahieu’s sacrifice fly capped the rally.
Louis Coleman (7-0) allowed one hit in the final three innings for LSU, which had its 23-game winning streak ended the night before. The Tigers struggled against UC Irvine starter Daniel Bibona, who scattered nine hits over 7 1-3 innings, but got to work against the Anteaters’ bullpen.
Closer Eric Pettis (4-3) entered in the eighth and allowed five runs on five hits in one inning to take the loss for UC Irvine (42-17).