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Vance Honeycutt walk-off single sends North Carolina past Virginia in College World Series opener

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Jeffrey Camarati-USA TODAY Sports

The College World Series got started in exciting fashion Friday as North Carolina and Virginia squared off in a close one. It was a 2-2 ballgame in the bottom of the ninth, and that’s when Vance Honeycutt stepped to the plate.

Jackson Van de Brake got things started with a lead-off double, and he advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. After Colby Wilkerson popped out, Honeycutt – the hero in the Super Regional – came up with a chance to seal the victory. He delivered once again, knocking a single to left field to give North Carolina the 3-2 victory to move on in the winners bracket.

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It’s the latest heroic for Honeycutt, who delivered the walk-off home run to give the Tar Heels their first win in the Chapel Hill Super Regional. Now, he has UNC playing Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. It was also a strong bounce back from an otherwise rough day after he went 0-for-4 prior to his big hit.

But he didn’t take any credit, instead deflecting it to the pitching staff for keeping it a low-scoring affair.

“Just a big credit to our pitchers, keeping us in the game,” Honeycutt told ESPN’s Dani Wexelman. “Our at-bats, they weren’t like really great, but we were also just trying to continue to put good swings on balls. Credit to our pitchers, honestly, because it was, what, 2-2 the whole time? That’s just a big shoutout to them.”

Vance Honeycutt, UNC highlight ACC teams in Omaha

The Tar Heels are one of four ACC teams in Omaha for the College World Series, along with Virginia, Florida State and NC State. Four SEC teams – Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Florida – also made the field as the two top leagues in the country vie for the title.

The SEC was No. 1 in conference RPI this year, followed closely by the ACC before a sizable gap before the Big 12 checked in at No. 3. They were the two best conferences in the country this year, and it’s all paying off with them converging on Omaha with a national title on the line.

The CWS format features two brackets in a double-elimination format starting Friday and Saturday. Then, the final two teams will square off in a best-of-three series starting June 22.