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Tar Heels to 'Pitch Off' in Regional Opener, Ryan Lynch to Start Against VCU

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goheels1117

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15 of 16 regional winners last year started 2-0. Same for 2024. So 30 of 32 regional winners in two years.

We have to start 2-0. Meaning we have to win the games DeCaro and Lynch start, in whatever order they come. This order makes the most sense to me.
 
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sweetcaroline1874

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I will always support Forbes, but this does make me a little nervous. Ryan definitely has it in him, but he has just been so up and down lately, and it seems like he’s lacking in confidence, which is not ideal this time of year. If our bats are hot, then will be just fine. If we show up like we did against state in the third game against a pitcher who has been on fire, we’re in trouble.
 
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TommyAshley

TommyAshley

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I remember last year's debate...the same folks that went nuts when Knapp started against Holy Cross and praised Oklahoma for holding Witherspoon.....

I don't know what will happen, but DeCaro vs ECU or Tennessee - given his ability to generate whiffs is the play.

Grace breaks it down in our ITL today......Lynch finds barrels and against a team like Tennessee or even ECU, that's not a great card to play
 
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o_Readmorevols

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TommyAshley said:
The bad take was Norby wasn’t starting Fridaybecause he threw 100 pitches last weekend.

Godwin today talking about Norby, on a question from Grace - paraphrasing - we want him (Norby) on the mound in the biggest situations.

AKA - Swiss Army knife usage.

Similar to Pence in 24 and Globe and Duff this year.

Godwin reasoning is the same I’ve been preaching here all season once Glauber stepped up and showed out.
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Right, because he threw 140.... not 100.
 
TroyVaughn

TroyVaughn

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TommyAshley said:
I remember last year's debate...the same folks that went nuts when Knapp started against Holy Cross and praised Oklahoma for holding Witherspoon.....

I don't know what will happen, but DeCaro vs ECU or Tennessee - given his ability to generate whiffs is the play.

Grace breaks it down in our ITL today......Lynch finds barrels and against a team like Tennessee or even ECU, that's not a great card to play
Click to expand...
Gotta think our #2 can take care of business. Save the #1 for the better team. If we lose to VCU then we probably don't deserve to win the regional but that's why they play the game. Baseball is a funny one
 
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TheManitowocManiac

TheManitowocManiac

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Aug 6, 2025
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TroyVaughn said:
Gotta think our #2 can take care of business. Save the #1 for the better team. If we lose to VCU then we probably don't deserve to win the regional but that's why they play the game. Baseball is a funny one
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LIU almost prevented us from making an Omaha run 2 years ago, Florida Atlantic almost knocked out a 59 win UNC team in the 2013 regional.

And then there’s always 2017 and Davidson. Yuck
 
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Mrtarheel1

Sophomore
Aug 3, 2025
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I think Forbes has done the right thing here. To me this gives us the best chance of going 2-0. I think Lynch will do well against VCU, but my biggest concern is how deep in the game will he go? We need at least six and seven would be awesome.
 
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Mrtarheel1

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Aug 3, 2025
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I have a question for all the board geniuses. How big of a lead do we need an order to use Rose instead of globe and McDuffie in relief?
 
R

ranzino4three

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Mrtarheel1 said:
I have a question for all the board geniuses. How big of a lead do we need an order to use Rose instead of globe and McDuffie in relief?
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Depends on the inning. If we are up, say 7-2 going top 8, and lynch is over 100 pitches, I would see if Rose could finish it. But his leash is really short.
 
L

LikeMikeAir23

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Apr 21, 2026
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Worth a try. Don’t like the idea of facing Tennessee or ECU with DeCaro not available. Hopefully Ryan can turn in a good performance and preserve the bullpen. We *should* be able to count on our #2 weekend starter to handle the 4-seed.
 
Kizlow13UNC

Kizlow13UNC

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LikeMikeAir23 said:
Worth a try. Don’t like the idea of facing Tennessee or ECU with DeCaro not available. Hopefully Ryan can turn in a good performance and preserve the bullpen. We *should* be able to count on our #2 weekend starter to handle the 4-seed.
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Agreed. If we can’t then are we really the 5th best team in the country? Another way of thinking about it…
 
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goheels1117

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sweetcaroline1874 said:
I will always support Forbes, but this does make me a little nervous. Ryan definitely has it in him, but he has just been so up and down lately, and it seems like he’s lacking in confidence, which is not ideal this time of year. If our bats are hot, then will be just fine. If we show up like we did against state in the third game against a pitcher who has been on fire, we’re in trouble.
Click to expand...

So you’d rather him pitch against a better team Saturday, no matter who we play?
 
G

goheels1117

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TommyAshley said:
I remember last year's debate...the same folks that went nuts when Knapp started against Holy Cross and praised Oklahoma for holding Witherspoon.....

I don't know what will happen, but DeCaro vs ECU or Tennessee - given his ability to generate whiffs is the play.

Grace breaks it down in our ITL today......Lynch finds barrels and against a team like Tennessee or even ECU, that's not a great card to play
Click to expand...

To me Knapp made more sense to go on Friday because a) by the end of the year he was going to give you a guaranteed 7 innings if not more and b) he was an absolute horse and a 24-year-old without a ton of value in the draft so the exact type of guy you’d bring back on short rest. But I get your point. Whoever’s on the hill has to throw well and we’re going to have to hit a good pitcher.
 
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floridahighschoolcoach

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Aug 15, 2025
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How big of a lead not to use Glob or McDuffy ? I think it depends on the flow of the game but 5 runs is plenty not to go to either but i sometimes think McDuffy is sharper the more he throws.
 
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NoHighHeels

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Sep 17, 2025
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TarHeelColby10 said:
You’re acting as if Ryan Lynch is some nobody.
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Wasn't really acting like anything except throwing my opinion out there. Some of you guys really think an opinion that differs from yours means I don't support our coach. I'm always riding with Forbes. He's proven himself year after year. Our program is elite.

I'm just not a believer of throwing off in general. I believe in winning one game at a time in a regional and adjusting accordingly each game after.

But we here now and it's time to go get it. Go Heels!!
 
JimmyDaHeel

JimmyDaHeel

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I would have made the same decision as Coach Forbes. So if he's wrong, I would have been wrong too. That being said, I'll have no criticism for him should we drop the opener.
 
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Polkheel98

Polkheel98

Junior
Sep 20, 2017
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Pitching off gives us the best chance to start 2-0 this year. Lynch would scare me to death against ECU or Tenn right now. I am just glad we have a coaching staff that isn't to stubborn to try different approaches.
 
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