Scott Forbes reveals if Jake Knapp, Jason DeCaro were available for UNC in Game 3

The North Carolina Tar Heels got an excellent performance in Game 3 from starting pitcher Ryan Lynch. However, the wheels fell off once head coach Scott Forbes turned to his bullpen, ending in a come-from-behind win for the Arizona Wildcats to eliminate UNC.

Those bullpen moves by Forbes left two of UNC’s best pitchers out of the game, with Jake Knapp and Jason DeCaro not taking the ball. That’s despite, as Forbes shared after the game, that they would have been available in the right circumstances.

“DeCaro threw less than Knapp,” Scott Forbes said. “They both were available in a certain situation, but not in that situation. We had to have late, maybe the ninth inning. You know, you have to keep the health [in mind]. Both those guys are going to be big leaguers.”

Jason DeCaro just finished his sophomore season, pitching in 16 games, all of which were starts, with 83.1 innings on the season. He did that with a 3.78 ERA and 70 strikeouts. He had thrown 3.2 innings in Game 2, the day before. Then, Jake Knapp is a graduate student who pitched in 16 games, making 15 starts in 2025 after missing 2024 with an injury. In 102.1 innings pitched, he had a 2.02 ERA and 88 strikeouts. In Game 1, two days prior, he threw 7.0 innings.

On the mound, UNC got an excellent performance from starter Ryan Lynch. He ended up pitching 7.0 innings and three runs, only two of which were earned, added to his line. The defense didn’t help, with Forbes pulling him in the seventh after an error that should have been a double play.

Scott Forbes would turn the ball over to Walker McDuffie, who had struggled in Game 2, only for him to struggle again. He allowed both inherited runners to score, along with an additional unearned run. He was only able to pitch 0.1 innings before Forbes again had to make a bullpen move. From there, he turned to Aidan Haugh, who was able to get the final 1.2 innings worth of outs.

“Aidan had a little less wear and tear,” Forbes said. “And we also know how all of our guys recover. So you have to take that into account. And no doubt in my mind it was the right move to go with Aidan, he just left one change up, up, the other change up he got a swing and miss, and you need to change up against that guy’s a heck of a hitter.”

In hindsight, Forbes may have made a different move. At the same time, he had to make decisions in the moment with the information he had. It just didn’t work out for UNC.