CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Baseball mitts and navy caps were strewn about the infield at Boshamer Stadium.
Players jumped for joy and embraced one another.
The Arizona Wildcats had pulled off a miracle. And now they’re headed to Omaha.
With its season on the brink of expiration, Arizona rallied past No. 5 national seed North Carolina in highly improbable fashion Sunday. Down by two runs in the eighth inning, the Wildcats dug deep and defeated the Tar Heels 4-3 in the third and deciding game of their Super Regional series.
Arizona will be making its 19th appearance in the College World Series, its first since 2021 and its first under UA alum Chip Hale, who won the CWS as a player in 1986. The Wildcats will be seeking their fifth national championship. They will open CWS play Friday or Saturday against Coastal Carolina, which defeated Arizona in the CWS final in 2016.
Junior shortstop Mason White — a Salpointe Catholic High School graduate whose father and grandfather played for the UA — delivered the winning hit in the top of the eighth, lining a two-RBI single to center field with the bases loaded and one out.
Arizona’s Casey Hintz shows off the championship trophy after the Wildcats defeated North Carolina in Game 3 of their NCAA Super Regional series on June 8, 2025, at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
After the game, White — a lifelong UA fan — barely could comprehend what had just transpired.
“This is just unbelievable,” White said. “It’s almost like a dream. I just can’t believe it.”
White was Hale’s first recruit when he took over the program in July 2021. Hale has guided his alma mater to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Leading the Wildcats to the College World Series for the first time conjured a range of emotions for the 60-year-old coach — empathy for North Carolina, relief for himself and joy for Arizona’s players and supporters.
“I’m just so happy for these kids,” Hale said. “I’m happy ... for these families. They have grinded so hard, spent so much money coming here and raising these kids, putting them in travel baseball and high school baseball.
Arizona coach Chip Hale carries the championship trophy after the Wildcats defeated North Carolina in Game 3 of their NCAA Super Regional series on June 8, 2025, at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
“And now they get a payoff to go to Omaha. We’re going to go there, put our best foot forward and try to win our fifth national championship.”
It didn’t look promising for the longest time Sunday. Arizona got a badly needed quality start from freshman right-hander Smith Bailey, but the Wildcats couldn’t solve his counterpart, freshman righty Ryan Lynch.
Lynch pounded the zone with a mid-90s fastball and a sharp slider, landing first-pitch strikes against 19 of the 26 batters he faced. After compiling 10 runs Saturday and 26 hits in the first two games of the series, the Wildcats managed just one run on two hits against Lynch entering the eighth inning.
Sophomore Andrew Cain — another Tucson-area product, via Ironwood Ridge High — had one of those two hits. He led off the eighth with a single.
Then came one of two critical North Carolina errors.
Tommy Splaine hit a grounder to second base that had all the makings of a 4-6-3 double play. But UNC’s Jackson Van De Brake — whose three-run homer off Bailey in the third inning had given the Tar Heels a 3-1 lead — booted the ball. Cain and Splaine were safe.
Arizona's Mason White gears up for a pitch against North Carolina in Game 3 of their NCAA Super Regional series on Sunday, June 8, 2025, at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
“The way this game was going, we just needed a crack,” White said. “Chip said it before it happened.
“They gave us a crack. That’s what this team was looking for. It happened, and we took advantage of it.”
Lynch’s velocity was diminishing by that point, so UNC coach Scott Forbes summoned another freshman right-hander, Walker McDuffie, to face No. 9 hitter Easton Breyfogle.
Hale called for a sacrifice bunt. Breyfogle dropped the ball down the third base line. UNC’s Gavin Gallaher charged it and fired to first base.
The ball, Breyfogle and Van De Brake, covering from second, arrived at the bag at the same time. Breyfogle collided with Van De Brake's left arm. The ball bounded past first base. Cain scored, Splaine advanced to third and Breyfogle — who was safe — lay injured on the ground.
Breyfogle had to leave the game after experiencing concussion-like symptoms. TJ Adams pinch-ran for him.
Brendan Summerhill walked to load the bases. Aaron Walton then popped out, setting the stage for White.
Arizona's TJ Adams (23) is greeted by his teammates after scoring the go-ahead run in the eighth inning against North Carolina in Game 3 of their NCAA Super Regional series on Sunday, June 8, 2025, at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
UNC brought in senior righty Aidan Haugh. The Tar Heels shifted their infield to the right side. White swatted the third pitch he saw through the vacated shortstop hole, scoring Splaine and Adams.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play — specifically in the air just to get the guy in, tie the game,” White said. “They’d been shifting me the whole weekend. So I knew: Just stay middle of the field, and it’ll find a hole.”
Suddenly ahead 4-3, Arizona turned to junior right-hander Casey Hintz for the bottom of the eighth. Hintz had allowed a go-ahead home run Saturday, and he got himself into trouble Sunday by issuing a pair of walks. But Hintz induced an inning-ending groundout to send the game to the ninth.
Closer Tony Pluta had thrown a season-high 52 pitches Saturday but was willing to go again with a trip to Omaha on the line. He retired the side 1-2-3, ending the game by striking out No. 9 hitter Carter French with a changeup.
Pluta set the UA record with his 14th save of the season. Arizona improved to 38-0 when leading after the eighth inning.
Arizona’s Tony Pluta celebrates after recording the final out against North Carolina in Game 3 of their NCAA Super Regional series on Sunday at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
After the final out was recorded, Pluta looked skyward. He flung his glove to the grass. The celebration was on.
White hugged double-play partner Garen Caulfield, then took a moment to soak it all in behind second base. Adams and Maddox Mihalakis dumped a bucket of Powerade on White while he did a postgame interview on ESPN2.
The Wildcats saluted their fans, who had cheered them on from behind the first base dugout all weekend and were now chanting, “U of A!”
The team sang the school fight song — a tradition Hale started a few years back. Players and coaches posed for a group photo, with White holding an oversized version of a ticket to the CWS.
Hale conceded that he had doubts along the way. Arizona lost the series opener 18-2 and trailed multiple times Saturday.
The Wildcats had one more comeback in them.
“That’s who they are,” Hale said. “They’re very gritty. The one thing they do is play pitch to pitch, like they’ve been talking about, and don’t worry about anything else.
“We’ve been through some tough times. ... We felt like this is a team that could get to Omaha in the fall. We really felt like it. Then we hit some real roadblocks along the way. It ended up being a blessing to us, because we got hot at the right time.”
