UNC star infielder named best player after Chapel Hill Regional
UNC star infielder named best player after Chapel Hill Regional Is Gavin Gallaher the next UNC baseball legend?
The North Carolina Tar Heels finally pieced together another complete game on the baseball diamond, dominating Oklahoma on Monday, 14-4, to win the Chapel Hill Regional and advance to the Super Regionals this coming weekend.
UNC (45-13), which won three of its four games in the Chapel Hill Regional, will face the Arizona Wildcats for a spot in the College World Series.
Just like 2024, when the Diamond Heels advanced to the Super Regionals, there was a constant force behind this year's Regional run: third baseman Gavin Gallaher. When North Carolina needed a base hit, home run, a runner driven in or virtually anything offensively, its star sophomore at the hot corner delivered.
Gallaher finished this year's Chapel Hill Regional hitting an unconscious 13-of-18 (.722 batting average), which included three home runs and 10 RBIs. Gallaher saved his best performance for last in Monday's winner-take-all game, hitting 4-for-6 with four RBIs, two home runs and four runs scored.
It should come as no surprise to anyone, Sooners fans included, that Gallaher earned Most Outstanding Player honors.
Gallaher rose to prominence as a clutch freshman during last season's Chapel Hill Regional, blasting a walk-off grand slam against Long Island University during the opener. UNC trailed during the ninth inning of that game and, saving his team from embarrassment, Gallaher blasted a no-doubt, bases-loaded grand slam that send Boshamer Stadium into a frenzy.
The Diamond Heels will need every bit of Gallaher's offense during the Chapel Hill Super Regional, which will start Friday, June 6 against Arizona at a time TBD.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
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