CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Freshman Skye Bolt hit a game-winning RBI single through the right side in the ninth inning to lift North Carolina past South Carolina 6-5 in the opener of the NCAA Super Regional best-of-3 series.
Bolt’s two-out hit scored Parks Jordan from second for the Tar Heels (56-9), putting them within a win of reaching the College World Series for the sixth time in eight seasons. It was yet another close win for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament as North Carolina shook off a shaky start from top pitcher Kent Emanuel and an early two-run deficit.
Reliever Trent Thornton (10-1) earned the win, allowing one run in three innings. Tyler Webb (3-3) took the loss for the Gamecocks (42-19).
The Tar Heels reached the super regionals with a 12-11, 13-inning win against Florida Atlantic on Monday night.
INDIANA 10, FLORIDA STATE 9
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Kyle Schwarber had a go-ahead two-run single in a four-run seventh inning and Indiana went on to beat Florida State in the first game of the Tallahassee Super Regional.
Schwarber, who also had a two-run homer in the fourth, put Indiana up 7-6 with his hit in the seventh.
Indiana (47-14) can advance to its first College World Series with a win on Sunday. If the Seminoles (47-16) win, a deciding game would be played Monday.
The Hoosiers’ big inning came against relievers Gage Smith (4-2) and Billy Strode, who gave up just three hits in the inning but the Seminoles committed two throwing errors.
John Nogowski’s two-run homer in the eighth trimmed Indiana’s lead to 10-8. DJ Stewart added an RBI single in the ninth, but Indiana’s Will Coursen-Carr induced a pair of flyouts to end the game.
Brian Korte (1-0) pitched one-third an inning.
LSU 11, OKLAHOMA 1
BATON ROUGE, La. — JaCoby Jones had four hits, including a homer, and drove in two runs to help LSU beat Oklahoma to advance to the College World Series for the 16th time.
LSU (57-9), which tied a single-season school record for victories, used four pitchers, who combined to limit the Sooners (43-21) to five hits and prevented Oklahoma from scoring after it had taken its only lead of the series, 1-0, in the bottom of the first inning.
Will LaMarche (3-0) got the win for the Tigers, who improved to 5-0 in the NCAA tournament.
Dillon Overton (9-3), Oakland’s second-round pick in this week’s Major League Baseball draft, allowed four runs on seven hits before being lifted in the sixth inning.
Bolts ninth-inning RBI lifts North Carolina over South Carolina, 6-5
NCAA D-I Super Regional Baseball