Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. Please use the button below to manage your account.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
CHAPEL HILL — Standout shortstop Danny Serretti measured the scope of North Carolina’s baseball season ending with Sunday’s loss to Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament super regionals through teary eyes and pained words.
A year ago, he and outfielder Angel Zarate decided during the Tar Heels’ 2021 exit meetings to stay in college, rather than pursuing a spot in the MLB Draft. The veterans saw the potential value, Serretti said, in sticking with the Tar Heels.
“Me and Angel came back for a run like this,” he said. “It’s been all I can ask for. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but I had so much fun, and this bond that I made with all these guys is something that won’t be broken.”
Arkansas scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning, and won 4-3 on Brady Slavens’ walk-off single in the second game of this series at Boshamer Stadium. The visiting Razorbacks (43-19) advanced to the College World Series with a sweep of host UNC (42-22).
Hogs to College World Series: UNC baseball suffers season-ending loss on Arkansas walk-off in Game 2 of super regional
Big bat missing: UNC baseball without Mac Horvath for Game 2 of NCAA super regional due to appendectomy
Here we go again: UNC baseball in familiar spot, unafraid with ‘backs against the wall’ in super regional
Plenty of perspective: What UNC baseball coach Scott Forbes is taking from suspension into NCAA super regional
North Carolina had to have a victory to force a winner-take-all Monday matchup and keep its season afloat. And for a moment, however unlikely, it appeared Patrick Alvarez had delivered in exceedingly clutch form near the end of the game that started at 1:06 p.m. and stretched on until 7:21 p.m. because of lightning delays.
The sophomore Alvarez, hitting just .121 on the season, served up a run-scoring single with two outs in the top of the ninth, moving the Tar Heels ahead 3-2. Tomas Frick doubled to start the inning, and Alvarez broke through with his first RBI since Feb. 20.
“That was really cool, and you feel like we’re going to win that game when that happens,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said, “so that was a big downer.”
It marked North Carolina’s fifth walk-off defeat this season. The Tar Heels suffered a string of one-run losses before building late-season momentum, charging to the ACC Tournament title, and riding a wave of 19 wins over 22 games into the super regional round.
The fourth-year junior Serretti, an All-ACC selection, led the Tar Heels with a .365 batting average on the season. He scooped some infield dirt from his area at shortstop into a plastic cup, collecting a memento to give to his mother with the season-ending finality setting in, while Arkansas celebrated the program’s 11th trip to the CWS across the way.
“My mom likes to have little things,” Serretti said. “I don’t know, I figured that she would like that. Just like, I’ve been there for four years, so I figured I’d take some with me.”
Forbes said he hurt for his UNC team, “because when you love people, there are a lot of emotions, and this is a close group that loves each other.” At one point during the Tar Heels’ postgame session with reporters, Forbes handed a towel to Serretti, who dried his eyes.
“It was a rollercoaster of emotions for a number of different reasons,” Serretti said. “It’s just baseball, I guess. It’ll rip your heart out. You can feel on top of the world 30 minutes ago, and then feel like garbage now. So it sucks, but hats off to them.”
Big Four and More: Ready to read more on the ACC and college sports? Join our ‘Big Four and More’ newsletter that’s delivered right to your email
Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.
Take advantage of our $1 for 6 months sale on digital subscriptions. For special offers, click here.
This article originally appeared on Times-News: ‘It’ll rip your heart out’: Season-ending emotion hits UNC baseball in super regional loss
