Scott Forbes backs pitcher Jason DeCaro despite early runs given up

The North Carolina Tar Heels are in a battle in the Chapel Hill Regional of the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament. The ‘Heels currently trail LIU 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning. UNC decided to bench starting pitcher Jason DeCaro at the top of the fifth, before replacing him with Matthew Mattijs. At the top of the fifth, the ESPN broadcast crew spoke with ‘Heels head coach Scott Forbes.

Scott Forbes shared his thoughts on Jason DeCaro

What did he think of the play of Jason DeCaro? “You know guys, he gave them five free passes, that’s why they got those three runs. They hit the three-run home run and he gave them a hit by pitch and a walk. So, we can’t do that. But you know, he’s battling out there. Sometimes that happens. He’s still out there for us in a one-run ball game. So, here we go,” Forbes said.

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Gavin Gallaher blasted a solo shot to make the score 3-2. What does Forbes think his team needs to do against a veteran pitcher like LIU’s Garrett Yawn? “Just keep playing. Don’t look at the scoreboard. That was a big swing of the bat by Gavin right there. Hopefully that will let the air out a little bit and the guys will just play. Because this time of year, you can’t be looking at that scoreboard. You just gotta play,” Forbes finished.

Things were looking awfully bleak for UNC in the bottom of the ninth inning against LIU on Friday night. But they dug deep, and, in the end, slugger Gavin Gallaher delivered the blast of a lifetime, a walk-off grand slam to lift the ‘Heels to a 11-8 win in Chapel Hill.

With UNC down 8-7 and the bases juiced, Gallaher lifted the Tar Heels to victory in front of the home crowd, sending one deep into the night sky. It was the first walk-off grand slam for the North Carolina baseball program since 2010. The stud freshman finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two homers (one was a solo shot) and six RBIs in his NCAA Tournament debut.

UNC put six runs on the board in the bottom of the ninth to pull off the stunning come-from-behind victory. They trailed 8-5 to start the ninth inning and finished it with a heart-stopping 11-8 win.